If nothing out-of-the-ordinary ever happened at work, wouldn’t our time there eventually become monotonous?
By revitalizing the office with themed decorations and encouraging your teams to dress up with the theme, you’re setting up a great arena for imagination and team building.
We’re going to be looking at 23 theme-day ideas to use in your workplace. We’ve cast our net far and wide for themes that stand out like neon lights in the night skyline.
So let’s lay out our themes and help you consider the next time you get funky with the office decorations. A multiverse of themes awaits!
What is an “office theme day”?
We all know that too much routine can lead to a lack of engagement at the office. Here at Surf Office, we’re really into getting into creative ways of brightening up the workplace and boosting engagement, like with “spirit week” and funky office theme days.
An “office theme day” is a day dedicated to fun and activities outside of the usual day-to-day office box. It provides a fantastic opportunity to get teams working together in new ways and show off their hidden interests.
Get your themes set up in-office, or even designate an area for a social event outside of work. Employees greatly look forward to these events and working in teams has them bonding in new and fun ways. Adding some teambuilding activities on a theme day always goes down a treat!
The possibilities are endless, now here are 23 of our best.
23 of the best office themes day ideas
Dedicate a day to one of these themes, either in-office or on your next work social outing.
1.Emoji day
Since emojis have become such a normal part of everyday life, use them for a bit of fun and flair for your next office theme day. An emoji theme works well; it doesn't take too much time and effort to design a costume. The laugh-crying emoji with attachable tears is a crowd favorite, but why not push the boat out with the dancing salsa lady?
Decorate the office with emoji too, like a plush poop emoji in the break room or a crying emoji near the water cooler. Add in a few emoji-related activities like an “emoji master” awards ceremony, or set up a photo booth with oversized emoji masks and speech bubbles. Giant love heart emojis all-round.
2.Famous duo or trio day
Make the most of famous pairs or trios with this theme. Use movies, books, or anything from the “name a more iconic duo” meme, there are so many potential examples. Batman and Robin, Harry Ron and Hermione, or even non-human pairings like peanut butter and jelly, or mac and cheese.
Duo or trio days encourage people to plan with their workmates, which is great for those who might be a little dress-up shy. Add in some famous duo trivia activities and you’re set for a day of laughter with doubly outlandish results. Grab your partner (or two) and get ready to shine!
3.Supervillain day
There’s no need for heroes to have all the fun, villains need their day too! Get your teams to embrace their dark side with a supervillain theme for the office. The Joker, Harley Quinn, Green Goblin, Maleficent, there are loads to choose from, and everyone has a favorite villain.
Make a little “supervillain lair” in a communal area, and add a few fake weapons to go with it. Villain masks and fake blood are going to work well too. Have your teams plotting and scheming, as well as laughing and bonding with this theme!
4.Nautical day
From the depths of the deep blue sea, this theme brings a bag of laughter and nice seaside charm with it. Sailor suits and pirate costumes work well to get everyone in the maritime mood. Characterize the day too, you can get creative with Jack Sparrow, Spongebob, or Aquaman getups.
Hide some chocolatey treasures around the office and decorate the office walls with refreshing coral pastel colors. Take it a little further with anchors, life preservers and fish nets if the occasion calls for it. Days like this break old routines and leave fun impressions on workforces, so dive in!
5.Retro video game character day
Inject a touch of nostalgia into your next office theme with a retro video game character day. From 8-bit to 8-terabyte consoles, the videogame industry has left us with some of the most cherished characters in the history of entertainment.
Get some creative ideas from Comic-con photos or bring your own personal favorites to life! Lara Croft, Link, Pac-Man, Ryu, there’s no end to characters that everyone knows and loves. Arrange a gaming-inspired awards ceremony to top a great day off, and get funky with a menu, like Hyrule-inspired Lon-Lon milk or a Mushroom Kingdom cupcake. Enjoy!
6.Pattern clash day
Well, in the name of fun, why not make a deliberate effort to let everyone dress in a particularly “ugly” way? Organize a day to let fashion nightmares loose, and let patterns clash. We’re talking polka-dot t-shirts under zebra-print blazers here. The more miss-matched, the merrier.
Plaid pants with paisley shirts, chess-board patterned jackets with tie-dye tees. You might even want to playfully champion the most outrageously ugly pattern clash with a reward for standing out. You know that member of staff had to make a bold choice this morning. Cheers to individuality!
7.Famous paintings day
Take a more history-centric and artistic choice for an office theme, with a famous paintings dress-up day. Bring the beauty and creativity of a canvas to life! Participants might choose accurate outfits of humans from famous paintings, like a Mona Lisa garb or a suit, tophat and apple from Magritte’s Son of Man painting.
