Halloween is the perfect time to have fun and build comradeship at the office. We never forgot the thrill of yelling “TRICK OR TREAT” and getting that candied apple, popcorn ball or candy bar dropped in our bag from when we were children. That same excited child still lives in all of us, we just pretend it does not matter anymore. We relive the thrill every year when the kids come to our door and repeat the same ritual we did so many years ago.

Allow your employees and co-workers to enjoy that excitement in the office this year without spending a penny on it, unless you are bringing your own children to the office for the event.

Lets face it the world is not as safe as it used to be, and parents no longer take their children to the homes of strangers to collect treats the way our parents did. Most parents take their children to one of the thousands of malls across America to trick or treat. I did it myself once, but I never will again. The lines are long, it is boring and the candy is cheap. I came up with an idea that changed all that and my children remained equally safe.

All the parents in the office I worked at brought in their own bags of candy and we divided it all up and gave it to every worker, along with permission to eat as much as they want but save some for the children. We all left work a little early and brought our costumed children back to the office. At a predetermined time we started going from office to office and desk to desk allowing the kids to Trick or Treat. It was a blast!

The children went right up to the desk of each person and received the candy purchased by the parent. The employee did not need to get out of their seats and it only took up one or two minutes of the workers time to give treats to all the children. I honestly believe the employees giving the treats enjoyed it more than the children did. They talked about it for days!

The following Halloween I had more employees without children asking if we were going to get to do it again than employees with children. It created a bond between all of the employees and bonded employees make better teammates when working on various projects.

I have also worked in offices where people brought in little plastic pumpkins filled with candy for their co-workers. It puts a bit of excitement in the air and everyone is happy and productive for the day! So go out there and let your inner child run free for the day and trick or treat in your own chosen way at the office this year.