So it is your favorite coworker's birthday next week and you want to surprise her. How do you decorate and celebrate without getting sent to the boss's office for bad behavior? Hopefully, you have an understanding boss with a sense of humor. If not, decorate subtly--or if you really want to go all out, this date may just be worth a small slap on the wrist.
For the Cubicle
Step one for any birthday are helium-filled balloons. Tie the balloons on each of the four corners of your coworker's cube, so everyone knows there's a party, then to his chair, computer mouse and anywhere else you deem fitting. String a Happy Birthday! sign across the cubicle entrance so he must duck to walk in and out all day. Cover open surfaces with streamers and confetti and tape a birthday card to his computer screen. If its one of the big birthdays, like 40, don't forget to remind him with You're 40! and Over the Hill signs plastered all over. At the end of the day, reward his patience with your crazy antics by surprising him with a gift and cake.
For the Office
If the birthday girl has an office with a door, sneak in before she arrives on her birthday. Cover her office with helium-filled and non-helium-filled balloons. Allow the balloons without the helium to carpet the floor, desk and chairs. Hang streamers from light fixtures and sprinkle confetti everywhere. Wrap a birthday hat around her computer screen and write Happy Birthday! on her white board. Also, hang a vertical Happy Birthday! sign from the ceiling, placed strategically in front of the door. If you can swing it, fill her office with balloons so when she opens the door, some come floating out, allowing everyone to see she is celebrating a birthday. When the day is over, offer to help her clean up, since you created the mess in the first place.
For the Group
If your place of work celebrates birthdays on a monthly basis, with anyone whose birthday falls within that month being recognized, be sure to spruce up the break room to allow the birthday men and women to feel special for a day. Place a large cake in the room with the names of each birthday employee for the month. Tie balloons to chairs and set a birthday hat on the table in front of each chair for each person celebrating a birthday to sit in during the celebration. A nice, personal touch is to hang a poster board for each person in the break room. Use them as a giant birthday cards and allow coworkers to write their birthday wishes to each person on the posters. At the end of the day, the birthday men and women may take their own card home or hang it up in their office space.
Tags: birthday, each person, Happy Birthday, office with, Birthday sign, birthday women, break room, celebrating birthday, computer screen, Happy Birthday sign