24 Best Farewell Party Ideas for Colleagues

Here is our list of farewell party ideas.

Farewell parties are events or get-togethers that celebrate an employee’s departure from a company and show appreciation for their service. Examples include Treasure Hunts, Cocktail Parties, and Comedy Shows. The purpose of these activities is to foster team bonding and appreciate former employees for their dedication to the company. These events are also known as a “sendoff party,” “despedida party,” “leaving party,” or “going away party.”

These occasions are examples of office parties and are in-person versions of virtual farewell parties or virtual retirement parties.

This list includes:

• farewell party ideas for colleagues
• farewell games for colleagues
• farewell theme ideas
• farewell party ideas for students
• leaving party ideas
• farewell party programs
• going away party ideas
• fun activities for farewell parties

Let’s get to it!

List of farewell party ideas

From a Farewell Party Buffet to Team Sports Day to Photo Booth, here is a list of the best ideas for a farewell party.

1. Bon Voyage Bash

Bon Voyage Bash is among the top farewell theme ideas. This theme turns the farewell party into a travel-themed adventure. Coworkers who are traveling during the next part of their lives will love this bash. To create this theme, decorate the venue with world maps, travel quotes, and luggage tags to set the mood. Guests can share their travel tips and offer well-wishes to the individual leaving. You can also match the food and drinks to your colleague’s new destination.

2. Farewell Party Decorations

Farewell Party Decorations are easy going away party ideas that employees can use to surprise departing colleagues.

To organize this activity:

1. Set up a committee of workers to decorate the office secretly without alerting departing employees.
2. Buy decorations like flowers, balloons, and block letters spelling farewell.
3. Decorate the departing employee’s workspace.
4. Surprise the employee with the decorations.

These decorations are great ways to make departing employees feel special and loved by teammates. It is important that the employee does not expect this kind gesture. Making the decorations a surprise will make the experience all the more special and appreciated.

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3. Guest-of-Honor Trivia

Guest-of-Honor Trivia is a fun game that tests how well colleagues know the departing employee. To play this game, write down the questions on a card and give a piece to each worker. The colleagues get a point for every correct answer.

Some questions for this game include:

• How long has the employee worked in this company?
• What position did the employee fill?
• What is the departing employee’s favorite color?
• What is the employee’s favorite song?
• What is the employee’s favorite movie?

You can also play this game with remote teams over a Zoom call. This game teaches employees important facts about their departing colleagues and helps improve team bonds.

Here are more trivia games for team building.

4. Suitcase Packing Competition

Suitcase Packing Competition is a fun, fast-paced game that employees can play outdoors.

To organize this activity:

1. Set up two tables.
2. On one table, arrange some travel items, like toiletries, clothes, shoes, and towels.
3. Across the other table, place a piece of luggage and zip it closed.
4. Players will stand in front of the luggage and race toward the travel items.
5. Colleagues will pick one item at a time and arrange it in the luggage.
6. Workers will race back and forth until they have gathered all the items.
7. The first player to properly pack and zip up the bag wins the game.

This exciting activity promotes engagement and interaction between colleagues. This activity will create a laughter-filled environment, reducing the gloom and sadness associated with a departing colleague.

Check out more outdoor team building activities.

5. Travel Down Memory Lane

Travel Down Memory Lane is one of the top leaving party ideas that helps colleagues remember important dates and shared memories with departing employees.

To organize this activity:

1. Employees sit in a circle with the departing employee in the middle.
2. Colleagues will share good memories they have with the employee while they worked at the company.
3. If the memory is accurate, the departing employee will reply, “I remember.” If it is not, they will share their version of that memory.
4. The game will continue in this fashion until each worker has shared the good memories they had with their departing colleague.

This activity is one of the best farewell party ideas for colleagues because it encourages team members to discuss happy memories.

6. Personalized Farewell Awards

Creating Personalized Farewell Awards is a fun way to celebrate your colleague one last time. Before the party, work with the team to come up with lighthearted award titles based on the departing colleague’s personality. For example, Gadget Guru, Excel Wizard, and Lunchtime Legend. You can order real awards or make handwritten ones. During the event, give your colleague these awards and share the stories that inspired them. Your colleague can bring these awards with them to their next adventure.

Check out these online award ceremony ideas.

7. Interactive Map of Memories

For a personalized touch, create an Interactive Map of Memories for the departing coworker. For this experience, print out a large map of your city or state. Then, give guests notes and push pins. Attendees can write workers’ achievements on the notes. Next, teams can pin the notes on locations where significant milestones happened. For instance, pins could represent the location of a new business opening or a fun ceremony. This interactive map is a visual representation of your colleague’s time and is also a unique keepsake.

8. Escape to the Future Challenge

Escape rooms are one of the top fun activities for farewell parties. To make this activity fitting for a farewell party, host an Escape to the Future Challenge!

