The benefits of celebrating Valentine’s Day at work

Valentine’s Day can provide an opportunity to recognize connection and collaboration and thank your team members for their hard work. Even simple gestures can help create a more positive and inclusive workplace.

Potential benefits of celebrating Valentine’s Day at work include:

• Boosting morale: A break from routine and a fun activity can help improve worker morale and energize your team. Spreading a little cheer with some simple games, treats and social time can help put your whole team in a good mood.

• Encouraging connection and friendship: Team celebrations offer new opportunities for employees to interact. A well-planned event can help team members feel valued and encourage them to support one another. Camaraderie often fosters workplace friendships that make coming to work more enjoyable. Having work friends can also enhance engagement and teamwork, leading to better communication and collaboration between your employees.

• Supporting inclusivity: Inclusive, non-romantic themes can help everyone focus on appreciation and belonging. Events scheduled during working hours at your business offer a chance for people to join in without the need to balance home obligations or find babysitters.

• Showing appreciation: People usually like to feel appreciated for their work. Planning a workplace Valentine’s Day celebration shows your team you appreciate them. Owners, managers, team leaders and other supervisors who routinely schedule events for staff may benefit from increased loyalty toward themselves and the company overall.

Tips for planning and implementing Valentine’s Day events at work

A successful Valentine’s Day celebration at work starts with thoughtful planning. Consider these steps as you plan a celebration that brings your team together.

Set a budget

Before planning, know what you can realistically spend. Even with a small budget, you can create a meaningful celebration with thoughtful planning.

For example, free time in the break room to mingle and enjoy ice cream or cake is still a fun break from the normal workday. Highlight appreciation with low-cost methods like handwritten, customized notes of gratitude from business leaders or owners.

Choose activities that suit your team

Ensure options align with the work environment and your team’s schedule and preferences. What works well in a small office where everyone works 9-to-5 may not be ideal for a manufacturing or healthcare workforce that covers needs in shifts, for instance.

Some teams may enjoy festive gatherings in the break room, while others prefer quieter activities like card exchanges. Consider the diversity of your team when selecting themes and activities.

Don’t forget to include remote teams in your celebrations by organizing virtual activities that help bring everyone together.

Send out invites

Even if the celebration is casual, it’s important to notify everyone in advance. A calendar invite or email helps employees plan ahead and shows the event is an important part of the company culture.

Create ways for the team to participate leading up to the event

Offering people a chance to contribute in the days before your celebration helps build anticipation. It also gives employees ownership over the event, which can lead to more participation and enjoyment of the celebration.

Create a dress code

Encourage employees to dress for the occasion in a way that supports team spirit without being distracting. Options might include:

• Inviting everyone to wear traditional Valentine’s Day colors like red, pink or white
• A “wear the color you love most” day for an inclusive and creative alternative
• Accessory-focused dress themes, like fun hats, socks or pins
• Fancy dress, especially if you’re hosting an evening event

Remember that lighthearted ideas and small gestures can create photo ops or start conversations without requiring elaborate efforts. You also might provide the accessories for the event and set up a photo booth where team members can take pictures with silly signs, scarves, hats and other props.

Remind people leading up to the event

Sending reminders a few days ahead of time can signal (and help build) excitement. Confirming the event’s time and location helps ensure no one feels left out.

When in doubt, ask employees what they might like

If you’re unsure what type of Valentine’s Day celebration to plan, ask your team. Taking time to learn what your employees enjoy shows that you care about their preferences.

You can collect feedback by:

• Sending a quick survey with multiple-choice options
• Asking for suggestions during a team meeting
• Posting a poll on your internal messaging platform
• Offering a short anonymous form for ideas or concerns

7 workplace Valentine’s Day ideas

The right celebration for your business is one that works for you and your team. Consider the following ideas and customize them to meet your needs.

1. Have an office party

Hosting a workplace party is a simple and popular way to celebrate. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate event. You could host a simple breakfast or brunch for your staff during a special break so everyone can participate without disrupting the workday. Choose easy breakfast options like:

• Bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter and jams or jellies
• Pastries such as donuts, Danishes, cinnamon rolls, muffins and scones
• Yogurts, yogurt parfaits and fruit platters for health-conscious employees

You could also opt for a catered sit-down meal and encourage employees to invite significant others or a friend to join them. If you go this route, plan for a lunch party, as some employees may already have romantic dinner plans.

