Every day is an opportunity to recognize and appreciate your employees so they feel valued and engaged. But there are also some fun extra holidays throughout the calendar year where you can plan some fun and meaningful events for your employees.
Our 2024 HR holiday calendar will help you look ahead to the most engaging days of the year, and provide some examples of inclusive and entertaining ideas to celebrate and bring your teams together!
January
National Trivia Day: Thursday, January 4, 2024
As employees come back from their time off during the winter break, welcome them with a fun opportunity for team bonding. Take an hour for a team trivia game during the workday, have a Slack trivia chat for the day, or go out to a local trivia night if your team is all in the office.
Clean Off Your Desk Day: Monday, January 8, 2024
After the excitement of the winter holidays, it can be a struggle to get back into a productive mindset. Help employees out by scheduling an afternoon for desk cleaning—you can make it extra fun by incorporating competitions and prizes for things like the “Most Improved” desk.
Bagel Day: Monday, January 15, 2024
January Mondays can be gloomy. Give your employees a winter break by bringing in a delicious bagel treat, or sending them by delivery to your remote and hybrid employees.
February
Valentine’s Day: Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Spread the love to your staff members with some sweet treats or other gestures of appreciation so they know how much you love their commitment to their colleagues, their roles, and the company as a whole.
Random Act of Kindness Day: Saturday, February 17, 2024
While scheduled federal holidays are great, there’s also something extra exciting about giving and receiving just because. You can encourage employees to do something small but meaningful for each other on this day, like leaving a kind note or email for a colleague.
March
National Employee Appreciation Day: Friday, March 1, 2024
You appreciate how hard your employees work every day—but this is the day to really make that appreciation known. And with these employee spotlight ideas, you’ll have plenty of ways to show recognition and appreciation to your workers in ways they’ll love. Don’t forget about other gifts to show you care too, like a lovely catered lunch or company swag.
International Women’s Day: Friday, March 8, 2024
Highlight the achievements and contributions of the women in your workplace on this international holiday! Show them how much they mean by offering some special snacks, a lunch ‘n learn on a relevant topic, or a small gift.
St. Patrick’s Day: Sunday, March 17, 2024
It’s always fun to celebrate this holiday, even though it falls on a Sunday this year. You can encourage employees to decorate with or wear green to the office on Monday, and offer an Irish-themed menu in the cafeteria or have a remote happy hour with Irish tea and Guinness.
April
National Pet Day: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Many of your employees may have beloved pets at home, and this is a day to celebrate those furry companions. If your office is pet-friendly, you might allow employees to bring in well-behaved ones, or simply send them home with some company swag for their pets!
Team Cooleaf celebrated National Pet Day with a heartfelt post on LinkedIn!
Earth Day: Monday, April 22, 2024
Celebrating and protecting the earth we all live on is a great way to show employees your company cares about the environment. You can organize a park cleanup or offer home composting setups to help employees reduce waste at home.
Administrative Professionals Day: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Administrative offices and the people who work in them keep daily life at your company running smoothly. We’ve got plenty of creative ideas for how to celebrate these vital employees in ways they’ll truly appreciate.
May
Mental Health Awareness Month: May 2024
Mental health is increasingly recognized as critical to the wellbeing of employees, and also to the productivity and retention of employers. Consider ways to help prevent remote work burnout, resolve existing employee burnout, and ensure all employees have the resources they need to thrive.
Cinco de Mayo: Sunday, May 5, 2024
Though this holiday officially falls on a Sunday this year, there’s no reason you can’t have a little celebration on Monday to recognize the day’s Mexican heritage with some authentic food and drinks, in-person or over Zoom.
International Human Resources Day: Monday, May 20, 2024
This is a relatively new holiday—it started in 2019—but it’s a critical one for your hardworking HR teams. Recognize the team’s hard work with a group lunch or team-building outing.
June
National Donut Day: Friday, June 7, 2024
Some holidays are meaningful and some are just for fun—like National Donut Day! Treat employees or your team to these sweet treats in the morning, whether by bringing them to the office or scheduling a home delivery to your remote employees.
