20 Amazing Farewell Party Ideas for Coworkers

It doesn’t matter how amazing your company culture is. Eventually, your employees will leave.

Some of them might accept other jobs with better pay. Others might reach the end of their working lives and retire to a beach in Florida. That’s just the way these things go.

The question is, how will you and the rest of your team say goodbye to these departing employees? A stellar farewell party, of course!

Farewell parties are an important tradition in the workplace. They offer a chance to celebrate a coworker’s contributions, strengthen team bonds, and provide closure as someone moves on to new opportunities. But a farewell party that falls flat can do more harm than good.

To ensure your coworker farewell party is a positive and memorable experience, you need to plan an event that suits the guest of honor’s personality and preferences. In this article, we’ll share 20 farewell party ideas to help you organize a celebration that will be remembered for years.

Why are Farewell Parties Important?

Before we dive into our 20 farewell party ideas, let’s discuss why these celebrations are so important. A well-executed farewell party can offer numerous benefits for the departing employee, their team, and the company as a whole. That’s because these parties:

• Recognize Contributions: A farewell party is a chance to formally acknowledge and appreciate the departing employee’s hard work and dedication to your company.
• Boost Morale: Celebrating an employee’s tenure, even as they move on, can boost team morale and foster a positive company culture for remaining team members.
• Strengthen Bonds: Farewell parties provide an opportunity for colleagues to connect on a personal level and strengthen team bonds that will improve their performance.
• Provide Closure: Saying goodbye in a positive and supportive environment allows for closure and helps maintain goodwill between the departing employee and the brand.

20 Farewell Party Ideas for Coworkers

You want to host a memorable send-off for a cherished employee—but how? We’ve compiled a list of the 20 best farewell party ideas to make sure your shindig is one for the record books.

Farewell Party Ideas

We’ll start with a few general party ideas.

Whether you’re hosting an office farewell party or renting a separate venue, inviting family members, and really trying to knock it out of the park, these ideas will help.

1. Choose a Party Theme

The right party theme will instantly elevate your farewell party.

Why? Because it will turn a simple gathering into an immersive experience. (This is especially true if you decide to host a surprise party for your soon-to-be ex-coworker.)

Plus, party themes provide a creative framework for decorations, activities, and even food and drinks—all of which will help you create a cohesive and memorable event. Best of all, you can choose a theme that reflects your guest of honor’s personality or interests.

Popular farewell party themes include “Bon Voyage,” “Time to Fly,” “Adventure Awaits,” “Cheers to New Beginnings,” and “Roasting and Toasting.” But of course, you can choose any theme you want, just as long as it’s something that your departing employee will enjoy.

2. Decorate the Venue

Now that you know what your party theme is, you can decorate your venue. Doing so will help set the mood, create a festive atmosphere, and otherwise improve your get-together.

The way you decorate is completely up to you. Hang streamers, blow up balloons, purchase fancy tablecloths and centerpieces. Just make sure the decorations you add match your theme and will be enjoyed by your guests.

To be clear, this party idea isn’t necessary. But thoughtful decorations will definitely elevate the experience you create and make your coworker’s send-off unforgettable.

3. Sign a Group Card

Next, create a group card for your entire team to sign.

A group card is a heartfelt and personal way to celebrate a departing employee during their farewell party. It allows colleagues to express their appreciation, share memories, and offer well wishes in a tangible keepsake that the guest of honor can cherish forever.

Worth mentioning, digital group cards can be customized with written text, photos, and videos. So they definitely have an advantage over physical, paper-based group cards.

Tools like Kudoboard make it easy to create beautiful and collaborative digital group cards. Simply sign up for the service, invite your team to join, and unleash your creativity.

4. Give a Farewell Gift

If you really want to knock your departing employee’s socks off, give them a farewell gift.

This is a great way to show your appreciation for their hard work during their time with your organization. It will also remind them of you and your team in the future.

To choose a quality farewell gift, consider the employee’s interests and personality type. A personalized item, such as a custom-made piece of jewelry or a framed photo collage, can be a cherished keepsake. But more practical gifts are a great option too.

For example, a nice ballpoint pen, a high-quality notebook, or a gift card to their favorite store can work really well. For a more unique touch, consider experience-based gifts, such as tickets to a concert, a cooking class, or even an upcoming industry conference.