Or, your teams might just opt for colorways and patterns from famous paintings they like, like a swirling collection of purples and yellows from Van Gogh’s Starry Nights. You might even catch a scary mask, like in Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” There are so many to choose from, so let the office become a living gallery for the day. No cleanups are required!
8.Historical figure day
Get your history buffs going with a historical figure day, bringing history to life without the need for a time-travel portal. Iconic world leaders and cultural icons work great, being a fun conversation starter and an educative celebration.
Imagine seeing Cleopatra using a printer, or Charlie Chaplin silently filling up his bottle at the water cooler. That paints a fun picture, right? There aren’t even limits on historical realism, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who played a big role in a lot of people’s histories. A time-travel photo booth works well for this theme, and try adding some historical trivia quizzes to brighten things up! Just remember to step back into the present when it’s all finished.
9.”The Office” Office theme day
This might be a bit specific for some teams, as not everyone in the world has seen the US TV phenomenon “The Office US,” but there’s a good chance most people working in an office have. There’s a large cast in The Office, and anyone who has seen the show knows the standout catchphrases and mannerisms of each character.
Michael Scott’s chaotic meltdowns have been used in millions of memes. Dwight Schrute’s bizarre antics are always a great one to throw out too, or do you even have a hidden Jim and Pam romance in the office? A day like this might help you to find out, so try bringing Dunder Mifflin to life for your next theme.
10.Superhero day
Heroes deserve celebration, so save the day with a superhero theme as your next one. Everyone sees a little bit of themselves in their favorite superhero, so let everyone choose who they’re dressing up as. Just be careful if you start seeing Spiderman scaling the office walls or hanging above your desk.
Use a photoshoot to encourage “best heroic poses” or add some photo effects for an added touch of superpower. It’s actually a great way to get teams bonding through fun, so inspire new levels of teamwork and creativity by using a superhero day as your next office theme.
11.Mythical creature day
A theme of mythical creatures is a great way to spruce up the office. Step into a realm of wonder and fairy tales, letting everyone come in as mythical creatures from folklore and fantasy. Team members might choose creatures like unicorns, phoenixes and centaurs to dress up as. A Mythical Creature Day is great for diverse teams with members from different backgrounds too.
Get activities sorted that use myths and legends, like quests for hidden treasures or a dragon pinata that needs slaying. Food inspired by myth works great for this theme, with dry ice and food dye for added mystery. Get some funky witch potions brewed and dragon wings roasted for some culinary fun. Let legends live on with a mythical creature theme!
12.Decades day
Here’s a way to inject some nostalgia into the next office work theme. A ‘decades day’ lets people do the time-warp again and has plenty of options for dress-up and office decoration. Get into the groove of the swinging 60s with jazz music or rock out with a rebellious 90s getup. Encourage everyone to choose whatever decade they want.
Decorate the office with wall-of-fame posters, album covers and movie posters from distinct eras. A retro lounge works well too, if you can still easily find a 90s lava lamp and a phonograph vinyl player. A neon-colored '80s corner might bring back memories. Finish it with a time-warp photo booth and get ready to dust off those bell-bottom jeans for a blast from the past.
13.Pajama day
Well, why not try letting everyone dress in their most comfortable jim-jams? After all, a new office theme is supposed to encourage fun and relaxation. A pajama day gets everyone in a laid-back vibe while getting some work done.
You’ll be seeing a lot of onesies and slippers, so set up a small pajama parade area with a cozy corner filled with bean bags and blankets. Comfort food like pancakes and waffles go down a treat, with some added hot chocolate for good measure. Embrace a day of downtime and relaxation with a pajama theme for your next choice. Just don’t fall asleep at the computer…
14.Color wars day
Using your established teams at work, allocate one color per team and get creative. The greatness of this theme is its simplicity and application to everyday team tasks. Give each department or team a standout color and color-code their workspace.
Plan out some activities to keep the energy high, like a color-themed scavenger hunt where they search for a hidden item matching their team’s color. Give everyone some freedom of choice for their creative use of color in their clothing, and arrange a color-coordinated potluck for lunch. Each team can try and bring a dish that matches their team's color. This is a great simple way to have fun and develop team bonds.
15.Disney day
Bring the magic of Disney to the office with a Disney theme day. Chances are, every single member of the office has seen and enjoyed at least one Disney installment, so encourage them to roll in dressed as their favorite character.
There are countless great Disney trivia games out there, so use one for a fun activity and break out a boombox for all those well-known Disney hits like “Circle of Life” and “Bare Necessities.” A Disney movie marathon gives your teams some more great downtime, celebrating the cartoon giant's magic and nostalgia. Enchant the office!
16.Colorful socks day
You might have a super busy workday coinciding with your theme day, so you can keep things simple with colorful socks day. There are some fantastic and quirky websites out there that make elaborate and customizable socks, so why not let your teams indulge?
