Here is our list of the best Father’s Day ideas for work.
Celebrants observe Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June in the US, UK, Canada, and other regions globally. Father’s Day office ideas are activities that you do to celebrate and acknowledge fathers among your workforce. Examples include Father’s Day gifts, dad joke contests, and lawn game tournaments. The purpose of these activities is to recognize and thank hard-working fathers for the sacrifices they make for their children and society. Father’s Day celebrations also make dads feel appreciated beyond their work in an organization.
These ideas are examples of office celebrations and are in-person versions of virtual Father’s Day activities. These celebrations are ways to have fun with employees at work.
This list includes:
- Father’s Day office event ideas
- Father’s Day activities for work
- Father’s Day games for work
- Father’s Day gifts for work
Here we go!
List of Father’s Day office ideas
You can make Father’s Day special for all dads in your workforce. From office BBQs to group runs, here are our best Father’s Day workplace ideas.
1. Father’s Day gifts
Father’s Day gifts for work are among the best ways to appreciate dads in your workforce. However, not just any gift is ideal for Father’s Day celebration. Be sure to offer thoughtful gifts to make dads in your workspace feel appreciated. To increase your brand’s visibility, go ahead and provide personalized swag boxes to all fathers in your workforce.
Examples:
- Personalized whiskey decanter
- Fleece blankets
- Temperature control coffee or tea mugs
- Sports swag
- A classic duffel bag
- Leather poker set
- Dad hat
- One month beer subscription
You can also engrave the gifts with a Father’s Day message. Each time fathers pick the present, they will remember the kind gesture from your company.
Another clever Father’s Day gift for work is creating goodie bags of items like crayons, coloring books, and stuffed animals for fathers to take to their children.
For more inspiration, check out these lists of company swag ideas and swag bag ideas.
2. Father’s Day messages
Sending thoughtful Father’s Day messages is a great way to appreciate dads. You can offer all dads in your team cards with thoughtful Father’s Day messages. You can also send a company-wide email commemorating all dads in the organization.
Example messaging:
- Fathers are strong rocks where children can find protection and support. Happy Father’s Day for being a rock to your children
- Thank you for the daily sacrifices you make for your children. Happy Father’s Day
- May you enjoy creating more memories with your children
- We appreciate you for your dedication and focus on raising strong, healthy, and independent children
- To the fathers who work hard to shape up the present and future generations, we see and appreciate you
Co-workers are also free to share thoughtful messages with fathers in the workforce.
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3. Special meal
Treating dads to a special meal is a great way to commemorate Father’s Day. For this activity, you can take fathers in your workforce to a restaurant.
For instance, you can take fathers out to experience a full course meal. You can also look for restaurants that offer Father’s Day specials. Or, go a notch higher and invite children to share the special meal with their fathers.
4. Family-friendly picnic
A family-friendly picnic is among the best Father’s Day office ideas to foster bonding between fathers and families. For this activity, invite families for an afternoon hangout. Outdoor office spaces are perfect venues for a family picnic. You can also head out to a community center or local park. You can either have takeout meals for all attendees or have a chef on location.
While at the park, engage the families in adult and kid-friendly activities. For instance, you can have water balloons, face painting, or potato sack races. You can also have a competition between dads such as kickball games or tug of war.
For similar activities, check out corporate family fun days.
5. Dad joke contest
If you are looking for fun Father’s Day activities for work, then you can try the dad joke contest. Dad jokes are pun-laden and groan-worthy humor. Dad jokes are often so bad, which makes them so good. For this activity, have a contest where fathers will share hilarious dad jokes with other participants. Prepare yourself for an afternoon filled with laughter.
Examples:
- Which computer has the best voice?- A Dell
- What did the buffalo say to his son on his way out? – Bison
- What do you call a bear without teeth? – A gummy bear
- What do you call a fake noodle? – An Impasta
- Why did the man fall down the well? – He did not see that well
- What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie? – Sofishticated
- I could tell a joke about pizza, but it’s a little cheesy
- Who should wake up and solve their problems? – Maths
- How do fish get high? – Seaweed
- What does a house wear to a party? – Address
The dad jokes with the most unpredictable puns win.
Check out this guide to workplace competitions and this list of icebreaker jokes.
6. Company excursion
Treating fathers to a company excursion is a great way to celebrate Father’s Day and foster bonding. You can look for events or outings that appeal to fathers in the office.
Examples
- Bowling
- Brewery tour
- Watch a live game
- Football tournament
- Bike tour
- Fishing
- Hiking
Be sure to schedule the company excursion during work hours so that fathers can spend more time with their children. Company excursions are among the best Father’s Day office event ideas that you can do to build camaraderie with your team.