5. Hand Out Party Favors

Oh, consider handing out party favors when guests leave your farewell gathering too.

These small tokens of appreciation not only extend the festive spirit but also serve as keepsakes that will remind attendees of the celebration and the departing coworker.

Since we’re talking about work-related farewells, choose party favors that reflect your company’s culture or the guest of honor’s role. Customized mugs, notebooks, and/or desk accessories can be practical and sentimental party favors to give away.

Alternatively, opt for items that relate to the party theme you’ve chosen. Mini succulents for a “Growth and New Beginnings” theme or luggage tags for a “Bon Voyage” theme are winners.

Farewell Party Games

We’ve covered the basics. Now it’s time to talk about farewell party games. Because every farewell party should have games to honor a departing coworker. Here are a few options:

6. Guest-of-Honor Trivia

Guest-of-honor trivia is a super fun game for farewell parties. This is especially true if you choose questions that celebrate the soon-to-be ex-employee’s contributions and personality.

Just like normal trivia, participants get a point for every correct answer they give. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins. Here are a few questions you could ask:

• What is the guest of honor’s favorite food?
• What is the guest of honor’s most embarrassing work moment?
• What is the guest of honor’s dream vacation destination?
• What is the guest of honor’s hidden talent?
• What is the guest of honor’s favorite inside joke with their colleagues?

7. Suitcase Packing Game

Turn your farewell party into a packing party!

The suitcase packing game is a lighthearted way to celebrate the guest of honor’s next adventure. It will also get everyone in a good mood and involved in the festivities.

To play, you’ll need a large suitcase, a timer, and a list of items that the departing employee might need on their next adventure. These items can be anything from articles of clothing and essential toiletries to more sentimental items like photos and souvenirs.

Once you have everything ready, set the timer for 5 minutes and let the guest of honor start packing. The other attendees can watch and cheer them on, or they can help them pack. At the end of the 5 minutes, the main employee opens the suitcase to reveal what they’ve packed. The other guests can then guess what each item is for and why it was chosen.

8. Team Sports Competition

If your business is full of sports enthusiasts, host a team sports competition during your farewell party. Doing so will encourage teamwork and friendly competition, and create memories.

The trick is choosing sports that are suitable for all fitness levels and abilities, such as:

• Volleyball: The classic game is known by all and easy to play.
• Kickball: This twist on baseball is perfect for a large group of people.
• Bocce ball: The Italian lawn game can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
• Mini golf: This activity is great for people who want a bit of friendly competition.

9. Escape Room Extravaganza

Have you ever played an escape room game? Then you know how fun they can be.

For the uninitiated, participants are locked inside a room and must solve puzzles to escape within the allotted time. Because of this, they’re excellent team-building activities.

Now, there are two ways you can host an escape room during your farewell party. One, you can come up with the theme, storyline, and clues yourself. Then you can set up the activity in your venue. Two, you can head to a professional escape game location in your local area.

Whichever path you choose, your team is sure to have a fantastic time. And your departing employee will have one last problem to solve with their old team. Perfect!

10. Giant Board Game Tournament

Board games have had a huge resurgence in recent years. If your almost ex-employee is a big-time gamer, host a board game tournament to commemorate their time with your team.

Classic board games like Scrabble, Monopoly, and Clue could be fun. But newer favorites like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, or Codenames are excellent options as well. You can even set up multiple game stations to cater to different preferences and group sizes.

At the end of the day, a board game tournament will help create a lively and interactive atmosphere, and make your coworker’s farewell party an event to remember.

Farewell Party Activities

Games aren’t the only form of entertainment you can use to create a memorable farewell party. You can plan exciting activities for attendees too. Here are a few examples:

11. Sing Karaoke

There’s a reason why every bar in America hosts karaoke night.

This activity will allow your entire office to let loose, showcase their singing talents (or lack thereof), and create a lighthearted and celebratory atmosphere.

Encourage everyone to participate, including the departing colleague. And choose songs that are meaningful to the team or reflect the personality of your honored guest. These two things will ensure your Karaoke activity leads to laughter, bonding, and potentially, nostalgia.

12. Rent a Photo Booth

The best farewell parties celebrate coworkers and create new memories. Help your team capture those special moments by setting up a photo booth for them to use.