Here is how to host this activity:

1. Come up with a futuristic escape room story. Examples include Mission to Mars, Time Travel Lab, and Robot Uprising.
2. Create puzzles, riddles, and challenges that match the story.
3. Gather materials for the puzzles and decorations.
4. Set up the event in a large office space.
5. Set a timer for an hour, and let teams play the game!

Alternatively, you can look for a local escape room company that offers future-themed rooms or can create a custom experience for you. Escape rooms are a great opportunity to bond one last time!

Here is a list of more DIY escape room puzzle ideas.

9. Themed Potluck Farewell Feast

Potlucks are among the easiest and most popular farewell party ideas for students. You can add a potluck to your farewell party by having a Themed Potluck Farewell Feast! For this activity, ask partygoers to bring a dish based on your departing friend’s cultural background or future destination. With this idea, groups can celebrate the departing student’s past and future. Participants could also make dishes that represent experiences they have had before, such as former team building events. This potluck encourages folks to reminisce and also offers a great meal!

10. Future Predictions Game

The Future Predictions Game is a fun way to send off a colleague! Participants make lighthearted predictions about the departing colleague. Before the farewell party, write a list of prompts or questions related to the coworker’s future and pass it out. During the event, ask each participant to share their predictions. Then, collect all the predictions into one book and give it to the leaving colleague for a keepsake. This optimistic game is a fun addition to the farewell party.

11. Career Highlight Show

Career Highlight Shows are excellent opportunities for departing employees to watch their company journey from beginning to end. This highlight show can contain images of awards and promotions the employee has received since they began working with the company.

To organize a career highlight show, curate images of the employee at work, during special moments with colleagues, receiving awards or certificates, and earning promotions or badges. You can compile these images into a file with good music, then present the content in a slideshow for the whole team to watch. This show highlights a worker’s achievements and shows you will always remember and appreciate them.

12. Employee Farewell Ritual

An Employee Farewell Ritual is an uncommon practice that employers can use to promote the company culture. For this ritual, departing employees must complete a set of activities or rites before leaving the company. These rites help keep their memories alive within the company when they leave and ensure that the company remembers their services after they leave.

Some examples include:

• engraving their initials on a wall in the company
• placing their name plates alongside several others in the company glass case
• planting a tree before leaving

These practices make the thought of leaving the establishment bittersweet because their memories will not just fade away. The departing employees will be happy knowing that their names and achievements will live on within the company even after they leave.

13. Ice Sticks

Ice Sticks are excellent one minute farewell games for colleagues. For this game, you will need a bowl of ice cubes and chopsticks.

To organize this activity:

1. Arrange two tables on different sides of a field and set a bowl on top of each one.
2. Pour ice cubes into one bowl and leave the second bowl empty.
3. Give each player a pair of chopsticks.
4. The players will pick an ice cube with the chopsticks and drop it in the empty bowl across the field.
5. Players can walk, jog, or run, but they must not drop the ice cube.
6. Teammates will repeat this process until they have filled the empty bowl.
7. The first player to fill their bowl within one minute wins the game.

To give this game an edge, teammates can play when it is sunny. The sunny weather will melt the ice as employees race against time to carry the ice across the field. This one minute game is an excellent way to keep workers engaged and enjoy a great time with departing employees.

Check out our list of other minute to win it games.

14. Team Sports Day

Team Sports Day is an exciting activity where colleagues compete against each other in various activities like football, volleyball, or relay races.

To organize this activity:

1. Find an open space for the games.
2. Split players into teams. You can choose teams based on things like gender or departments in the office. For example, the groups could be male versus female employees or managing department versus HR department.
3. Choose any sports game for the teammates to play.
4. The best-performing team wins the game and gets a prize.

This exercise is a great way to promote teamwork and build employee camaraderie. Employees will also get to take pictures of memorable moments during the event, focusing mostly on the departing employee.

For similar events, check out team field day ideas.

15. Farewell Scavenger Hunts

Farewell Scavenger Hunts are among the best farewell party ideas for employees. In this activity, team members will search the office for different farewell gift items within a given time.

To organize this activity:

1. Hide different items around the office. Examples include a farewell note, a bouquet of flowers, and a gift set.
2. Set a timer for one minute.
3. Players must gather all the hidden items before the timer runs out.
4. Players will present the collected items to the departing employee.

This game gives employees the chance to surprise their colleagues with farewell gifts. The most exciting part is that the departing colleague will not guess this game is about them since they will actively gather these items.

Here are more scavenger hunt ideas for adults.

16. Farewell Party Buffet

Farewell Party Buffets are excellent office farewell party ideas for bosses because they allow employees to connect, interact, and engage with their superiors.

For this event, you can pay for a catering service to prepare several food, snacks, and dessert platters. You can arrange these meals on a long table and allow team members to serve themselves. You could also serve a variety of drinks to go along with the dishes. Additionally, these gatherings allow elite clientele to bid farewell to the departing or retiring bosses alongside the workforce.