Here are more company offsite ideas.
7. Father and child activities
Children love spending time with their fathers, more so fun activities. You can offer dads tickets or passes to fun activities that they can do with their children. When planning the passes, be sure to consider the children’s ages and preferred activities.
Examples:
- A zoo pass
- Movie nights
- Horse rides
- Amusement Park pass
- Local sporting events
- Barley dances
- Art drawing class
To make the day more memorable, have a card where children will list things they love about their father. The children will present the card on the way to the activity. Also, let dads take pictures during the event and share them with other employees.
8. Day off
Giving fathers a day off is a great appreciation of fatherhood. Fathers can choose to take children on a fun adventure or spend a fun day at home. For instance, you can give fathers the Monday off that falls after Father’s Day. For the best experience, be sure to alert the dads beforehand so they can plan the day accordingly. A Fathers’ Day off complements perfectly with tickets or passes that dads can enjoy with their children.
9. Picture framing
If you are looking for heart-warming yet simple ways to appreciate fathers in your workforce, then this idea is the best bet. For this activity, you can ask fathers to share pictures of their children a month before Father’s Day. Then, surprise fathers with a picture frame of their children alongside a thoughtful message. Fathers can choose to display the frames in their workspaces or at home. Picture framing is a personal gesture that allows fathers to celebrate fatherhood every day.
10. Lawn game tournament
Lawn game tournaments are the best Father’s Day games for work that you can use to bring the Olympic spirit to your office. Lawn games can improve your employees’ cognitive function, lower stress, and build social bonds with other fathers.
Examples:
- Molkky wooden pin and skittles- Participants will knock down the numbered pins. The first to reach 50 points wins.
- Cornhole – Participants will take turns throwing bags at their opponent
- Kubb Viking clash toss- Participants will use cylindrical batons to knock over the short wooden blocks on the opposite side of the field.
- Bocce- Participants will try to toss the balls and get as close to the Pallino as possible
Father’s Day lawn games are more interesting if you have the entire workforce watch and cheer teams. Be sure to keep the scores of each game, tally the points and announce the Father’s Day winner for each game.
For similar ideas, check out Office Olympics.
11. Karaoke
You may not know how good singers your employees are until you host a karaoke session. For this Father’s Day activity, invite all fathers to sing their favorite tunes as other colleagues watch. You will need to set up a simple stage with a microphone in the hall. Then, let fathers sing their song of choice as you record them.
You can give extra points for fathers who burst into dance moves while singing or those that have the best voice. Participants are also free to do karaoke as a group and even recreate popular bands. You can provide drinks for the entire workforce to sip as they enjoy the karaoke session.
12. Virtual reality experience
A virtual reality experience is an out-of-the box-idea to celebrate fathers in your workforce. You can rent out virtual reality equipment or take fathers to a local VR place. Fathers can explore a new world, go on fantastic adventures together or compete in games.
13. Personal wellness day
Promoting wellness in your company will boost employees’ productivity and make your team feel valued. For a Father’s Day personal wellness day, you can start the day off with a breakfast session as a nutritionist gives the team nourishment tips. Then, invite all fathers for a midday massage after lunch and have a meditation session in the afternoon.
You can also make Father’s Day memorable for your workforce by offering a full spa day on a weekday. For this work outing Father’s Day celebration, offer coupons that fathers can redeem at their spa of choice. You can also hand out self-care goodies such as lotions, shaving creams, and soaps. Promoting wellness will encourage fathers in your workforce to care for their mental and physical health.
Check out more employee wellness ideas.
14. Office BBQ
Celebrating the holiday with fantastic food and drinks is one of the most memorable Father’s Day activities for work. For this activity, schedule an entire afternoon where all fathers will fire up the grill and make delicious foods for the whole workforce. Be sure to have different meat platters, from fish, beef, chicken to pork.
Once the food is ready, let everyone have a plate and sip their drink of choice. Then, give each father three minutes to talk about their parenting experiences and advice, lessons learned, and things they wish they knew about fatherhood.
15. Beer tasting
A beer tasting is an activity that will allow fathers to experience new brews and bond with other dads. For the beer tasting activity, you can invite a local brewmaster and serve an assortment of lagers, ales, and IPAs. Fathers will bond as they experience the new brews and catch up on their fatherhood journeys. They might even find a new favorite and thank the company for the discovery! Be sure to offer a can or two of the new favorite beer and a bottle of wine that fathers can take their loved ones.
Here is a list of online beer tasting experiences.
