> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Run Halloween on Empuls: an admin playbook > Turn Halloween week into a week of real activity on Empuls with ready-made assets: a banner, theme colours, three award badges, a Costume Parade post and a day-by-day plan. Download every asset. ![Happy Halloween banner with pumpkins, bats and a haunted house](https://mintcdn.com/empuls/MLlDo43q55tt331x/images/resources/halloween/halloween-banner.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=MLlDo43q55tt331x\&q=85\&s=5e5acda83ce92039b2bfd18195d31ec4) Halloween week is one of the easiest moments of the year to get people logging in, posting and recognising each other. This guide shows you how to use Empuls to turn it into a week of real activity, with ready-made assets you can use straight away. > [!NOTE] > > Halloween 2026 falls on Saturday, October 31. Plan to launch on Monday, October 26 and wrap up on Friday, October 30, so everything happens during the working week. ## What you'll do | Play | What it drives | | - | - | | **1. Give your platform a Halloween look** | Logins and curiosity. People notice something is happening. | | **2. Launch Halloween recognition** | Recognitions given, peer-to-peer appreciation | | **3. Run a Costume Parade on the social feed** | Posts, comments and reactions | | **4. Send treats with gifting and reward points** | Reward redemptions, goodwill | | **5. Reward everyone at once with bulk rewarding** | Reach across every team and location | ## 1. Give your platform a Halloween look A seasonal look is the first thing employees see when they log in, and it tells them something is happening this week. Change two things for the week: the banner and the theme colours. The Halloween banner at the top of this page has the greeting in the centre, so it works for any organisation. [Download the banner](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/halloween-banner.png) (PNG, 2600 × 456). ### Theme colours These colours are picked from the banner, so the whole platform matches it. **Parchment**\ \#FCF6EC\ Background **Midnight Plum**\ \#2B1B43\ Header **Twilight**\ \#3C2961\ Secondary **Pumpkin**\ \#E88B3F\ Accent **Ember**\ \#B5561C\ Buttons **Harvest Gold**\ \#F0C263\ Highlights **How to do it** 1. Upload the Halloween banner as your home or dashboard banner. 2. In your platform's theme or branding settings, apply the colours above. 3. Switch everything back on November 1. > [!TIP] > > **Readability:** use white text on Midnight Plum, Twilight and Ember. On Pumpkin and Harvest Gold, use dark text, because white is too faint. Learn how to change the theme colours and banners in [Branding](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/admin/platform-settings/branding.md). ## 2. Launch Halloween recognition Seasonal awards give people a fun, low-effort reason to recognise each other. Launch one core value and two spot awards, each with its own badge. Download each badge from its card and use the description shown on it. > **Fearless Ideas** > > **Core value.** For the teammate who takes on the scary problem, speaks up or tries something new. Tag it on any recognition. [Download badge (PNG)](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/badge-fearless-ideas.png) > **Spooktacular Teammate** > > **Spot award.** For a peer who made the week more fun or got the team through a frightful deadline. Peer-to-peer, no budget. [Download badge (PNG)](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/badge-spooktacular-teammate.png) > **Costume Champion** > > **Spot award.** For the best costumes and decorated desks in the Costume Parade. Given by HR or the culture team, with points. [Download badge (PNG)](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/badge-costume-champion.png) **How to do it** 1. Create **Fearless Ideas** as a core value so employees can tag it in any recognition. 2. Create **Spooktacular Teammate** as a peer-to-peer spot award. It needs no budget, so anyone can give it. 3. Create **Costume Champion** as a spot award for HR or your culture team, with points from their budget. 4. Upload each badge image and add the description shown above. 5. Announce all three on the social feed on Monday so people know they exist. Learn how to create awards and core value cards in [Set up awards and core values](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/admin/programs/awards/set-up-awards-and-core-values.md). ## 3. Run a Costume Parade on the social feed A single themed thread gives everyone a reason to post, comment and react, and it links back to your awards. ![Costume Parade post inviting photos of costumes, pumpkins and desks](https://mintcdn.com/empuls/MLlDo43q55tt331x/images/resources/halloween/costume-parade-post.