Alternatively, consider organizing a happy hour (with cocktail and mocktail choices) as a relaxed way to celebrate and foster team bonding.

2. Organize a gift exchange

Consider an anonymous gift exchange similar to Secret Santa. Start by setting some basic guidelines, such as a dollar limit for the gift, to keep things budget-friendly.

Then, ask who wants to participate. Make participation optional and respect each person’s choice.

Put each participant’s name on a piece of paper and place them in a bowl. Ask each participating worker to draw a name and keep it a secret.

Have participants deposit gifts in a central location to hand out at a party, or use intra-office mail to deliver them to each person’s desk. Encourage participants to choose thoughtful gifts that show appreciation and consideration for their colleagues.

Gift-givers should include the receiver’s name on the gift but not their own to keep it a secret. For extra fun, you can decide whether to share the gift-givers’ names later.

Ensure employees understand that gifts must be appropriate for the work environment and shouldn’t include anything that may embarrass co-workers.

3. Give gifts to your staff

You might also want to provide small thank-you gifts from your business.

An easy and often popular option is gift cards. They’re versatile and allow workers to choose something they want and like. They also take up little storage space and are easy to distribute. Consider gift cards for:

• Coffee shops
• Local restaurants
• Food delivery apps like DoorDash
• Retail stores
• Streaming services like Netflix
• Grocery stores

If you prefer to customize these gifts, consider placing the gift cards in a personalized coffee mug or water bottle with a few Valentine’s chocolates. Self-care items, such as bath bombs, aromatherapy candles or relaxation kits, can also make thoughtful gifts that support employee well-being.

4. Send personal notes

If gifts are out of your budget or don’t feel appropriate for your business environment, consider sending cards. You can select an employer-appropriate Valentine’s card and include unique handwritten notes of appreciation for each person. Larger companies might involve leadership teams in this project to ensure each person gets a personalized note.

Some ideas for what to include in notes to employees are:

• Specific thank-yous for recent efforts on a project or task
• Recognition of core strengths, such as problem-solving or leadership skills
• Encouraging affirmations about worker growth or potential
• Gratitude for reliability and positive outlooks
• Notes about specific impacts, such as how someone’s work contributes to team success

5. Set up a kudos board

Workplace Valentine’s Day ideas that allow your employees to recognize each other can help boost team spirit.

Place a large bulletin board in the break room a few days before Valentine’s Day. Below this board, place a bucket of markers, push pins and red, pink and white construction paper hearts to tie it to the holiday.

Ask employees to share how someone has made them feel appreciated at work or why they appreciate someone else. Encouraging your staff to give each other kudos can foster positive feelings and acknowledge their impact on fellow employees and daily operations.

6. Schedule games

If you don’t have much time, consider fun activities that require minimal preparation but involve a lot of engagement. Movie trivia can be a fun way to get employees involved and works for both in-person and virtual offices. To encourage teamwork, divide staff into teams to answer questions and give out a small prize to the winners.

For Valentine’s Day parties, you could stick to romantic comedies, but this genre might not be all-inclusive. Use questions from various movie genres to help ensure everyone enjoys the activity.

Another fun activity is a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt. Create a themed scavenger hunt with romantic or movie-related clues for your team to solve, either in person or virtually. The first team or individual to complete the hunt can win a small prize.

An even easier idea is to fill a jar with candy conversation hearts or another small sweet. Challenge employees to guess how many candies the jar contains. Whoever guesses the number closest to the answer wins a small prize and the jar of candy to share with co-workers.

7. Decorate the office

Consider decorating the office for the holiday to help bring the Valentine’s Day spirit to the workplace. Pink and red hearts, streamers and balloons are easy choices. You can also encourage employees to decorate their offices, workstations, lockers or other areas. Boost enthusiasm with a decorating contest that results in a few small prizes.

Creating a great opportunity: beyond the celebration

Valentine’s Day can be a meaningful opportunity to strengthen team culture, encourage peer appreciation and recognize employee contributions. Even though the holiday’s often about personal relationships, at work it’s a chance to create a positive, inclusive experience for everyone.

Plan activities that highlight teamwork, gratitude and community. Avoid themes that center on romantic love, which may not reflect all employees’ experiences. Instead, use the occasion to celebrate your team’s efforts and create space for connection in a professional setting.

Valentine’s Day is just one of many opportunities to support employee morale. You can adapt many of these ideas for other holidays throughout the year to build a more connected and engaged workplace.