20 Employee Happy Hour Ideas for Maximum Mingling

Here is our list of the best employee happy hour ideas.

Employee happy hour ideas are fun activities that encourage employees to socialize and connect outside working hours. Examples include Workplace Superlatives, Corkscrew Relay, and Musical Guessing Game. These activities help improve employee engagement and build camaraderie among employees.

Employee happy hour ideas are similar to virtual happy hour ideas. These events are great for Employee Appreciation Day ideas, team outing ideas, and networking event ideas. If you want to host a happy hour online, then you can order these happy hour kits.

This list includes:

• fun happy hour ideas for work
• work happy hour activities
• non alcoholic happy hour ideas
• office happy hour icebreakers
• happy hour games

Let’s get started!

List of employee happy hour ideas

From Guess the Song to Gratitude Wall to Storyteller, here are examples of work happy hour activities.

1. Workplace Superlatives

Workplace Superlatives add humor and appreciation to the happy hour setting! This activity turns the happy hour into a lighthearted awards ceremony.

Here is how to run this activity:

1. Create a list of fun superlatives, like “Best Desk Décor” or “Most Likely to Brighten Your Day.”
2. Print the list out for each team member.
3. Pass out the superlatives list.
4. Have team members fill out the list.
5. Collect the pages and count up all the votes.
6. Hold an award ceremony for the winners and give out prizes!

Workplace Superlatives bring a touch of fun recognition to the gathering, creating positive vibes and strengthening the bond within the team.

Here is a list of workplace awards to get you started.

2. Virtual Travelogue

The Virtual Travelogue turns happy hour into a travel journey! Team members share their favorite travel destinations or dream happy hour locations.

Here is how to host this activity:

1. Before the happy hour, ask participants to make a short slideshow of their favorite travel pictures.
2. During the party, employees can take turns presenting their slideshows.
3. Participants will share photos and stories about their trips.
4. If members have not been on a trip in a while, then they can talk about their dream vacation instead.
5. As a bonus activity, members can even bring in food or drinks inspired by their travels!

This exercise offers a look into team members’ backgrounds and interests. Virtual Travelogue is a great way to connect over shared experiences.

3. Drinko Plinko

Drinko Plinko adds an element of chance and excitement to your happy hour!

Here is how to play:

1. Make a DIY Plinko board with different drink options at the bottom.
2. You can make the drinks themed, like holiday or movie beverages.
3. Players will drop a disc at the top, then try whichever drink the disc lands in.
4. Play at the start of the happy hour as a fun icebreaker!

For non alcoholic happy hours, drinks can be fun mocktails. Additionally, you could add some prizes onto the board, like gift cards! Drinko Plinko is an entertaining and interactive game that makes the happy hour memorable.

4. Guess the Cocktail

During Guess the Cocktail, players will taste different drinks and guess which celebrity or character the drink is based on.

Here is how to play:

1. Choose a theme, like action movie stars, Harry Potter, or James Bond.
2. Make some drinks based on the theme. You could make drinks from a show or movie, like Butterbeer, or make a favorite cocktail of a character, like James Bond’s martini.
3. Assemble small tasters of the drinks.
4. Have players sip the drinks and guess which movie or celeb the cocktail is based on.
5. The player with the most correct answers wins!

You could also run this game in teams so folks can bounce ideas off each other. Also, consider listing the ingredients of each drink to help teams figure out the answers. This game is a playful way to give the happy hour a dash of celebrity-inspired fun.

Check out How to Drink for info on how to make media-themed drinks.

5. Blind Wine Tasting

Blind Wine Tasting is one of the most fun happy hour ideas for work that sends players on a taste adventure. Folks try different wines, guessing types and origins without labels.

1. Choose a mix of reds, whites, and maybe a sparkling wine for variety.
2. Pour the wines into numbered cups so folks do not know which type they are drinking.
3. Give guests tasting cards to jot down their impressions of each wine.
4. Encourage guests to taste each wine and discuss flavors, scents, and textures.
5. Reveal the wine labels after the tasting and talk about preferences and impressions.
6. Optionally, give the individual with the most accurate guesses a prize.

During this teamwork activity, folks will work together to figure out each wine. This exercise creates a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for enjoying the art of wine tasting.

