Saying goodbye to a colleague who’s been part of the team for years isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be dull. A farewell party can be the perfect way to show appreciation, celebrate the journey, and create lasting memories. Whether it’s a cozy in-office gathering or an exciting virtual event, there are countless ways to make the goodbye both fun and heartfelt. In this guide, we’ll dive into creative and unique ideas to ensure that your coworker’s farewell is as special as they are. Let’s get the party started!

What to Do for a Farewell Party?

A well-thrown farewell party is a great way to send someone off from the company and help them feel special. They are an incredible way to build happy memories, help the person feel that you appreciate them and that you’ll miss them when they’re gone.  

So what to do?

Step 1: See Why They’re Leaving

Of course, there can be several reasons an employee leaves the organization. Knowing that reason is the first step to help you decide what kind of farewell party you want for them. For instance, if the person is leaving because they’ve retired, the farewell should be more retirement-themed. If they’re leaving because of a transfer, the party will call for something different. Decide the theme of the party from the reason for leaving.

Step 2: Decide the Venue 

Once you’ve decided on the theme, see where the party is going to take place. Now, there’s no need to be fancy choosing a venue for the farewell party. The venue can be as simple as your home where you can gather all your favorites. Next, prepare the guest list and send out the invites. You may want to do this in advance because guests need time to prepare for the party. 

Step 3: Don’t Forget Refreshments

You’re planning a going-away party and refreshments are a must. How far you want to go up with that is totally up to you. It could be a pizza party or a night of sushi, it all depends on your guests and your budget of course. 

Step 4: Keep the Party Alive

Whether it’s a virtual or a physical one, you wouldn’t want your guests to be bored while they’re at the party right? You need to prepare some games for the party. Think maybe a board game, setting up a booth for taking a photo with the guest(s) of honor, or how about seeing old photos of your journey with them and reminiscing the good times? More ideas are given below.

Step 5: Prepare Gifts 

There is no better way to make an employee feel loved than by purchasing them useful goodbye gifts. Gifts for the person who’s going away will go a long way in helping them always remember you. For instance, if they’re moving to a new place, they’ll love a useful gift for their new home.

Now let’s see some farewell party ideas for a coworker who is going away:

Farewell Party Ideas

A farewell party can be onsite or virtual and you can have fun both ways. Below are some farewell party ideas for both a virtual and a physical one: Let’s start!

Virtual Going Away Party Ideas

Take a Virtual Trip

For a virtual farewell party go on a virtual trip with your colleagues and the guest of honor with Woyago! Be it a virtual trip to Italy, a beautiful trip to Paris, or a wacky holiday to Spain, Woyago does it all, and that too virtually. What fun!

Online Games

A party without games is boring and a virtual party without games is even more so. But donut worry, online games from Confetti have got your back. For your virtual farewell party choose from various games such as Pictionary, taboo, charades, or escape quest and have a night full of fun and excitement.

Classic Trivia Games

Who says you need to be in the same room for an amazing trivia night during a farewell party? For your virtual farewell party, play an online trivia game to make things interesting. 

Sites like TriviaMaker or TriviaCrack are there to add the sizzle to your virtual going away party. From their vibrant websites to the cute games they offer, there’s so much to love about these trivia games. 

Virtual Werewolf 

Are your colleagues brave enough to try this game? Up next on our farewell party ideas is virtual werewolf.  In this game, one person is selected to be the werewolf. The host then guides your team through an interactive narrative where your goal is to successfully identify and exile the werewolf in disguise.

City Brew Tours

Add more sizzle to your farewell party with City Brew Tours. City Brew Tours provides customized craft beer-themed entertainment for virtual conferences and conventions of any size! Virtual experiences are hosted by their expert beer guides that make sure the experience is fully live and interactive. 

In addition, you can take their rent-a-guide option and have a real-life experience. They deliver tasting boxes filled with beer, cheese, chocolate, smoked meats, etc to all the people who’ve registered, allowing everyone in the session to see, hear and even taste the same things! Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

Would You Rather

Plan a game of would you rather with your colleagues at your farewell party. The idea is to choose between two options and see how many of your colleagues end up choosing the same thing. You can prepare your own contextual list of questions to double the fun or you can use this list of questions. This is a game for both virtual and physical parties.

