Home
>
Team Building
>
Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips

Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips

The company picnic is a beloved tradition at many firms.

It's an opportunity for employees to mingle and "let down their hair."

A well organized company picnic with planned activities can help integrate employees with each other. This is particularly important if the company has undergone recent reorganization. As such it functions as a "team bonding" mechanism.

A company picnic can be held for an entire firm of thousands or for a single department of 30.

In my role of party entertainer (and prior to that corporate employee), I have attended countless such events. Here are some observations, tips, and ideas I picked up along the way.

General Considerations
Like any other type of event, you need to decide what you want your picnic to be like and how much you want to spend.

As with any event, it is important to keep the needs and tastes of your attendees paramount.

Allow yourself sufficient time to book your venue if the picnic is offsite. Demand for some venues is at a premium during peak periods. It is not uncommon to make reservations several months or more in advance of a given date.

You'll need to plan food and beverages, and activities and entertainment and, in some cases, transportation to the picnic site.

Allow enough time so you can give your employees sufficient advance notice to include the picnic into their plans. This is especially important if you'll be inviting family members or if it is held on a weekend.

Company picnics and company picnic ideas can range from the very simple to a pull-out-all-stops extravaganza. My observation is that people have a good time at both.

Do you want to have a theme? A theme is fun! Plus it makes it easier to organize food and activities.

WHEN do you want to hold you company's picnic?
Here, in the Philadelphia area, companies hold their picnics beginning in June through early October.

Considerations such as your company's workflow, availability of a desired venue, etc., will help you determine the date. Employees are less apt to be away on vacation in June or September, but they will really enjoy the chance to kick back in July or August.

There are pros and cons to weekday picnics versus weekend picnics.

Company picnics held during a workday will ensure a greater attendance for employees when they would normally be in the office. And, they don't cut into precious personal time.

But spouses and children are generally more available for a weekend date.

WHOM do you want to invite?
Staff only? Members of the employee's immediate family? What about significant others, friends? Decide where to draw the line.

Family picnics are a great way for employees to meet co-workers' families. It humanizes co-workers by allowing them to relax their at-work personas.

On the other hand, single or divorced employees can feel like the odd wheel at a very family oriented event. That can be overcome by planning activities suitable for people of all ages.

Activities that require participants to form groups can help integrate the attendees. And it keeps your guests occupied.

WHERE do you want to have your company picnic?
While many picnics take place under a tent in the company's parking lot, offsite venues can make people feel more relaxed. If you're on a strict budget, one option is a nearby state park. Many have large pavilions ideally suited for such events.

I've also been to company picnics given at the home of the firm's CEO or owner. This kind of setting adds a homey touch to the festivities. In some instances, facilities were set up so that the guests attend to their needs without entering the host's private home.

An excellent option to consider is a venue that is set up especially for hosting the company picnic. Generally these picnic parks come complete with in-house catering and lots of games and activities for kids both big and small. Some day camps rent out their facilities on weekends when they are otherwise not in use.

Amusement parks and river cruises are other options.

Tip: Have a Plan B in the case of rain.

Some Plan B options include: ? A tent with walls or access to an on-site building
? Event insurance
? A rain date

Keep in mind that if you opt for a rain date, your vendors and entertainers may require additional payment to reserve the second date. That is because they have to turn down other clients during the busy summer season to keep that time open for you.

Food and Beverages
If you choose to have the food catered, you don't have to worry about preparation or cleanup. Many venues such as picnic parks have in-house catering. And many caterers specialize in handling company picnics.

The best part of picnic fare is that it is simple and satisfying. Hot dogs and hamburgers are extremely popular at picnics. But they are not compulsory and caterers will cater to your every whim.

Keep the menu flexible enough to accommodate those with special needs and preferences. These days you'll find many meat eaters and vegans, not to mention devotees of Atkins, South Beach, and other diets. Muslims and Jews may not wish to eat pork.

So having at least one non-pork and non-meat option is an excellent idea. If your picnic has a theme, your menu can reflect that.

Decide whether you want to permit alcoholic beverages. If so, make sure there is a way to ensure that anyone who drinks a bit too much makes it home safely.

Have age appropriate activities and games
Some venues such as picnic parks make it a point to supply many activities. Nonetheless, you may want to supplement them. Entertainers such as DJs, caricature artists, Tarot card readers, magicians, face painters, clowns are some popular additions.

Door prizes are a cherished company picnic idea at many firms. Door prizes work both as employee appreciation and an incentive for the employees to linger.

Examples of some prizes I've seen include certificate good for a dinner for two at a local restaurant, gift certificate at a local department store, a day off with pay, even a free vacation complete with round trip airline tickets.

These are some company picnic ideas and planning tips to get you started.

But the most important tip is the one I save for last. After you've worked so hard to organize and plan your event, be sure to go and enjoy the festivities yourself!

About the Author

Ellen M. Zucker has used her skills as a caricature artist and astrologer to entertain at company picnics for over 10 years. Her company, Faces & Fortunes, http://www.facesandfortunes.com, provides caricature artists and psychic readers to entertain at parties and special events throughout Greater Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

For more tips, interviews, and advice on putting events together from the professionals who make parties and special events happen, visit Faces & Fortunes' sister site: http://www.facesandfortunes.com

detailed home cleaning Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips

Team Building