You can rent a professional photo booth. Or, if money is tight, you can create your own. All you have to do is find an appropriate backdrop, set up your camera, put up a few lights, provide props for your employees to use, and let your colleagues showcase their inner supermodels.

Basically, a photo booth is a simple way to add fun and personalization to your coworker’s farewell party, which will help ensure it’s a gathering they won’t soon forget.

13. Host a Scavenger Hunt

Bring a sense of adventure to your farewell party and host a scavenger hunt.

For a simple, laidback activity, hide items around your venue and let your team race to find them. The first person to collect all the items wins a prize. For a more challenging activity, hide items outside your venue. Then give participants clues to guide them to each hidden object.

Scavenger hunts encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and friendly competition. Can you think of a better way to entertain party guests and honor your departing team member?

14. Walk Down Memory Lane

Your soon-to-be ex-colleague is a great person—you wouldn’t be throwing them a party if they weren’t. So, it’s reasonable to think that you made a lot of good memories with them.

Find a way to publicly recall these memories during your farewell party.

For example, you could create a memory wall for your departing employee and ask your colleagues to add mementos to it. Or, you could gather everyone in a circle to recount their favorite story involving this special person. Whatever you decide, bring tissues!

15. Cater a Delicious Meal

Eating tasty food is an activity, right?

Ask attendees to bring their favorite dishes and create a farewell party buffet. Or hire a professional caterer to feed your team. You can even book a reservation at a local restaurant.

The point is, food makes every gathering better. Feed your guests’ bellies and they’ll have a better time, which will make the entire shindig more successful.

Virtual Farewell Party Ideas

What if you manage a distributed team? You’re probably not going to fly your employees in for a farewell party. Good news: you don’t have to. Just host a virtual get-together instead.

16. Choose a Platform

You can’t host a virtual farewell party without reliable software.

Platforms like Zoom and Google Meet offer user-friendly interfaces, HD video and audio quality, and the ability to host large groups. But they’re far from the only options. Do a bit of research to find the best video conferencing tool for your farewell party’s needs.

This begs the question, what’s the “best” platform? That’s simple: it’s the one that you like using, has the features you want, and won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

17. Play a Game

Spice up your virtual farewell gathering with a game or two.

Many of the game ideas we shared earlier can be played by remote attendees. You’ll just need to make a few adjustments. A virtual escape room is a good example. Other options include Bingo, Pictionary, Family Feud, and “Guess the Team Member”.

If you don’t feel comfortable hosting virtual games yourself, you can always hire a professional. There are plenty of hosts with experience in the realm of digital events. Give them a call.

18. Host Activities

What if a virtual game doesn’t fit your farewell party’s vibe? Plan an activity instead.

For example, you could host a virtual scavenger hunt. Every team member gets a list of items to find or actions to complete in their own space. The person who finds/does them first wins.

There are tons of other virtual activities you could plan, too. How does a virtual trivia game sound? Or a virtual talent show? Maybe a virtual photo sharing challenge is more your speed.

Here’s the deal: a virtual activity will elevate your entire event. Plan one to make your digital gathering more memorable and give your beloved colleague the send-off they deserve.

19. Deliver Food

Remember what we said earlier? Food makes every gathering better.

While you won’t be able to sit at the same table as your remote colleagues, you can still share a meal with them. Have food delivered to their house via Uber Eats, DoorDash, or a similar service. Then ask every attendee to stuff their faces at the same time.

20. Make It Fun!

We know… you hate video conferences. After all, as a remote professional, you attend an ungodly amount of Zoom meetings, and those are almost always boring.

Guess what—virtual farewell parties can be extremely fun. You just have to work a little harder to create an engaging event. Implementing the tips we’ve already shared will do the trick.

But don’t be afraid to get creative too. For example, you can ask attendees to invite a family member to attend the digital shindig with them. This will help you get to know your employees on a deeper level and make the event more memorable for your departing colleague.

Do what you have to do to make your virtual farewell party as good as it can be!

Bid Farewell With a Group Card

A stellar farewell party will recognize your departing coworker for their contributions, boost morale for remaining team members, and give everyone who attends closure.

To make sure your party is as memorable as possible, create a digital group card.

Kudoboard is the ideal platform for this. Our tool is extremely user-friendly and won’t break the bank, with tons of creative ways to help your team say goodbye to a beloved coworker.