6. Corkscrew Relay

The Corkscrew Relay adds laughter and physical activity to the happy hour setting. In this entertaining relay race, participants navigate an obstacle course while balancing a filled wine glass.

Here is how to host this exercise:

1. Set up an obstacle course.
2. Participants go through the course while balancing a filled wine glass in one hand.
3. For safety reasons, ensure this wine glass is plastic rather than glass.
4. If players spill the liquid, then they have to restart at the beginning of the course.
5. When players get to the end of the course, they finish by using a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine.

This energetic activity tests coordination and sparks camaraderie as teams cheer each other on!

Pro tip: Fill the wine glass with water so it does not stain if it spills!

7. Decades Happy Hour

Decades Happy Hour sends participants through time! Teams go on a journey to create signature cocktails inspired by different eras.

Here is how to host this activity:

1. Gather cocktail-making supplies.
2. Split players into teams.
3. Give each team a specific decade.
4. Players will brainstorm to create a cocktail based on the decade.
5. Teams will mix up their drinks and give them to a judge.
6. Whichever team makes the tastiest era-inspired drink wins!

Decades Happy Hour fosters creativity and sparks conversations about different decades.

8. Cheers to the Memories

Cheers to the Memories turns happy hour into a heartfelt experience.

Here is how to host this experience:

1. Ask guests to bring a photo or small item associated with a special memory.
2. Folks take turns sharing their item and the story behind it.
3. Once each participant finishes sharing, the whole team will gather and give a big cheer to each memory.

This activity serves as a reminder that happy hours are also about the shared moments and memories that bring a team together.

9. Cocktail Dice

Cocktail Dice add chance and creativity to happy hour! This game is an interactive and personalized mixology experience.

Here is how to host this experience:

1. Buy or make some cocktail-themed dice. Each side should represent different drink ingredients.
2. Players take turns rolling the dice to make a drink.
3. Folks then mix up their cocktails and taste them.
4. Optionally, give out a prize to the best-tasting drink!

With Cocktail Dice, participants get to become mixologists for the evening!

Check out this set of dealer’s dice.

10. The Straight Face

The Straight Face game is a fun stress-relief activity for employees.

Here is how to organize this experience:

1. Write a list of silly jokes for participants.
2. Players take turns reading jokes without laughing.
3. Teammates keep a straight face, and any reaction results in elimination.
4. The last player standing wins!

To make this activity more interesting, you can let employees make silly faces while telling their jokes. This way, it becomes easier to make other players lose their composure.

11. The Storyteller

The Storyteller is an exciting game that improves employees’ creative thinking and focus. In this activity, players will need to develop an elaborate tale and include a secret word.

To organize this activity:

1. Write a list of random words for storytelling, such as mountain top or grim reaper.
2. Divide players into two teams.
3. Secretly assign a word to each team member.
4. Players tell one-minute tales incorporating their secret words as many times as possible.
5. The opposing team guesses the secret word for points.
6. The game continues until all players have a turn.
7. The team with the most points at the end wins!

To make this activity more engaging, you can reward the employee with the best story. This activity is one of the best happy hour games because it helps improve social skills and boosts team interactions.

12. Ice Cream Float Making Experience

An Ice Cream Float Making Experience is an excellent activity where employees experience the fun of making their own ice cream float. This activity is one of the best non alcoholic happy hour ideas because it improves employees’ moods and helps them relax while having fun.

To organize this activity:

1. Set out ice cream float materials, like soda glasses, ice cream, and sodas.
2. Allow workers to choose and combine flavors, encouraging creativity with multiple options.
3. Once teams finish their floats, give a reward to the most creative and delicious!

An Ice Cream Float Making Experience is a great way to engage employees, improve teammates’ moods, and build camaraderie among workers.

13. Musical Guessing Game

In Musical Guessing Game, employees try to guess the name of a song after listening to a snippet.

To organize this activity:

1. Create a list of familiar, trendy songs.
2. Play 30-second snippets for teammates to guess the title before the timer runs out.
3. The first player to guess the song title correctly earns a point.
4. At the end, the player with the most points wins the game!

To make this activity even more engaging, you can select songs that are not as popular to make it difficult for employees to guess. This activity helps employees bond over their love for music and their song choices.

14. Opposites Game

Opposites Game is an exciting activity that sharpens employees’ minds and challenges teammates’ observatory skills. In this game, players follow prompts to do the opposite of the given instruction. For example, if the prompt says to sit, players stand instead.

