Planning on-going fun and celebration at work, with your family or friends is an excellent way to do group mental flossing. These ideas have been known to improve relationships, enhance creativity, make people feel appreciated, and build an invisible web of goodwill.

Most of the ideas below come from a survey of the most popular ideas used at medium to large organizations in North America. All the ideas have actually been tried, and more importantly, they have been accepted with joy and appreciation and have produced positive results for the organizations that tried them. Use these ideas or let them inspire you to customize your own for your group environment. Most of them cost little or nothing and require virtually no time beyond informing people about what’s happening. You can weave them into your day or use them to plan a special event. The most important thing is to not just talk about these ideas, but actually do them.

A. Fun Rituals:

1. Champagne Celebration: Maybe the office has just landed that big, long-fought-for account, or, perhaps the division has just had a productive week together. Why not celebrate working together—for any reason—with some champagne (or sparkling grape juice if you prefer)?

2. Kazoo Applause: At Apple Computers, during a quarterly meeting, they gave out kazoos to the whole group. Rather than applauding by clapping hands (how passé!), they hummed their acknowledgment with kazoos. How about trying slide whistles instead of gavels for formal meetings? In fact, how about asking for a standing ovation . . . right now?!

3. Noses: There are a variety of rubber animal noses and red foam or plastic clown noses—bring ’em in and wear for staff meetings, tough times, on Fridays, etc.

4. Laugh a Day: The corporate office of Bank of America issued a “Laugh a Day Challenge” to all its Northern California employees. For the entire month of April, employees were challenged to bring in a joke or cartoon every day to share with their co-workers. Those people successfully completing the Challenge were given a Corporate Challenge T-Shirt, and a book, internally published, filled with the best responses. [It’s important to note the spirit of the “challenge” NOT the “competition”. They weren’t looking for the best jokes to “win”, but simply the willingness to participate. Thus everyone wins, even the employees who did not bring in jokes, but who nonetheless got to hear them.]

5. Thanks in Advance: Sure we enjoy and deserve to celebrate and be acknowledged for our contributions when we retire. But, why wait?! How about a party and a celebration on the first day of a person’s joining your company/organization? What a great way to set the tone and include them as a member of the team.

6. Contests: Try these at lunchtime or at social events: Balloon shaving, Lip synch, Air band (or air orchestra), Worst Hair Day, Giant bubbles, Golf course.

7. Secret Pal: Have everyone in the office/organization/division/etc. write his/her name, address, phone number, birth date (actual date of birth for those with nothing to hide!), and a short list of things they like (such as: flowers, sports, chocolate, funny hats, exotic post cards, music, etc.). Fold and put slips in a hat. Then each person picks a slip — making sure that no one has picked their own name (if so, all slips go back in and try again). Once all slips are distributed and everyone has someone else’s name, the fun begins! You are the Secret Pal to the person whose name you’ve picked. Over the course of the Secret Pal experience (we recommend at least three months) your “mission” is to do creative, spontaneous, fun, and enlivening things for your partner…all anonymously of course. You might send flowers to his/her home; leave a note on her desk about how much you enjoy working together, or admire her professional competence, or appreciate his contributions to the organization; or, perhaps, simply send a Valentine’s card in September with a note that you just couldn’t wait until February to send your love. The important thing is to make it fun and uplifting–and impossible for your partner to guess who their Secret Pal is. And, of course, the extra special fun is that while you are being a Secret Pal to your lucky partner, someone else in the group is your Secret Pal, and is doing fun things for you! At the end of the predetermined time span, have a public event where Secret Pals are revealed.