Top 12 Best Ideas for Valentine's Day at Work

Are you looking for office ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day this year? Valentine's Day isn't just about romantic love; it's about celebrating platonic love too, which is why every business should consider celebrating this special day at work.

So, this post will cover the top 12 best ideas for Valentine's Day at work so you can celebrate platonic love and office friendship. After all, you do spend at least eight hours a day with your co-workers and employees, so now is the perfect time to show them that you care.

Why You Should Celebrate Valentine's Day at Work

Gallup's research has shown a direct link between having a best friend at work and the effort employees put into their job. For instance, many women agreed that having a best friend at work made them twice as likely to be engaged at work as compared to women who said otherwise.

Today employees want more out of work than just a paycheck. So, spending quality time with the people they like at work is important. Christine M. Riordan of the Harvard Business wrote that people want to "create a common sense of purpose and the mentality that we are in it together."

So, celebrating Valentine's Day at work allows employees to participate in something fun that strengthens work relationships and allows them to have a little fun at work.

How Do You Celebrate Valentine's Day with Colleagues?

There are so many great ideas for Valentine's Day at work that let you engage with employees and co-workers and have a little fun at the office.

Give Out Good Bags or Presents

Giving goody bags or presents to employees is a great way to show them you care and have some Valentine's Day fun. Creating mason jars filled with candy-like conversation hearts and a handwritten note shows everyone you took the time to create a thoughtful gift.

You can create anything with fun sweet treats or even buy everyone a box of chocolates.

Company swag like a t-shirt or mug makes a great gift too and ties it to work. People will be proud to wear apparel from a company that cares.

Gifts cards or a gift basket also make great presents too. At Gift Card Granny, you can find gift cards from major retailers and even Mastercard or Visa gift cards.

Make Donations to Charity

Another great way to celebrate Valentine's Day and give back is to create a list of charities for employees to choose from that the company will donate money to.

Give each employee a red paper heart with a set donation amount on it and create a jar for each charity. All employees need to do is drop the heart in the jar of their charity of choice.

Host Valentine's Day Lunch or Breakfast

Hosting a Valentine's Day lunch or breakfast is another great way to celebrate the day with co-workers. You can even decorate the breakroom or set up a table with a red tablecloth and other Valentine's Day decorations to make it special. Order in your team's favorite lunch or breakfast food, and that shows them you care.

You can even do a virtual lunch for remote workers too. Let employees choose the meal they want and then jump on a Zoom call with them. Co-workers can bond over a good meal in real-time which can help them get to know each other better and celebrate work friendships.

Create Office Games and Quizzes for Valentine's Day

One of the best ideas for Valentine's Day at work is to create fun quizzes and games for everyone. They encourage employee engagement and make fun bonding time. You can include remote employees too, as they can join by Zoom. Don’t forget the prizes for any games you decide to play.

You can create a timed quiz that everyone takes or set up a Bingo game centered around Valentine's Day and your business.

Creating a scavenger hunt is another fun activity that allows employees to play in teams for more engagement. You can enhance it by creating actions they have to perform for each specific item they find.

You can also design a trivia game centered around Valentine's Day to celebrate the holiday. Trivia games can be fun and addictive.

Another great game you can tailor to Valentine's Day is Scattergories. Whether you win or lose, Scattergories is fun and creates some healthy work competition.

And one of the most unique ideas for Valentine's Day at work is an interactive prize wheel. Give away things like dinner gift cards or movie tickets and throw in something fun like extra days off work.

Have a Virtual Valentine's Day Party for Remote Workers

Throw a Valentine's Day office party and include remote workers. Allow them to join by Zoom and make sure they get the same food delivered to their house if possible or let them choose.

And besides food and drinks, bring out the board games or just have casual conversations over Zoom. Make it one big event for everyone and include some of these other ideas for Valentine's Day at work.

Or, you can throw an office tea party to be unique and serve finger foods and tea.

Decorate the Office

Don't underestimate the way that decorating the office for Valentine's Day can encourage camaraderie and festivity. You can even have remote employees decorate their home office by sending decorations right to their house.

You can even send people edible arrangements to create a party vibe.

Create a Dress in Red Day

Create a dress theme for Valentine's Day and have everyone dress in red. Bonus points for people who add hearts to their outfits. Make a contest out of it and award prizes for the best-dressed people at work.

Host an Office Secret Valentine's Day Gift Exchange

You've heard of the Secret Santa gift exchanges that people have at company parties and holiday get-togethers for friends and family. Well, customize a secret gift exchange for Valentine's Day.

Have everyone draw a name from a hat and set a price limit for gifts, then let everyone buy a present for their secret gift recipient. The fun is that no one knows who drew their name until the end.

A secret Valentine's Day gift exchange can also work if you set a price limit and everyone buys a more generalized gift. Then everyone can just place their gifts on a table, and you draw numbers for who gets to pick their present first.

Create an Appreciation Board at Work

Another one of the best ideas for Valentine's Day at work is simply creating an employee Appreciation board. This provides peer recognition and is a great way to publicly recognize different employees' work.

One fun way to create a board like this is to provide markers, push pins, and paper hearts and let employees recognize each other. And make sure you put something up for every employee there - even the remote ones.

Give Valentine's Day Cards to Co-Workers

Adults never get tired of receiving cards after they leave elementary school. And you can get nostalgic with some of the cute Valentine's Day cards for kids.

It's a neat way to share some love with co-workers, and you can even send e-cards to remote employees. Places like Hallmark and American Greetings have pre-made cards you can send, or you can create your own.

Decorate Valentine's Day Cookies

One fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day is to decorate cookies and bring them to work. Either buy or bake heart-shaped cookies - sugar cookies are the best for decorating.

Or bring cookies to work and let your co-workers help you decorate them. Bring in the sprinkles and different colored icing and let everyone jump in and decorate. You can take it to the next level by adding cookie baking kits and letting everyone bake together if you have the space to do that.

Add gift bags and pretty ribbons for people who want to gift their cookies to someone else or take them home.

Create an Event that Focuses on Heart Health

Of all the great ideas for Valentine's Day at work, many people don't consider something outside the traditional ways to celebrate. So, consider hosting an event that focuses on heart health.

Have a catered healthy lunch or have food delivered, and you can even invite someone from the American Heart Association or a doctor to speak about heart-healthy tips.

You can also add in some healthy activity or a game like kickball to get everyone active. It's also another way to get in some fun, friendly competition in a healthy way.

Final Thoughts on Ideas for Valentine's Day at Work

As you can see, these are some of the best ideas for Valentine's Day at work. And they are a great way to showcase your workplace as a caring environment and give tokens of appreciation to everyone you work with.

Whether you give employees a thoughtful gift or schedule a virtual Valentine's Day lunch over Zoom meetings, both tangible gifts and time spent together make awesome gifts for this special holiday.

The real goal is to foster positive relationships between co-workers and employee engagement. Many workplaces want people to enjoy coming to work and expecting more than just a paycheck.