8 Memorial Day Ideas for Work: Celebrate & Honor This Holiday

Finding Memorial Day ideas for work can feel challenging—after all, it’s a holiday that has different meanings for many people. 

Some use Memorial Day as a celebration of summer’s arrival, complete with cookouts and family reunions over the 3-day weekend. Others prefer to spend this holiday honoring and celebrating those who died fighting for our country. 

In this guide, we’ll explore our favorite Memorial Day ideas for work—you’ll find games and activities that are fun and engaging for everyone in the list below. But first, a little more about Memorial Day.

Why We Celebrate Memorial Day

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis

Memorial Day, formerly known as Declaration Day, was declared by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. In his General Order No. 11 he states:

 “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.

“In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States to honor and mourn the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. It’s also an opportunity for companies to foster a sense of unity, gratitude, and teamwork among their employees. 

Remember, Memorial Day games are great, but try to avoid taking away the importance of what the holiday truly signifies. As you celebrate good food and loved ones, make time to honor and commemorate those who died while serving in the U.S. military. 

Our Top 8 Memorial Day Ideas for Work

If you’re deciding how to celebrate Memorial Day at work, we have you covered! Here are our top picks for fun Memorial Day activities to enjoy with your whole team, plus some great ways to honor the true meaning of this holiday.

1. Attend a Parade

Many cities have parades on Memorial Day, and some of these events conclude with a memorial service. If there’s a parade happening near you, take some time out from prepping for BBQs or relaxing to go check out your town’s Memorial Day Celebration. 

Send out a Memorial Day email to employees in advance, inviting them to your city’s parade. If you don’t have a parade, continue reading below for more Memorial Day work activities. 

2. Organize an Outdoor Party

One of the most popular Memorial Day ideas for work is as simple as taking advantage of the nice weather and organizing a fun outdoor activity. Plan a friendly sporting event, organize a potluck or team scavenger hunt, or participate in an event for charity. 

Remember to send out a Memorial Day message to employees ahead of time to let them know how you’ll be celebrating. Here are some of our most popular options if this fits the bill for what you’d like to do this Memorial Day: 

Go Give: Charity Challenge

Embark on a journey of compassion with Go Give—teams will complete GPS challenges to positively impact their community. Along the way, they’ll strengthen bonds, create memories, and find a new sense of camaraderie.

Cooking for a Cause

Cooking for a Cause is a culinary team building activity that’s built around preparing and enjoying a meal with the rest of your team. You’ll also help your community in a meaningful way by creating donations for a local food bank. 

Team Chili Cook-off

This fiery team building favorite combines creativity, resourcefulness, and skill.  In the Team Chili Cook-off, each group starts with chili basics like meat and tomatoes, but collecting other ingredients means bartering while completing fun challenges.

Outrageous Games

From the opening ceremony to the closing awards presentation, Outrageous Games is the perfect collection of non-athletic Memorial Day games for your company picnic or employee meeting. Competition has never been more fun! 

3. Buy A Poppy

During the days leading up to Memorial Day, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations for poppies. If you’d like to honor the meaning of this holiday with your team, this is a fantastic Memorial Day idea for work to combine with other events. 

The poppy’s significance to Memorial Day is the result of the John McCrae World War I poem “In Flanders Fields,” in which he mentions how these red flowers grew from the soil on top of soldiers’ graves in the Flanders region of Belgium.

They’ve been the official National American Legion symbol of remembrance since 1920. Disabled and needy veterans in VA hospitals have been assembling Buddy Poppies since 1924. 

When you purchase one, your donation will assist in maintaining state and national rehabilitation and service programs for veterans. This one’s easy!

Photo Credit: army.gov.au

4. Decorate with Flags

Break out the red, white, and blue for this year’s Memorial Day celebration! Over many decades, it has been a tradition to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flags on Memorial Day. So why not decorate your office with stars and stripes? 

Another tradition is to fly the flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. So, if you have a flagpole, consider joining the tradition this year. It’s a great way to add a sense of reverence to other Memorial Day ideas for work.

5. Participate in the National Moment of Remembrance

In an effort to restore and honor Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be, the National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans to pause in an act of national unity. 

This moment takes place at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day for one minute. The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the hour when most Americans enjoy their free time, which symbolizes their freedom on this national holiday.

6. Thank a Veteran

While Memorial Day is a time for remembering and honoring our fallen soldiers, it’s also a wonderful occasion to thank soldiers, past and present, who are right here in our midst today! Thank them for all they have done to protect our country and our freedom. 

Don’t know a veteran or want to do more? Your team can write a letter to a veteran or soldier! Check out Operation Gratitude for more information about writing letters or sending care packages to soldiers currently deployed.

7. Operation Military Care

We already highlighted some programs above, but Operation Military Care deserves special mention—it’s one of our most popular Memorial Day celebration ideas for work. What better activity for your next team building than giving back? 

Your team will develop skills while assembling care packages for those who are serving our country. It’s a rewarding program that everyone benefits from—try combining it with other corporate social responsibility activities to really make a difference. 

8. Send Out a Team Letter 

Sure, it’s important to let your team know about celebration plans, but you can make your holiday even more meaningful with a team letter. Send this email or letter out on Memorial Day to take your celebration to the next level. 

We suggest inviting your team to share what Memorial Day means to them and then showcasing their stories, letters, and thoughts. Don’t forget to ask team leaders to participate. 

Take this a step further by printing these stories and delivering them to a local community living center for veterans. If you don’t have one nearby, look up options online and email these stories to them instead. 

Make the Most of Your Memorial Day Ideas for Work

In addition to enjoying these activities with your team, we also suggest attending a cookout or two on your own time and encouraging your team to do the same. 

Just keep in mind that this day holds more meaning than just hanging out and having a delicious burger off the grill.

Regardless of how you celebrate Memorial Day with your team, don’t forget to take a moment to be grateful for the people who have fought hard—and those who are currently fighting hard—for our beautiful country.

Want some help planning a Memorial Day celebration that your team will love? Contact us today to get started. We’re always happy to provide suggestions or organize fully customized programs based on your team’s needs.