Leaving or retirement party: 15 games and ideas for a send-off people remember

To make a leaving party memorable, plan a short game that involves everyone (a quiz about the person leaving, photo challenges, anecdote bingo), then a moment for speeches and the gift, and finish with a shared keepsake such as a photo guestbook. Allow one to two hours in total: a leaving do is not an all-nighter, and the best ones are those where everyone got to say goodbye.

The ideas below work for someone moving to another company, a retirement, or the end of an internship or contract. None of them needs an entertainer or expensive kit.

How do you organise a leaving party that isn't like all the others?

The classic leaving do is familiar: a speech from the manager, crisps, a card and a gift, then everyone drifts back to their desk or stays with the people they already know. Three simple principles change that.

1. Think about the person leaving. Some love the spotlight, others dread the speech. Ask a close colleague what would please them, and avoid games that would make them uncomfortable.
2. Mix the circles. A leaving party often brings together several teams, former colleagues and, for a retirement, family. The first game should get people who do not know each other talking.
3. Keep it short. A twenty-minute game, five-minute speeches, then free conversation. Better that people leave wishing it had gone on longer.

Games to get every colleague involved

1. The quiz about the person leaving. Ten questions on their career, office habits and favourite expressions. Prepared in secret with close colleagues, played in mixed teams. Steer clear of private life.
2. Anecdote bingo. A grid of phrases to tick off: "has worked with them on a late project", "has shared a Christmas lunch with them". Everyone must find a colleague for each box: perfect for mixing teams.
3. Who said it? A series of famous lines from the person leaving, gathered over years of meetings, to attribute to the right speaker among several colleagues.
4. Baby photo guessing. Volunteers send in a childhood photo; you project them and guess. The person leaving is one of them.
5. Photo challenges. Prompts to complete with a photo during the party: "a photo with someone from another team", "the tidiest desk on the floor". The photos then make a shared keepsake.
6. The career music quiz. The hits from the year they joined the company, or from each of their big projects.
7. Two truths and a lie. Three anecdotes about the person leaving, one of them false. Colleagues vote.

Ideas for a moment centred on the person leaving

8. A photo guestbook. Each colleague writes a few words and has a photo taken with the book or the person. A classic, even better when it is filled with photos from the party itself.
9. Messages from absent friends. Former colleagues, clients they worked with, colleagues from other sites record a short video. Played just before the speech, it is often the most moving moment.
10. The career slideshow. Photos of away days, past parties, successive desks. Ask for them in advance, making clear the person will see everything.
11. The speech in several voices. Instead of one speech from the manager, three one-minute contributions: a close colleague, someone from another team, a former intern or apprentice.
12. The giant card. A large poster where everyone writes a wish for what comes next: the new company, retirement travels, the first vegetable patch.

Special ideas for a retirement party

13. The recipe for retirement. Each guest offers an ingredient ("two spoonfuls of lie-ins"), read out loud.
14. The little book of recommendations. Everyone writes a place to visit, a book, an activity to try. The retiree leaves with ideas for the first months.
15. The all-generations group photo. The colleagues who saw them arrive, those they trained, the latest arrivals. For a retirement celebrated with family, add children and grandchildren, with their parents' consent.

How long should it last, and what budget?

An office leaving party usually lasts one to two hours, often at the end of the working day. As for budget, the most common practice is a collection among colleagues for the gift, with the company or the person leaving covering drinks and food; this varies a lot from one workplace to another, so check with HR or whoever usually organises these.

The games themselves cost almost nothing: paper for the bingo, a projector for the quiz, phones for the photos.

Mistakes to avoid

• In-jokes that exclude. References only one team understands leave everyone else watching.
• Embarrassing anecdotes. What gets a laugh at the coffee machine can hurt in front of senior management. No private life, no health, no settling of scores.
• A party that drags. After two hours only close friends remain, and those who left early never got to say goodbye.
• Posting photos without consent. Leaving party photos travel fast on messaging apps and social networks. Ask colleagues before posting anything, and post nothing on company accounts without the agreement of the person leaving. We cover the principles in our guide to photo consent.

What about Clinkpop for a leaving party?

Clinkpop sends photo challenges at surprise times to guests' phones, with no app and no account: they scan a QR code and play in their browser, then see everyone else's photos once they have sent their own. The person celebrated leaves with a private album, downloadable in one go.

Today Clinkpop is designed for weddings and private parties; a version for companies is in the works. For a retirement celebrated outside the office, with family or friends, you can already create a family party (no challenge there ever targets children) or a birthday, whose challenges revolve around "the star of the day". The price is €59 for up to 150 guests, as a one-off payment, with a free trial for up to 10 guests. Do you organise corporate events? See our page for professionals and our 10 photo activities for corporate events.

For a party outside work, our guide on how to plan a surprise party adapts very well to a surprise retirement do.

Frequently asked questions

What games can you play at a leaving party?

A quiz about the person leaving, played in mixed teams, is the simplest and most popular. Anecdote bingo and photo challenges also work very well to get colleagues from different teams talking.

How do you make a leaving party original?

Replace the single speech with three short contributions, add video messages from former colleagues, and finish with a shared keepsake: a photo guestbook, a giant card, or an album of photos taken during the party.

How long should a leaving party last?

One to two hours as a rule, often at the end of the day. Beyond that only close friends stay: a short, lively party beats a long evening.

What activities suit a retirement party?

The recipe for retirement, the little book of recommendations, the career slideshow and an all-generations group photo. If family is invited, plan a game that mixes them with colleagues.

Can I use Clinkpop for a leaving party?

For a retirement celebrated with family or friends, yes, by creating a family party or a birthday. A version for companies is in the works; get in touch if you would like to be told when it is ready.