To organize this activity:

1. Nominate a game coordinator and stand in a circle.
2. The coordinator calls out prompts, and players do the opposite. For instance, if the host asks players to raise their arms, then
3. participants keep them down.
4. Players who accidentally follow prompts correctly are out of the game.
5. The last employee standing wins!

This activity is a great way for employees to practice listening to leadership and learn the importance of following specific instructions.

15. Matching Animals

Matching Animals is a quick and exciting game that challenges employees to find animal pairs without saying the animal’s name.

To organize this activity:

1. Get cards with matching animals on them.
2. Give one card from each pair to each employee. Players keep their cards secret.
3. Set a 30- to 60-second timer.
4. Colleagues find matching pairs without talking. However, players can use sounds related to animals.
5. Players aim to match pairs before the timer ends.
6. The first players to find their pair win.

This activity is one of the best office happy hour icebreakers because it helps to promote communication skills and improve team bonds.

Check out this set of animal matching cards.

16. Facts or Fiction

Facts or Fiction is a fun game where employees determine whether a statement is true or false. This activity is a great way to challenge employees’ observational and critical-thinking skills.

To organize this activity:

1. Write a list of myths and true statements.
2. Give teams sheets labeled “fact” and “fiction.”
3. Set a 30-second timer.
4. Read a statement, and the players will answer by raising their fact or fiction sheets.
5. Players earn a point for each correct answer, and the highest scorer wins!

You can give prizes to the runner-ups to encourage employees. This activity is a great way for employees to learn new fun facts.

17. Bucket List

Bucket List is a motivational activity where employees talk about their goals in life. This exercise is a great way to encourage and motivate employees to fulfill their desires and aim to achieve certain life goals.

To organize this activity:

1. Encourage employees to share a bucket list of what they want to achieve.
2. Colleagues with similar goals may choose to serve as each other’s accountability partners.
3. Colleagues may also share reasons why they have been unable to fulfill these goals.
4. Then, teams can encourage and motivate each other to pursue these dreams.

To make this setting cozy so employees can feel comfortable enough to share their dreams and feelings, you can share cocktails or cups of hot chocolate.

18. Yoga Happy Hour

Yoga Happy Hour is a therapeutic activity that allows employees to relax their bodies and minds. This activity is a great way to elevate employees’ moods and ease tension and stress.

To organize this activity:

1. Find an empty space.
2. Gather yoga mats and a sound system.
3. Create a playlist of meditation sounds and soothing music to play during the session.
4. Invite a yoga instructor to guide employees through different poses.
5. Share refreshments after the activity.

If you cannot get a yoga instructor, then you can project a yoga tutorial on a large screen for the teammates to follow. This activity is a great way to promote a healthier workforce, increasing productivity and improving employee performance.

Check out this list for more wellness-themed activities.

19. Scattergories

Scattergories is a fast-paced game where employees fill out category lists with words starting with a chosen letter.

Here is how to organize this activity:

1. Give each employee a sheet of categories and a pen.
2. Set a three-minute timer for each round.
3. Call out a random letter and have players list related words in each category.
4. Participants do not get points for matching answers. Original answers score one point.
5. The employee with the most points wins!

This activity is a simple way to improve employees’ critical thinking and encourage team bonding.

20. Themed Toasts

Themed toasts add a personalized touch to your happy hour gatherings!

Here is how to hold a themed toast:

1. Choose a theme that matches the occasion, such as travel or movies.
2. Have participants use themed gestures or words in their cheers.
3. Toasters can play music or even use speeches from movies.
4. The whole team will toast!
5. Once each participant has a turn, teams can vote on the best toast and award a prize.

This simple yet creative idea can turn the usual clinking of glasses into a fun and memorable moment. Themed toasts are unique and spark conversations.

Conclusion

Employee happy hour ideas are exciting activities that make happy hours fun for employees. These activities allow employees to build good work relationships and improve team bonds. Additionally, these activities help ease stress and tension, which may help improve employee performance and boost team productivity. Adding these activities to your next office happy hour is an excellent way to promote teamwork and team cohesion.

Next, check out our lists of remote employee engagement ideas, remote orientation ideas, and ways to boost your team’s happiness.