Kids love holidays! Celebrate the holidays in your office with costumes, decorations, and contests! If you have IDS office theming, don’t miss the opportunity to throw a Santa hat on an elephant or turn a crocodile into a spooky ghost for Halloween! Fun photo opportunities are available everywhere in your themed office. Here are some other ideas for ways you can celebrate the holidays with your patients.
Celebrating Different Holidays in Your Dental Office in Ways Your Patients Will Love
Halloween Office Celebration Ideas
October is the gateway to plenty of office decorating opportunities! Decorations, additional props, and even costume contests are a great way to engage patients and show off your festive spirit.
Organize a pumpkin carving contest either with patients or with your staff. Showcase their carving skills and give your patients a laugh. Display the carved pumpkins in a designated area for everyone to enjoy, and let your employees or social media followers vote for their favorites.
With your staff, arrange a Halloween-themed potluck lunch where employees can bring in dishes inspired by the season. Encourage creativity by incorporating spooky or whimsical twists into traditional recipes. Take some pictures and show them off on social media.
The holidays can also be used as an important educational tool for children in many dental offices. After Halloween, many children participate in ‘Candy Buyback’ events that allow kids to bring their candy to their local dental office in exchange for money or small dental-related gifts.
Not only does this teach your patients about the importance of healthy eating habits, it also gives them the opportunity to donate to a cause. Many Candy Buyback events donate the collected candy to military troops overseas to lift their spirits during the holidays.
Thanksgiving Office Celebration Ideas
November welcomes in Thanksgiving, which has become one of the biggest holidays in America, even bigger than Christmas.
The appeal of Thanksgiving lies in its simplicity and universality. It’s a holiday centered around a fundamental human experience — gratitude. Regardless of background or belief, people across the nation come together to appreciate the good things life has to offer. You could have a food drive to donate to your local shelter to help them provide meals for the less fortunate.
Set up a gratitude wall where children or your staff can write or draw what they are thankful for. Cut out some leaf shapes and have your staff write what they are thankful for this year, filling it with happy vibes.
Thanksgiving is also a great time to decorate with arts and crafts made by your patients (turkey hands, anyone?). Encouraging children to be creative in the waiting room helps to distract kids from any dental worries, while nurturing their imagination.
As a parting gift to your patients, provide children with Thanksgiving-themed dental goodie bags. Include items like the usual toothbrushes and floss, but also throw in stickers with festive designs.
Christmas and Other Holiday Celebration Ideas
In December the spirit of giving is at its peak. This month is the perfect opportunity to educate children on the importance of charity along with health. As a local business and leader in the community, you can host contests or raffles encouraging patients to support local charities. Host contests to see how many toothbrushes your patients can collect to donate to a local shelter.
Decorate the office with a touch of holiday spirit, but keep it professional and neutral. Avoid overly religious or potentially divisive decorations. Consider using seasonal decorations that create a warm and welcoming atmosphere without being tied to a specific religious tradition. This is also the perfect time to turn your office into a winter wonderland through the addition of fluffy snow, holiday hats, and cut-paper snowflakes made by your patients!
A coloring contest can be a great way to get your social media hopping. Post the coloring pages and host a contest to get some social buzz around your practice. We have a number of winter holiday coloring pages and activity sheets in our IDS Kids Club if you need some inspiration.
Hiding an Elf on the Shelf throughout your office is sure to excite your patients – there is so much mischief an elf could get up to in a medical practice! The internet is full of ideas if you need some help deciding on the perfect hiding place.
Recognize and celebrate a variety of holidays to ensure inclusivity. Consider the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds of your staff and patients. Acknowledge major holidays beyond Christmas, such as Hanukkah, Diwali, Eid, or other culturally significant celebrations.
Use the holiday season as an opportunity to share relevant health tips with your patients. This could include advice on maintaining oral health during holiday feasts, managing stress, and staying active during the colder months.
Valentine’s Day Celebration Ideas
Make sure your dental patients show their teeth some love on Valentine’s Day. Hand out dental valentines with floss and a toothbrush attached to local schools as an office promo. Or give them to your patients and tell them to pass it along to someone they love to make sure they are caring for their teeth. Here’s a cute idea we grabbed from Pinterest:
Don’t forget about Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Back to School, Homecoming, and any local holidays.
There are so many ways to celebrate all year long. Plan themed events or activities to mark holidays. This could include a potluck lunch, a holiday-themed dress-up day, or a team-building activity. Ensure that participation is voluntary and that events are inclusive of different preferences and beliefs.
Enjoy the holidays and remember to take advantage of them to help promote your business!
How do you celebrate around your office?
Check out these related resources for creating a great experience for your patients:
5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Office Photo Op
Engage, Entertain, and Educate – The Three E’s of Creating Office Decor for Kids
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