11 Office Retirement Party Ideas, Games, and Activities

Here is our list of the best office retirement party ideas.

Office retirement party ideas are ways to celebrate the long career of employees ready to close out a chapter of their working lives. Example activities include personal trivia, sharing memories, and retirement Bingo. These games and activities wish a coworker well as you send them off into retirement.

These events are examples of team celebrations and office parties. These occasions are in-person versions of virtual retirement parties. You can mark the occasion with retirement gifts and retirement messages.

This list includes:

• small office retirement party ideas
• retirement party games for work
• office retirement party activities
• outdoor retirement party ideas

Let’s get started!

List of office retirement party ideas

A retirement party is an engaging and exciting way to say goodbye to a beloved co-worker. The best way to send your co-worker off into retirement is with fun and games. Here are the best office retirement party ideas to try with your team.

1. Personal Trivia Quiz

A personal trivia quiz serves up friendly competition and the chance to show who knows the most about the retiree. By playing this game, you can even learn more about the honoree.

To set up the personal trivia quiz about the retiree, we suggest assigning one of your team members to put together a list of questions and answers about the honoree. For example, the quiz maker can include work-related questions such as:

• How many years has the retiree worked with the company?
• What was the retiree’s entry role into the company?
• What is the retiree’s biggest office pet peeve?
• What was the retiree’s first job ever?
• Can you name one of the retiree’s most notable career highlights?

We suggest that you also incorporate a few fun or personal questions into the quiz, such as:

• What is the retiree’s favorite lunch spot?
• What are the names of the retiree’s pets?
• What college did the retiree attend?

Once you have compiled a list of personal and professional questions, you are ready to put your team to the test! You can host the trivia quiz through a platform like Kahoot, which keeps track of answers and winners in real-time.

You should have team members answer each question at the same time. The player who answers the most questions correctly and in the fastest time will be declared the winner.

Here are more team building trivia games.

2. Memory Bank

Out of the many retirement party games for work that you can play, Memory Bank is a way to honor and remember the good times your team has had with the retiree.

To play this game, you should have your team go through the following steps:

1. Begin by handing out note cards or lined paper to each party guest. Each teammate should write down their favorite memory about the retiree.
2. Once each participant has written down their memory, place all papers into a bowl.
3. Then, ask each attendee to pick a piece of paper at random.
4. Lastly, take turns reading the memories one by one. After each player reads the chosen memory, have all participants guess who the memory belongs to.

Memory Bank is one of the simplest small office retirement party ideas, not to mention an entertaining activity that will get your whole team thinking. This game is a great way to take a walk down memory lane with your entire team and the soon-to-be retiree.

3. Tributes and Praise

This office retirement party activity lets you shine the spotlight on the retiree and share nice words about their time on the team.

One way to conduct this activity is by going around the room and having each team member share a kind word or two about the honoree. Examples might include a compliment about their working style, personality, or even a shared memory. For example, it could be about the time that the retiree brought in donuts and bagels for a team breakfast on a Monday morning.

Besides speaking praises about the retiree, you can honor and pay tribute to them, such as:

• Creating a slideshow with pictures documenting the retiree’s time on the team
• Making a tribute video with teammates talking about the retiree
• Giving the retiree a personalized card signed by all team members
• Posting a heartfelt tribute on social media and tagging the retiree

Participating in this small office retirement party idea is an ideal way to show the retiree how much the team values and appreciates them.

Check out more employee recognition ideas.

4. Mad Libs

You may remember the game Mad Libs from your childhood. This game consists of filling in the blanks with nouns, adjectives, and verbs to create a funny and unique story. Surprisingly, Mad Libs also are great retirement party games for work.

We suggest researching online for this office retirement activity to find a retirement-themed Mad Libs game. You will find plenty of pre-made games, with options ranging from hilarious to heartfelt. Or, you can create a personalized template particular to the honoree.

Once you have chosen the template, print a few copies to distribute among partygoers. Then, you should give the group five to ten minutes to fill in the blanks and complete their Mad Lib.

After the game ends, go around the room and have each attendee read their Mad Libs story. You will undoubtedly hear crazy, funny, and maybe even heartfelt answers! As an additional step, you can collect the stories and give them to the retiree as a keepsake.

5. Pictionary

After years of collaborating with the retiree on various work projects, this game can be one final way to engage in teamwork and problem-solving.

To prepare for this game, begin by putting together a list of easy-to-draw office-related items. Then, split partygoers into two or more teams, depending on how many folks are in attendance.

Here are a few items you will need for a fun game:

• Paper
• Pens
• Whiteboard
• Markers
• Timer

You can begin the game by evenly distributing the office-related items to each team. Next, give the group time to determine an order for teammates to draw and guess. Then, it will be time to battle it out!

We suggest that each team take turns drawing and guessing for a smooth game.

You can play for at least four to five turns. Once Pictionary is over, tally up the points and crown your champions!

6. Retirement Bingo

A small office retirement party idea to consider is retirement Bingo. Similar to a traditional game of Bingo, you will need to distribute a set of cards to each player. However, instead of having letters and numbers in the spaces, you should add different traits or statements in each box.