A small “sock showdown” contest at the start of the day is a cool way to brighten the morning. Encourage the boldest and most colorful pair they can find on the market, and get your walls as bright as possible. Rainbow buffets enhance the bright atmosphere and take things further with sock decorations around the office. Just don’t use old smelly ones!
17.Spaghetti Western day
Appealing to the cowboy and cowgirl aficionados out there, a spaghetti western day. In the spirit of those classic Western films, this theme stands out with classic gunslingers and bandits. Cowboy hats, boots with spurs, bandanas, and denim provide good clothing choices.
Get some activities in place that help bring the Wild West to life. A mock “saloon shootout” area with Nerf guns or water pistols works well. A “Wanted Poster” photo booth with some editing programs can capture some really funny moments. Get the menu filled with cowboy chili, BBQ pork sandwiches and cornbread. Decorate the place with cacti and wagon wheels to set the tone. Ride out into the sunset as cowboys and cowgirls together!
18.Space and sci-fi day
A space and sci-fi-themed day is a great way to have fun and get everyone in an intergalactic mood. Encourage everyone to dress up in a cosmic way, be that with aliens, space explorers or astronauts. Classic sci-fi movies work too, like Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Set team challenges of making the fanciest futuristic prop or tool in a craft session. You could even try renting out local VR sets from companies that make space-themed games and movies. Team trivia games are a great way to spot the sci-fi masters among your teams. Intensify the sci-fi mood and get intergalactic with a space theme for the day.
19.Food theme day
Well, who doesn’t love a day that involves their favorite foods? A culinary-centric day is sure to be a real crowd-pleaser. Compared to our other themes, spend less time on costumes and decorations, and more time fully focused on everyone’s favorite meal.
Encourage everyone in the office to bring in their favorite dinners from home, enough to go around. This works fantastically for bonding teams made up of members from different countries. Food certainly is the way to many people’s hearts so make a food-focused theme day and have your fill.
20.Muscle-beach workout day
With the aim of promoting physical (and mental) well-being, take some time to set up a muscle-beach workout day theme in the office. Allow beach attire that usually wouldn’t be used in-office, like sunglasses, flip flops and tank tops.
Promote fitness and holistic wellbeing with areas for beach yoga, or if you have the space, try and get a workout setup. You could even try bringing in a fitness instructor to help encourage the group if you’re up for it! Inflatable palm trees and beach balls set the tone, so surf’s up to a muscle-beach theme at the office. Ride the wave!
21.Nerd day
Celebrate all things nerdy with your teams with a day dedicated to nerding out to your heart’s content. Remember to be considerate, the word used to carry a slightly negative connotation, but long gone are those days. It’s all a celebration at this point.
The main focus is on highlighting nerd culture. Videogame lore, science trivia, comic book superhero contests, there are loads of ways to get into the things that nerds rock proudly. Celebrate your nerdy side with them, embracing your inner nerd with a relaxed day of geeky fun!
22.Celebrity look-alike day
Here’s a day out of the ordinary. Dedicate a day where everyone can have a long think about which celebrity they most look like, then dress up as them. They can get creative with make-up, props, and anything else that helps the observer know exactly who they’ve come as.
Imagine strolling down the office corridors while body-building Dave from accounting crosses your path dressed as Arnie in The Terminator. You might even start to panic if he tells you “He’ll be back!”
23.Olympian office day
An Olympic-themed day is great when the summer or winter Olympics are on. Get decorations up of the 5 colored Olympic rings spread around the office. Your teams could make an epic Olympic torch as a teambuilding activity too.
Bring the Olympic spirit to life with some physical activities like tug-of-war and relay racing. Use inspiring and epic Olympic music and a little podium at the end to show winners. Just remember that safety always comes first, even in the Olympic spirit!
Reach new teambuilding heights on a work retreat!
If you’re serious about using team building to maximize the office potential, why not organize one of these theme days on a work retreat? Here at Surf Office, we know how important teamwork is in the office. An office theme day while on a team retreat is a great way to go about getting your teams flying high.
A twice-annual retreat gets your teams working together in ways you have to see to believe!
We've had the pleasure of organizing over 700+ retreat experiences, including remote teams, for many different companies. Here’s what we offer:
- Stress-free transfers? We got you! ✅
- Quality-assured accommodations? Check! ✅
- Engaging team-building activities? Our speciality ✅
- Restaurant reservations? That's on us! ✅
- Expert retreat planning assistance? Of course, we have this covered! ✅
- Onsite support, tailored to your needs? Absolutely ✅
Not only this but we also have access to 160+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US, Latin America, and now Africa, meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.
Don’t just let your office be the only place you hold your theme days. Take everyone on a work retreat that will create memories that last a lifetime. Your teams will thank you for it, regardless of the theme. Spaces are limited, so get in touch now.
