How to Decorate the Office for New Year: Ideas and Safety

Holiday decorations in the office lift the mood of staff and visitors and reflect the company's style. The key is to do it thoughtfully: safely, without clutter and in one consistent style. Here is how to decorate the office for the New Year zone by zone, which live plants work well and which safety rules to keep in mind.

Festive office arrangements and bouquets for colleagues are available in our flowers for colleagues and potted plants sections.

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Choose a style and palette

• Brand colours — decor in your corporate palette looks cohesive and professional to clients.
• Classic — green, red and gold.
• Scandinavian — white, wood, linen and fresh conifer.
• Minimalist — one main display and a few accents instead of dozens of trinkets.

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Decorating the office by zone

• Reception — the main tree or arrangement, a wreath on the door, a poinsettia on the desk. This is what visitors see first.
• Meeting rooms — understated: fir, pine cones, LED candles in glass; nothing that gets in the way of presentations.
• Workstations — keep it minimal: a small plant or a fir sprig in a vase, no decor on monitors or keyboards.
• Kitchen and lounge — fairy lights, festive mugs, a shared tree for photos.
• Windows — paper snowflakes or LED figures visible from the street.

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Live plants and flowers

• Poinsettia — a classic festive accent for reception and meeting rooms; see poinsettia care.
• Potted conifers — false cypress, thuja, Norfolk pine: they stay in the office after the holidays.
• Hippeastrum (amaryllis) — striking large winter blooms.
• Arrangements of conifer, cones and berries — they last for weeks without watering.

For plants that please all year, see office plants, and for choosing and decorating a tree, our Christmas tree guide.

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Safety rules

• No open flames — only LED candles and certified lights.
• Do not plug lights into overloaded extension leads, and switch them off at night.
• Decorations must not block emergency exits, fire extinguishers or signs.
• Place the tree securely, away from heaters and walkways.
• Avoid strong fragrances (scented candles, sprays): colleagues may have allergies.

How to involve the team

• A contest for the best-decorated department.
• Decorating the tree together at the end of the day.
• Handmade ornaments — from cards to paper garlands.
• A charity tree: staff pick children's wishes and give gifts.

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Flowers and plants as gifts for colleagues

New Year decor is easy to combine with gifts: potted plants stay in the office after the holidays and keep reminding people of the company. Popular choices are poinsettia, a mini potted Christmas tree, false cypress and boxed arrangements of fir and pine cones. For partners and clients, branded arrangements work well — see corporate New Year flowers and corporate gifts.

• Choose plants that need little care.
• Check whether colleagues are allergic to the scent of fir or flowers.
• Add a card with wishes from the team.

FAQ

When should we decorate the office?

Usually in early December; take the decorations down in the first working week of January.

Do we need a real tree in the office?

Not necessarily: a potted conifer or a good artificial tree lasts longer and is safer in a warm room.

Which flowers make good gifts for colleagues?

A poinsettia, a small winter arrangement with conifer, or a long-lasting bouquet of roses and chrysanthemums.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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