Magic and Mentalism Show

It’s time for some magic! For your virtual going away party try something different. The magic and mentalism show is an alive and highly interactive magic performance, brought right to your home. In the show, The magician or illusionist performs a series of engaging magic tricks via Zoom with the active participation of your guests. You can check these guys out right here

Virtual Coworker Feud

Another fun farewell party idea is Virtual Coworker Feud. This team-building game is perfect t for any virtual party with your coworkers. In this trivia game, an entertaining host leads contestants through multiple rounds, alongside a lightning round. To win the round your team must guess the 5 most popular answers. At the end of the game, the tea with the most points is the winner. 

Learn Cooking Virtually

All the foodies assemble! This next virtual farewell party idea is going to make you have a party right now. You and your colleagues can learn how to cook anything from anywhere. 

You can learn how to create a seasonal dish from scratch, how to serve it, and what to drink alongside right here

Or you can try this experience that will take you on the journey of how “Alec’s” Ice Cream is made, and how to enjoy it. The best part is that the whole experience starts with a walkthrough of the production line, learning the story behind the brand then, actually tasting the ice cream. Yup! They will deliver 5 pints of ice cream right to your home at the end. 

Dance Virtually!

It’s a fact that dancing takes your stress away. Dancing causes your body to release endorphins that are natural painkillers and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress. So host a virtual dance at the farewell party and to make things interesting you can even decide on a theme. 

For instance, if you’d rather go with some 80s vibes, do that and you can explore some of the best disco dances. So pump up the volume and dance the stress away with your colleagues virtually!

Physical Going Away Party Ideas

If your organization hasn’t been remote lately, you can have a physical bash just like the old times. Here are some farewell party ideas for a colleague:

Make them Feel Valued

A goodbye party is an emotional time. It is also a great time to make your colleagues feel valued and special. So how can you do that? Farewell parties can be a great opportunity to celebrate your teammate’s efforts, both at work and personally. For this idea, prepare a list of all the achievements, memorable moments, good times, and all the times they made your life easier. 

When at the party, remind them of these moments. You can also ask people to bring in photos from fun moments at work, team trips, and other occasions. Not only will this help them feel valued but they’ll also remember it for a long time. 

Games for the Night

Parties are dull without some fun games. Just like in a virtual party, you can plan on many different types of games for the farewell party:

Charades 

Charades is always a fun game to play with many people sound. This game is especially enjoyable if the person who’s going away is a huge movie or songs fan. 

UNO

This card game is sure to bring out the inner child inside all of you. 

Treasure Hunt

Who doesn’t love treasure hunts? Hide some objects (keys, a scarf, etc) around the place and make a list of them. Divide your colleagues into teams and hand them this list of things that are hidden. At the end of the game, the team that finds the most number of objects will be the winner.

Did Someone Say Quiz?

  • Quizzes are super fun. For the farewell party plan a few questions around the person who’s leaving and see which of you all knows them the nest. the questions can be something like:
  • What’s Jack’s favorite movie?
  • How many dogs does Jack have?
  • What is Jack’s birthday?

A Halloween Themed Goodbye Party

Even if it’s not Halloween, a well-thrown spooky party is a great idea. Make it a costume party, play Halloween-themed music and watch it really take off. Plan around some horror stories, decide on a horror movie, and call it a night. Your colleague will surely remember this night for the rest of their life. 

Blindfolded Guess Game

For this game, everyone forms a circle and the guest of honor stays at the center of it. The person then has to go to each person in the circle and guess who they are by the touch of their hands. If they fail to do so, someone can give them a clue on who they might be. 

Suitcase Packing

For this going away party idea, pile a large bundle of clothes and give the players a suitcase one by one. The idea is to pack the clothes in the minimum time possible. The one who packs the most clothes in the least amount of time will win the game. Who knew packing a suitcase can be such fun?

Yay to the Food

What’s a party that doesn’t involve a lot of yummy food? The idea is to throw a lively dinner party for your colleague and invite all your favorites to make the place merrier. Each coworker can cook a favorite dish of the guest of honor or something to fit the subject. Other interesting ideas can be:

  • A lawn barbecue party
  • Food by the campfire
  • Brunch at the seaside
  • Snacks for picnic
  • Sushi dinner party
  • A food party but with lots of cocktail 

Ready to Throw an Amazing Farewell Party?

If you want to position your company well for the future, giving every employee a tasteful sendoff is a proper thing to do. Farewell parties not only make things memorable for the person who’s leaving but also help them feel seen and valued. Now it’s your time to take inspiration from this list of ideas and throw an awesome going away party for your colleague.