Juneteenth: Wednesday, June 19, 2024
This new federal holiday recognizes the day slavery was truly eradicated in the United States, when the last enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. It’s a day for reflection and learning.
Summer Solstice: Thursday, June 20, 2024
It’s the longest day of the year and the official beginning of summer, so this day is a wonderful one to bring your team together at work! Spending time outdoors, like at a picnic or on a field day, kicks off summer in a fun way.
July
World Chocolate Day: Sunday, July 7, 2024
A simple but popular concept—celebrating the deliciousness of chocolate! It’s a great chance to offer a sweet get together for your employees over a chocolate cookie, ice cream, or other tasty snack.
International Self-Care Day: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
We could all use a little more self-care, especially in the summer when life is busy. Give your employees the gift of a yoga or meditation session or a healthy team lunch.
National Intern Day: Thursday, July 25, 2024
Celebrate the interns who help your company accomplish essential work while they’re learning the skills they need to succeed in the future. In fact, we’ve got a whole list of great gifts for your interns!
Parents’ Day: Sunday, July 28, 2024
Working parents are one of your company’s biggest assets—they bring a valuable perspective and plenty of multi-tasking skills. Ensure your employees who are parents know all about the relevant benefits your offer them, like paid parental leave, and consider sending them home with some company swag for their little ones.
August
National Book Lovers Day: Friday, August 9, 2024
Books have a way of bringing people together. For a change from the usual happy hour or snack offering, encourage employees to bring in their favorite book or organize an ongoing book club for colleagues to bond over their love of reading.
Check out our favorite HR leadership books → 15 Best Leadership Books
Women’s Equality Day: Monday, August 26, 2024
Marking the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, this is a national holiday and a great chance to celebrate the contributions of the women in your company.
September
National 401(k) Day: Friday, September 6, 2024
This holiday is the perfect time to ensure employees are fully informed about the retirement options and benefits you offer. Hold office hours for 401(k) questions, run an informational email campaign about retirement benefits, or hold a company-wide Q&A session about your 401(k) plans.
HR Professional Day: Thursday, September 26, 2024
Your office of Human Resources works hard, so be sure to send them some much-needed appreciation for all they do on this day!
October
World Mental Health Day: Thursday, October 10, 2024
As October rolls around, the stress of the upcoming holiday season might start to ramp up for many employees. Use this holiday to help your team develop a plan to manage holiday stress before it starts.
Halloween: Thursday, October 31, 2024
Halloween isn’t just for kids—it can be a great opportunity for your employees to dress up, decorate, share candy, and generally embrace their inner child (in a professional way, of course).
November
Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 28, 2024
While the paid time off offered on this federal holiday is great, don’t miss out on the team-building opportunities as well. Hold a pre-holiday lunch with all the classic Thanksgiving fixings, or give team members the chance to head out early for a happy hour the day before the holiday to bond.
December
Giving Tuesday: Tuesday, December 3, 2024
On this charity-focused day, give employees time during the workday to research and contribute to a cause that matters to them. Bonus points if you match their donations!
Ugly Sweater Day: Friday, December 20, 2024
Donning an ugly holiday-themed sweater is a time-honored tradition, and one you can bring into your office for some December cheer with ease. You could even design a company-themed ugly sweater as an appreciation gift. And check out more inclusive team-building gifts for the holiday season.
Winter Solstice: Saturday, December 21, 2024
Yes, this is technically the darkest day of the year, but it is also when the days begin to get longer again—and that’s a great reason for an inclusive celebration.
2024 Holiday Calendar
If you’re searching for a full list of DEI holidays, we’ve got your complete calendar! Enjoy celebrating the holidays that resonate with your employees, and reap the engagement benefits that come from these occasions for appreciation, celebration, and team-building.
Are you ready to discover how Cooleaf can revolutionize your team’s celebrations and boost engagement? Learn more now and unlock the secret to creating unforgettable experiences!