16. Portrait contest
A portrait contest is an out-of-the-box and hilarious Father’s Day activity to engage the office dads. For this activity, provide fathers with portrait drawing essentials, including drawing papers and colored pens. Then, challenge fathers to create a picture of their children within five minutes. Participants will then present the masterpieces, and a judge or the crowd will pick a winner. Participants can choose to frame the portraits at home or display them at their office station.
17. Virtual take your child to work day
While the U.S celebrates the ‘’Take Your Child To Word Day’’ on the 22nd of April, you can encourage fathers to bring their children to work during Father’s Day. You can make the day more interactive by planning children’s activities.
Examples:
- Color the logo and mascot
- Write Father’s Day messages for their dads
- Take a tour around the office and talk to different workers
- Write three rules that children would implement if they were the CEO
- Create a resume using their skills and abilities
- Create a sales pitch and present it to the manager
- Solve a false company crisis
- Create social media posters
- Taste different snacks that the company sells and identify their favorite
For a successful take your child to work day activities, ensure that parents reveal their children’s age. The children will see their father’s busy schedules and appreciate them for their hard work both at work and at home. Be sure to offer gift baskets to children who accompany their fathers to work.
Here is a guide to doing take your child to work online.
18. Father’s Day icebreakers
Father’s Day icebreakers are one of the easiest Father’s Day office event ideas to kick off the day’s celebrations.
Examples:
- Have you ever lost a member of your family while out shopping?
- What is your proudest fatherhood experience?
- What is the best you ever received from your children?
- Have your children ever pranked you?
- What is the best museum you visited with your family?
- What is your earliest childhood memory?
- What is your funniest family story?
- What two words best describe your children?
- What is your child’s favorite movie?
Be sure to avoid inappropriate Father’s Day icebreakers, for instance, overly personal questions or prompts that promote stereotypes about fatherhood.
19. Father’s Day dance party
If you are looking for fun Father’s Day activities for work, then you must try the Father’s Day dance party. For this activity, you will invite children to accompany their fathers to work. Next, create a playlist that dads and children will dance to at work as other workers cheer. To make the dance party more interesting, set an incentive for duos that have the most creative dressing themes and dance styles. Be sure to take pictures and videos that the fathers can show off at work and home.
20. Father’s Day run
A Father’s Day run is a fun fitness event for your team. For this activity, you will schedule a race for all team players and their families. If you want your team to have fun and benefit the community, then be sure to seek donations towards a worthy cause. For instance, your team can have a Father’s Day run where proceeds will support homeless families.
To get every participant involved, have races for all ages. You can have a quarter-mile kids run, one-mile teen’s run, and walk and a five-kilometre adult’s walk or run. Participants can support the campaign by acting as race day volunteers handling registration, directing runners, and other key race activities.
21. Educational Father’s Day workshop
Planning an educational Father’s Day workshop for your workforce can help eliminate any prevalent parenting strain. Fathers can also learn how to achieve a work-life balance, responsible parenthood practices, and children and parent relationships. For the educational Father’s Day workshop, you can hire a parenting guide who will have an interactive session with fathers in your company.
For similar activities, check out virtual lunch and learns.
22. Skill building
Fatherhood can be a difficult journey. And most often, fathers sacrifice so much for their children. You can offer to pay for online classes for all fathers in your organization where dads can pick up new hobbies and skills quickly. You can ask participants to pick a dedicated hobby or something they would like to learn.
For instance, you may have a father who wants to perfect their gardening skill or one who wants to learn how to cook, paint, or bake. You can look for simple online classes that fathers can take within a specified timeframe. Subscription services such as Skillshare or Masterclass are great options if you have a diverse team.
23. Strong paternal leave policy
Paternal leave is when a father takes off work when their partner gives birth, becomes a foster parent, or adopts a child. A well-thought-out paternal leave policy will not only help fathers to feel appreciated but also attract and retain top talent. While paternal leave may vary between geographical locations, a strong paternal leave policy is a great way to celebrate new dads. When developing a paternal leave policy, monitor the state rules, consider employees’ needs, and be realistic about what your company can offer.
Conclusion
Celebrating Father’s Day at work shows that you care for your employees outside the workspace. Father’s Day celebrations will also encourage fathers to be more present in their children’s lives and create a healthy, confident, and emotionally secure generation. These activities will also foster team bonding in your workforce. To enable fathers to celebrate Father’s Day with their children, be sure to host the chosen activities on a weekday.
For more holidays in June, check out Juneteenth celebration ideas and virtual Pride Month ideas.
We also have a list of the best ideas for take your child to work day.
Grace He