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=MLlDo43q55tt331x\&q=85\&s=3230e0ec6438e863fe82eae840647883) [Download the Costume Parade post](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/costume-parade-post.png) (PNG, 1080 × 1080). **Caption to paste** > Halloween is here, and so is the Costume Parade. Share a photo of your costume, carved pumpkin or spookiest desk in this thread by Friday. The best entries win the Costume Champion award. **How to do it** 1. Post the image with the caption on Tuesday. 2. Use **@group** to bring in whole teams, departments or locations. 3. Use **Spotlight** to feature the best entries through the week. 4. On Friday, give the winners the Costume Champion award in the same thread. Learn how to post to groups, tag with @group and create a Spotlight in [Social intranet](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/employees/socials/social-intranet.md). ## 4. Send treats with curated gifting and reward points Turn recognition into something people can enjoy. Send gift cards, sweets, merchandise or experiences from 10M+ rewards across 30+ categories, or add reward points people can redeem for what they like. 1. Pick a Halloween-friendly reward: sweets and snacks, food delivery, movie nights or experiences. 2. Send it to Costume Parade winners and Costume Champion recipients on Friday. 3. Consider a small treat for managers to give their teams during the week. Learn how to create and send gifts in [Gifts](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/admin/gifts/gifts.md). ## 5. Reward everyone at once with bulk rewarding If you want every employee to feel included, send a Halloween treat to everyone in one go. 1. Choose who to reward: target by department, location or business unit, or upload a CSV. 2. Pick the reward or points amount and add a short Halloween message. 3. Schedule it for Friday so it lands before the weekend. Learn how to target recipients with audience filters or a CSV in [Send gifts manually](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/admin/gifts/gifts.md#send-gifts-manually), and how to pick a delivery date in [Scheduled gifts](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/admin/gifts/scheduled-gift.md). ## Suggested plan for the week | Day | What to do | | - | - | | **Monday** | Apply the banner and theme colours. Launch the core value and spot awards and announce them on the feed. | | **Tuesday** | Post the Costume Parade thread and tag teams with @group. | | **Wednesday to Thursday** | Spotlight the best entries. Nudge quieter teams with a reminder post. | | **Friday** | Close entries. Give Costume Champion awards, send treats and run any bulk reward. | | **November 1** | Switch the banner and colours back. Look at how many recognitions, posts and reactions the week drove. | ## Checklist * Halloween banner uploaded * Theme colours applied * Fearless Ideas core value created * Spooktacular Teammate and Costume Champion awards created with badges * Awards announced on the social feed * Costume Parade thread posted * Best entries spotlighted * Winners awarded and treats sent * Bulk reward sent (optional) * Banner and colours switched back on November 1 > [!NOTE] > > **Want to see it before you launch?** The [Empuls instant demo](https://xoxoday.navattic.com/h5c0mkp?utm_campaign=halloween) walks you step by step through updating your platform's look, setting up awards, building reward campaigns and running social feed threads. ## Download the toolkit Every asset in this guide is ready to use. Click **Download** on any card to save it. > **Halloween banner** > > PNG, 2600 × 456. For your home or dashboard banner. [Download PNG](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/halloween-banner.png) > **Costume Parade post** > > PNG, 1080 × 1080. For the social feed thread. [Download PNG](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/costume-parade-post.png) > **Fearless Ideas badge** > > PNG, 712 × 682. Core value badge. [Download PNG](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/badge-fearless-ideas.png) > **Spooktacular Teammate badge** > > PNG, 702 × 682. Spot award badge. [Download PNG](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/badge-spooktacular-teammate.png) > **Costume Champion badge** > > PNG, 708 × 684. Spot award badge. [Download PNG](https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/images/resources/halloween/badge-costume-champion.png) > [!NOTE] > > For any questions or feedback, reach out to us through [Contact Support](https://xoxoday-30135.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new).