Communicators often say they don’t want to be relegated to a party-planning role, and certainly our value to the organization is not dependent upon our aptitude for ordering balloons. But these days, with all the turmoil our organizations are going through, most employees could use a little celebrating. (They could use a lot of recognition, too, but that’s a subject for a different weblog.)

Here’s evidence: About a year ago, one of our client companies was celebrating a significant anniversary: 25 years since the company was founded. The president, to his credit (many senior executives are really bad at understanding the importance of celebration), thought there should be a modest but fun celebration—the company was doing okay financially, but not great, so the anniversary “party” needed to be in line with performance.

The company presented logistical challenges: it had offices spread out across the world, and a significant percentage of employees “lived” at a client or worked at home. And there was a lot of discussion about a cultural challenge: This was a service firm, with many high-IQ professionals who tended to be skeptical. Would they react to an attempt at “fun” with cynicism?

After much thought, we helped our client develop a simple celebration: Everybody got a very nice commemorative coffee mug. Offices were decorated with balloons and posters. Every location had a little cupcake celebration in the afternoon. Folks who worked remotely could “join in” the celebration on the intranet, which had a special site devoted to the anniversary, including animated balloons, a message from the (retired) founder, another message from the president, and the opportunity to post photos and messages.

Doesn’t sound too creative, does it? But employees—even the brainy ones—loved it. The anniversary celebration hit just the right note—it honored the occasion, with a mix of seriousness and fun, but wasn’t too extravagant or overblown. For one day, employees had their very own holiday. They were very happy.

This Halloween, as you covertly eat Milky Way minis and consider whether your co-worker’s Jennifer Lopez costume is a terrible mistake, remember that celebration is an important part of communication. We communicators need to be taken seriously, but we also have an opportunity to make employees smile.

Happy Halloween!