Be sure to brush up on Casual Friday policy before donning your new look. http://www.flickr.com/photos/irongategallery/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Hey, if you can’t loosen the tie a little on a Friday afternoon, when can you?  No, your college roommate’s wedding reception doesn’t count here.  And while we’re not condoning anything as reckless as roasting marshmallows [...]]]>

Hey, if you can’t loosen the tie a little on a Friday afternoon, when can you?  No, your college roommate’s wedding reception doesn’t count here.  And while we’re not condoning anything as reckless as roasting marshmallows in the break room microwave or a national “Bring Your Gila Monster to Work Day”, we are mildly suggesting you make the most of your Friday, although we’re sure you need not be reminded.  So following are our top 10 ways to express a little Friday fun, all without the addition of biting reptiles.

1.  Start a singalong with your coworkers.  (We like banjos.)

2.  Pack a picnic lunch and a really big blanket.  Invite your coworkers to join you for lunch at that little strip of grass next to the parking lot.  Be sure to prepare plenty of Kool-Aid.

3.  Wear platform shoes.

4.  Pass out Smarties and call people one.  (Warning: this does not work with Dum Dums.  Bad, bad idea.)

5.  On breaks, play hangman on the dry erase board in the breakroom.  Make sure to erase it afterwards and put back that important office announcement so no one thinks next Tuesday is a meeting about “_outh pa_k“.  (Take your time… we’ll wait.)

6.  Dress up as your favorite Alice in Wonderland Character.  What’s that?  You already wear a really big hat and a bowtie to work?  Okay, scratch that one.  No, hookahs are against company policy.  Scratch that one too.

7.  Play “Pin the Tail on the Annual Report”.  Get permission first.  Thumbtack marks are hard to remove.

8.  Serve a cheese fondu at the 3 o’clock break.

9.  Discuss perpetual motion.

10.  Play “Name that Tune”.  (Again, we insist on the banjo.)

And there you have our 10 suggestions for a little Friday fun.  Feel free to share your ideas too.  And yes, today’s article may seem to be short on substance at first glance, but hey, fun on Friday is a great way to ensure everyone comes back on Monday.  There’s no need to do all 10 things on the same day, either.  That would just get a little weird.  But adding a dash of the unexpected can go a long way to keeping the team feeling like a team.  Just keep the Gila monsters at home, alright?