Here are a few sample statements:

You will need to prepare the Bingo cards beforehand to ensure enough time to enjoy the game. If you do not have time to prepare the Bingo cards, we suggest searching online for an office Bingo game card template.

As you are conducting the game of retirement Bingo, we suggest having players chat with each other to find out who has completed specific actions on the Bingo card. Then, as they meet co-workers who have completed the actions, players can mark off their own boxes.

The first person to reach five in a row will be declared the winner of this retirement party game.

Learn about online team building Bingo.

7. Retirement Word Search

A word search is one activity to consider playing at your next retirement party. This game is classic and loved by many.

You should first put together a word search puzzle with various office or retirement-related words. We suggest incorporating terms such as:

• Congratulations
• Vacation
• Retirement
• Travel
• Dreams
• Joyful
• Commitment
• Fun
• Appreciation
• Relax
• Family
• Hobby

Plenty of templates are available online if you lack time to DIY a word search.

Once you have chosen your template, you should print a few copies and distribute them among your party guests. Then, you can give participants 10 to 15 minutes to focus on finding the words hidden in the puzzle.

If you would like to add an element of competition to this retirement party activity, then use a timer to set up a strict timeframe. Then, at the end of five minutes, note which player found the most words.

8. Bucket List Suggestions

Now that the soon-to-be retiree will have time on their hands, they might want to check off items from their bucket list. Chances are that other co-workers also have bucket lists of their own. This activity is a great way to give your retiree more ideas to add to their bucket list.

This activity is ideal if you are looking for indoor or outdoor retirement party ideas. First, find an area inside or outside where the entire team can gather. Then, go around the circle and have each employee share items on their bucket list. If you want to make the activity even more interesting, each participant can also share why they would like to accomplish this action.

If your team is stumped or does not have many suggestions to contribute, here are a few bucket list starting points to consider bringing up to the group:

• Bungee jump or skydive
• Travel to a specific country
• Take up a new hobby
• Write a book
• Learn an instrument
• Explore your local area
• Research your family tree and genealogy

To close out this office retirement activity, you should put the retiree in the spotlight and have them share what is currently on their personal bucket list. You can also ask them which items they plan on completing soon.

Sharing bucket list ideas is a great activity to get an engaging conversation among all your team members. Exchanging bucket list ideas is also an opportunity for attendees to share advice about how to pass the time in their co-worker’s new retirement life.

9. Mocktail Hour

Office retirement parties are joyous occasions where you celebrate a beloved co-worker’s long career and accomplishments. However, while you might want to pop the champagne and share drinks, you may not be able to indulge in alcohol during the workday.

If you are looking forward to mingling with each other and wish to incorporate a cocktail hour into your retirement party, we suggest serving mocktails, which are non-alcoholic drinks that resemble alcoholic drinks.

Mocktail suggestions:

• Moscow Mule
• Pina Colada
• Shirley Temple
• Strawberry Daiquiri
• Cosmopolitan
• Bahama Mama

With your mocktails in hand, you should take this opportunity to toast the soon-to-be retiree. Feel free to share special words about them and close out the mocktail hour with a spirited “Cheers!”

You could also create special-themed mocktails in honor of the retiree.

Here is a list of cocktail and mocktail kits.

10. Would You Rather

“Would You Rather” is a fun game to get the team thinking. To play this game, begin by writing down a list of scenarios. Here are a few examples of questions to include.

• Would you rather retire to a tropical location or a chilly location?
• Would you rather have your dream job but you can’t retire for 50 years or a terrible job, but you get to retire in 10 years?
• Would you rather attend a meeting or send an email?
• Would you rather get up early or sleep in?
• Would you rather drink coffee or tea?
• Would you rather stay in or go out?

After each player gives their answer, open up the floor for discussion.

Here are more would you rather questions.

11. Retirement Party Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are one of the best retirement party games for work that will get your teammates moving. To put together a successful scavenger hunt, you should follow the steps below:

1. Put together a list of items findable around the office. Think of general office supplies like notepads and staplers, and then include more specific items like a pink or green pen.
2. From the list, read one item at a time, and then set a timer for about 30 seconds. This will give all players 30 seconds to find each item one by one.
3. Assign points to each player who can collect the items within the given time limit.

As the game progresses, you can kick things up a notch by giving less time for each item. This  challenge will get your team member running around the room in excitement as they try to win the game.

Check out more scavenger hunt ideas for adults.

Conclusion

Retiring from a long and accomplished career is an important milestone in life. If a team member is going to retire soon, we suggest putting in a group effort to throw an unforgettable office retirement party full of memories, laughter, and fun.

Throwing an office retirement party is a fun activity and a great way to bring your entire team together one last time. You can think of the event as the final hoorah as you send a team member into the next chapter of their life. Therefore, office retirement parties should be joyous occasions where your entire team participates in the festivities and games.

As you plan your office retirement party, we hope you can benefit from and take advantage of our office retirement party ideas, games, and activities at your next get-together with your team.

Next, check out retirement books and years of service award ideas.