A Case of the Mondays
I love the movie Office Space, so logically I should be all into NBC’s The Office, especially since I love Steve Carell, way back in his Jon Stewart days. And yet, I don’t. But wouldn’t this year’s office Christmas party (0r your own party) be a hoot if it were an Office Space theme? (You could do The Office as a theme instead.)
Setting the Scene
You so have to have a T.P.S. Report Cover Sheet as invites, check out this PDF file, and just fill in your party info.
Make fun centerpieces with pencils wrapped around food cans and secured with rubber bands.
Although the red Swingline stapler is key to making your party a hit, chances are, you won’t have any. Collect everyone’s staplers and prominently display them with labels “I believe you have my stapler”.
Use shredded paper as confetti and set out memo pads everyone.
Create graphs and charts on white boards and display on office easels. Or create your own on posterboard.
The movie’s soundtrack may be a bit risque for the office. One famous scene has “Damn It Feels Good To Be a Gangsta” by the Geto Boys. Try more neutral songs like “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton, Loverboy’s “Everybody’s Workin For The Weekend”, Rose Royce’s “Car Wash”, “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles, “Manic Monday” by the Bangles, and if you dare, “Take This Job and Shove It”. Anything by Michael Bolton, however painful, would be awesome as well.
The Menu
Of course, one must duplicate the menu from Chotchkie’s, the movie’s version of TGI Friday’s. Leave the diets behind and serve potato skins, buffalo wings, mini hamburgers and beer.
What to Do
The White Elephant Exchange is so last decade. If your group isn’t too large, play a paper version of the Telephone Game using Post-Its. Each person gets the same number of Post-Its as there are in the group, and numbers each accordingly. For example, if there are 15 people in your group, each person gets 15 Post-Its, and numbers each through 15. Everyone sits in a circle and on the first Post-It, writes a famous phrase, then passes their entire pile of Post-Its to the person on their left. On the second Post-It, that person draws the phrase, then passes the pile on. On the third Post-It, the next person writes what they think the picture is, and passes the pile on. You keep this up, until everyone gets their original pile back. Then, go through your pile, and the hilarity ensues. A friend of mine did this at her Halloween party, and it was amazing how dirty ideas came out of innocent phrases.
Set out large cardstock circles, swipe the office markers and have everyone design a “Piece of Flair”. The winner receives the Office Space Party Game.
Send Them Home With a Smile
Pass out your company’s own flair by creating promotional badges at Lapel, Pin & Button. Or take a flip through the phone book and find a company that rents button machines, and create your own. Our school’s PTSA has one, and one of the moms is a button-making fool now, they are quite easy to use.