Get Minneapolis Employees back in Office with these Happy Hour Ideas

Looking for ways to get employees back in the office? Nothing brings people together quite like the promise of a good time. Having a well-stocked liquor shelf (or closet) at the office paired with a fun social calendar is a great way to entice employees back. Here are some go-to classics to share with your team to make coming back into the office an exciting choice. 

Have Lots of Options 

Whether you want people to self-select to come back in or are making in-person days mandatory, sweeten the deal by having access to fun drinks. In order to keep as many people as happy as possible, you will want to have plenty of options on hand! Throwing an office party—whether for the holidays or just because—is the perfect way to strengthen your company's culture and cultivate relationships between employees.

To have a successful gathering, make sure your office has a little bit of everything. This way you are ensuring that all your employees can have an enjoyable post-work drink. For your office bar, consider having these liquors on hand:

• Clear
  • Tequila/Mezcal
  • Vodka
  • Gin
• Dark
  
  • Bourbon/Whiskey
  • Scotch
  • Rum
• Wine
  • Red
  • White
  • Bubbly
• Beer
  • Domestics
  • Hard Cider
  • Hard Seltzer

Be sure to include N/A options like pop, juices, or N/A adult beverages. Have mixing ingredients and tools on hand such as simple syrup, a cocktail mixer, and glasses to serve beverages.

Here is a little tip to help you calculate how much you need to buy to accommodate your office.

• One bottle of wine (750ml) contains about 5 glasses.
• One bottle of spirits (750ml) contains 17 shots (1.5 ounces each).
• Bottles or cans of beer…well, one per person.

Social Hour 

Now it’s time to come up with fun events to utilize your fully stocked office. To save on your creative juices, we came up with a few for you.

Beer Brackets

Have employees submit their favorite beers and hold a taste test between them. This is a fun way for team members to try new brews and learn something new about their co-workers. Whip up a quick bracket (something like this will do), and let the games begin! 

Weekly Wine Tastings 

Try incorporating weekly wine tastings into your office happy hour. Each week, have a different employee bring in a bottle for everyone else to try. Have people guess what they’re tasting and pair the wines with light snacks to round out the event.

Maybe your employees will bring in a wine from a trip they recently took or a wine that has a special memory attached. Weekly wine tastings are a great way to get employees talking about their interests outside of work and to share a bit more about themselves! 

Themed Happy Hours

If you are looking to go one step further, consider embarking on themed happy hours! This can encompass anything your heart desires from murder mysteries to luaus! Try to plan these ideas out a few months in advance to give employees something to look forward to. Here are some unique ideas to run past your party planning committee.

• Designated Bartender
  • Select a new employee each month to make their favorite drinks for the rest of the crew! It’s a great conversation starter, a way to try new things, and a way to expand everyone's mixology skills.
• Sports Themed
  • Everyone loves a good sports-related party. From the Super Bowl, Olympics, or Kentucky Derby, stream the big event and hold an office party with plenty of on-theme drinks and foods (maybe costumes, too!).
• Birthday
  • Another great way to get people into the office is to celebrate someone's birthday! Having people gather at the office to celebrate their big day is very special. Who doesn’t like to be celebrated? 

Recipes 

With these great ideas, we thought we would throw in a few crowd-pleasing and office-related cocktails for you and your employees to enjoy. 

Spiked Coffee

Caffeine and alcohol, c’mon, what more could you want from a beverage? You will need the following to make 1 drink. 

2 oz Irish Whiskey 
1 tsp ground espresso
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp hot water
3 oz cold brew coffee
Fresh cream

Simply use your leftover brew from the workday and add in the remaining ingredients for this delicious drink. You can use hot coffee (instead of cold brew) if you are looking to make a warmer beverage! 

5 O’clock Somewhere 

Rightfully named, you will need the following to make 4 drinks. 

1 Can Daiquiri Mixer
1 Cup Vodka
1 Bottle Sparkling Wine
4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
4 Cups of Ice
1 Lemon for Garnish

Add all the ingredients into a bowl, stir, then serve in a cup with a lemon slice garnish. This is a great option for larger parties or happy hours! 

Gin and Tonic

2 ounces gin
4 ounces tonic water
Garnish: 2 lime wheels or other seasonal garnishes you may prefer

Put an ice cube in a cup and add your liquids. This super easy crowd-pleaser will not disappoint. 

Vinegar Mocktail 

And since you’re probably wondering, no, once all of the ingredients are mixed together, it does not have an overpowering vinegary flavor–it's actually quite refreshing. As we said earlier, it's good to have a variety of options–recipes too–for happy hour, so give it a try!

4 large ice cubes
1 oz flavor-infused balsamic vinegar
4 oz sparkling water
A squeeze of citrus
Herbs or fruit to garnish

Add all your ingredients into a glass, stir, and enjoy! 

There you have it, a list of what you need to fully stock your office, fun happy hour ideas, and a few recipes to try out. Socializing is a huge piece that people miss when working from home. By making your office a fun place to be, you may be surprised at how quickly your employees start coming in regularly!