Here are corporate catering companies you can use.

17. Cocktail Party

Cocktail Parties are excellent social gatherings where employees can enjoy tasty mixed drinks. This event allows workers to interact, discuss, and even get to know each other better.

These gatherings also allow employees to celebrate departing employees and offer toasts in their honor. Additionally, you can play good music for employees to dance together and enjoy each other’s company.

You can create a special cocktail and have coworkers toast the honoree.

Check out work happy ideas for more inspiration.

18. Comedy Show

Comedy Shows are hilarious farewell party programs where employees share funny jokes and anecdotes. You may invite a comedian for this event or encourage employees to share funny experiences or stories featuring the departing colleague.

You can also host this event for remote teams by meeting using any video conferencing tool. The employees will take turns trying to crack the team up by sharing jokes or stories. This activity helps create a fun and happy environment where employees can be themselves and enjoy talking to each other.

19. Photo Booth

A Photo Booth is one of the best farewell party ideas because it allows employees to create lovely memories and take pictures with departing employees.

To organize this activity:

1. Set a theme. For example, themes with planes, cars, or trains signify a send-off.
2. Find a suitable backdrop. Some good ideas include a map, a vinyl backdrop, or a paper backdrop.
3. Choose props, such as wide-brimmed hats, oversized glasses, fake noses, and mustaches.
4. Set up your lighting.
5. Choose a good camera. Polaroid cameras are great options because they allow users to print images on the spot.

Photo Booths are one of the best ways to celebrate staff leaving an establishment because they allow departing employees to take pictures and connect with different colleagues within the company. These pictures will remind them of this farewell party and help them create lovely memories of the event.

20. Karaoke

Karaoke is a simple activity where employees sing along to their favorite songs by following lyrics displayed on a screen. To recreate this activity in the office, you will need a projector and a curated playlist of farewell songs.

Teammates who want to participate may choose any song from the playlist and sing along as the lyrics appear on the wall. This heartfelt performance may also serve as a tribute to the departing employees. This activity is an excellent way for employees to show appreciation for employees leaving a company.

Here are some high energy songs the group can sing.

21. Most Likely To

Most Likely To is a simple game where teammates choose which descriptive word best suits their colleagues.

Some prompts for this activity include:

• most likely to come to a meeting late
• most likely to be caught at the cafeteria before lunch starts
• most likely to go on a shopping spree
• most likely to watch an entire movie series in one night
• most likely to work overtime

This game helps employees test how well they know each other and give colleagues the chance to learn interesting facts about each other. These prompts can also serve as great conversation starters, which promote employee interaction and engagement.

Check out more most likely to prompts.

22. Tug of War

Tug of War is a challenging game that employees can play in teams. For this game, split the workers into two teams. Then, give both teams each end of a rope. Next, draw a long line between the groups, and at the sound of a whistle, the players must pull their side of the rope as hard as possible.

The teams must try to avoid crossing the line. The first group to drag the opposing team across the line wins. This game challenges employees physically and mentally because they must use their strength and wit to win. To incorporate this into a farewell party, have departing employees head the teams. This gesture gives them a sense of belonging and gives them one final role at work before they leave.

23. Create a Memory Book

Creating a Memory Book makes a tangible gift for workers leaving a company. This book will contain cutouts, pictures of memorable events with colleagues, and other employee signatures. Colleagues can also write a kind word or two in this book to encourage the worker on their new journey.

This scrapbook will give departing employees something physical they can remember the company and colleagues by when they leave. The employees can even offer tiny tokens, such as flowers, pebbles, or buttons that the worker can glue into the book alongside any picture or photo they may share with their colleague.

24. Online Send-Off Speech

Online Send-Off Speeches are among the best ideas for virtual farewell parties because they allow employers to praise and celebrate departing employees and their contributions to the company.

To organize this activity:

1. Customize a virtual space using different pictures of the departing employee as a background image.
2. The employer will talk about the departing worker’s time at the company. Some important highlights of this speech include the employee’s start, achievements, important contributions, awards, and exemplary characteristics.
3. Other colleagues can also get a minute or two to share some noteworthy characteristics they admire about the employee.

This speech will give departing workers a sense of pride and fulfillment and leave colleagues with a lasting good impression of the departing worker.

You can start the speech with some funny icebreaker jokes.

Conclusion

Farewell party ideas are memorable events celebrating employees leaving a company. These events commemorate the employee’s years of service, achievements, and dedication to the company. Workers can play an active role in these celebrations by decorating the departing employee’s workspace, making a memory book, or curating a farewell playlist.

These events make departing employees feel special, loved, and appreciated. These activities also give employees who are leaving a company the chance to play games, interact, and engage with colleagues before they depart.

Next, check out our lists of retirement gift ideas and well wishes.