Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. My fiancé and I love to decorate and dress up in costume for the holiday. I also enjoy bringing the celebration of halloween to the workplace. But first there are some considerations to take into account before going in costume and doing the Monster Mash with co-workers.
Check your company policies
Read over the policies set forth by your company before proceeding with an elaborate costume. If in doubt ask management they might not be as stubborn as you think.
Now I wouldn’t recommend it but you could always dress in costume and ask for forgiveness later. I’ve done this the past two years and luckily had no problem. It ended up turning out to be in my favor since we are having an official company costume contest this year at Netrix.
Check your schedule
Be sure you don’t have any important face to face meetings with any clients or upper management. Even though Batman can defend the city in costume, you still need Bruce Wayne in suit and tie in the boardroom to be taken seriously.
Stay productive
Stay on task and don’t let your outfit impair your ability to work or distract others from doing their work. Wolverine is a badass in the office but typing with his claws would be a bit slow.
Keep it classy
Unless your office is really progressive it is usually best to tone down your outfit. Keep it simple and classy. Leave the politics at home, don’t be too provocative, grotesque, or demonic.
Try something like “DisneyBounding” where you take the elements of a Disney character in regular clothes without making it a full costume.
Adding simple costume parts to your daily work attire can still be fun too. Throw on a pair mouse of ears and go as a mouse, “I’m a mouse duh!”
Have fun with it!
If your company is on board maybe they would also be up for a trick or treat cubical crawl, a potluck party, or an office costume contest.
Some places to find work appropriate costumes
- Hot Topic – Has many pop culture outfits which balance cosplay with fashion.
- Amazon – I found many parts for costume on Amazon. Oh and that two day Prime shipping is great for last minute costumes!
- Goodwill – And other thrift stores are great places to find cheap costume parts.
- Pinterest – For all the best DIY ideas!
This will be the third year I will be dressing up for Halloween at my office. The first year I dressed as Marty McFly from Back to the Future and no one even realized I was in costume. Then last year I dressed as Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas and everyone noticed. I’m still not sure what I will dress as tomorrow and probably I will never be able to top last year but at least it will be fun!
Can’t dress up in costume at work? Well then maybe you can at least decorate your cubicle for the season.