As summer begins, you're probably
making plans for your annual company picnic. Chances are the event will be
identical to previous years. Hot dogs, hamburger, chicken and/or ribs, salads
and watermelon will likely be on your menu and volleyball, softball and swimming
on your activity list. Ho-hum.
Here are some ideas to add pizzazz to
your picnic, without necessarily increasing your budget.
Move It If you have held your picnic at the same spot for more than two or three
years in a row, consider moving it. Look for alternative locales. If your
barbecue is generally held in a park, move it to the beach. If you're at the
beach, move it to a lake. Even if you have to keep it at the same park as
always, try to set up your event at another location in the park to offer a
slight change of vista.
The Theme's the Thing Create a theme for the picnic. Themes not only add a little excitement, they
allow you to make small changes to your plans that have a big impact. Best of
all, themes can provide focus to your plans and help you stay on track.
"Under the Big Top," "Country Fair," "It's Best Our
West," or "Out On Safari" are all popular, easy-to-execute and
affordable themes.
Your menu may stay the same if you
wish, but by changing the atmosphere or even how it is served, your familiar
fare will take on new appeal.
For an "Under the Big Top"
event:
Cover the tables with red and white
striped cloths.
Rent popcorn and cotton candy
machines.
Dress the serving staff in clown
attire.
Hire a face painter or find some
volunteers to paint children's faces.
Serve peanuts in shells from paper
sacks.
Dress yourself or a senior staff
member as the ringmaster and announce activities.
Invite employees to bring in pets
who can do tricks for the crowd. (Check to make sure that the venue allows
animals.)
Bring in a petting zoo.
Ask a local gymnastics group to
perform.
Play calliope music.
Serve hot dogs and ice cream from
rented push carts.
Create a midway of rides and/or
games. You can hire companies to come in to do this or you can rent or buy
games and have volunteers staff the booths. Just be sure to have inexpensive
prizes, not only for the children who "win" the games, but also
for those who participated. And, don't forget the grown-ups. Set up tests of
strength, dart and target games so they can enjoy the midway as well.
Bring in entertainers: magicians,
jugglers, stilt walkers, etc. in keeping with the circus theme. Most have
costumes that would be appropriate to your theme to add to the atmosphere.
If you normally rent a plain white
tent, see if a striped tent is available.
Should you hold your event in a
pavilion, fill the structure's ceiling with a large quantity of balloons to
create a circus atmosphere.
For a "Country Fair"
theme:
Decorate your tables in a gingham
print.
Serve beverages from mason jars.
Invite employees to bring in their
favorite recipe to be judged in a "best chili," "best
barbecue sauce," or "best preserves" contest.
Ask employees to exhibit their
homemade crafts. (You might want to have these judged as well by a
representative from a local crafts store.)
If you have several employees who
are weekend gardeners, encourage them to show off their prize produce.
Have fun with a pie-eating or
watermelon seed-spitting contest. (Paper plates full of whipped cream are a
sticky, sweet, affordable alternative to pie.)
Arrange typical country fair games
such as three-legged or potato sack races and a tug-of-war with management
versus employees.
Dress your servers in bib overalls
or gingham shirts.
Set up hay rides around the picnic
area or park.
For an "It's Best Out
West" theme:
Use checked or gingham table covers
(this is the perfect way to use any extra party products from a previous
"Country Fair" party).
Straw cowboy hats make great party
favors, centerpieces and bowls for dry snacks. These can be purchased for as
little as $1 each.
When you need extra seating, bring
in bales of hay. In some areas, you can rent and return any undamaged bales.
Encourage your guests to toast their
own wieners on sticks over the fire.
Host a "chili cook-off,"
"baked beans" or "barbecue sauce" contest among
employees.
Locate a nearby rodeo and bring in
cowboys and gals who can do rope trick, quick-draw, or archery exhibitions.
Hire a square dance caller and get
everyone up to learn how to dosie-do.
Bring in pony rides for the little
buckaroos.
Barbecue beef ribs instead of pork
for a more western taste to your menu.
Set up horseshoe pitching
competitions for different age groups.
Serve sarsaparilla, lemonade or root
beer in handled mugs instead of the usual punch or canned colas.
Use sheriff's badges as name tags by
writing on them with a permanent marker or affixing a name label.
Rent a chuck wagon as the place to
dispense the chow.
For an "Out On Safari"
theme:
Pith helmets can be used as serving
bowls and party favors.
Use stuffed toy jungle animals for
centerpieces.
Dress your waitstaff in animal print
shirts or khaki shirts and pith helmets.
Hang toy monkeys from the trees.
Give the kids butterfly nets to
catch "wild" prey.
Try to set this theme party at a
local zoo so the big game hunters can see jungle beasts up close.
Hand out disposable cameras and have
a guide take guests on a photo safari of the zoo.
Set up a scavenger hunt using
natural items found at the picnic site as the objects participants must find
and bring back on their list.
If possible, set up elephant or
camel rides.
Encourage children to draw their
favorite animal and then let them save their artwork in an animal print
frame.
Cover tables in animal print cloth,
paper or plastic tablecloths.
Buy novelty "animal noses"
for guests to wear.
Bring in a face painter (or get
volunteers) to turn little faces into jungle beasts.
Invite your African-American
employees to share some of their ancestral culture with your other guests.
Add an aural element to the occasion
by playing authentic African music and sounds of wild animals.
Make multiple diagonal cuts into
your hot dogs, not quite all the way through, and fill the slits with
ketchup, mustard and relish. Then tell your younger guests they're eating a
"snake."
Let your guests create their own
tribal masks with paper maché, paints, feathers and beads.
Make a punch and call it
"jungle juice."
Inviting Ideas Since the party starts when the invitation arrives, try these ideas to start
excitement about the event weeks before the picnic date and answer any typical
questions guests may have.
Send invitations to your employees'
homes printed on decorative paper stock themed to your event instead of
passing out a plain flyer at work.
For added fun, invite your
employees' children and ask them to bring their parents.
Write the invitation using language
that compliments the theme. (For instance, use words like chow or vittles
for a western theme.)
Include not only the date, but day
of the week, to avoid possible mistakes.
Include an RSVP date and reply
information.
Encourage guests to come dressed in
keeping with the theme.
Designate if it's a "rain or
shine" event or if there is a rain date.
Assign an employee to take responses
and answer any questions.
If you are holding your event at a
new location, be sure to enclose a map and directions.
Include the start and stop times of
the event.
When possible, arrange a car pool
service for people who may have transportation problems.
Be specific on your invitation if
guests, other than immediate family members of employees, are permitted to
attend. Some employees may assume they can bring along other relatives or
friends of their children, so be specific to avoid any embarrassing
situations.
Specifically state whether pets are
allowed. People often believe they can bring pets to any outdoor events. For
safety's sake, except for certain exceptions such as having pets included in
your circus theme, discourage employees from bringing their animals. If you
choose to have them included, insist that animals be tethered or caged at
all times. Also be certain to provide a shady area, sufficiently large to
keep pets segregated as necessary, plenty of fresh drinking water, bowls,
and a place for owners to walk their pet and plastic bags to dispose of
waste.
If alcohol is prohibited at the site
you have chosen, please remind your guests not to bring their own.
Potent Picnic Potables The decision whether or not to serve alcohol at your event may not only lie
with you. Many public parks and private venues prohibit the use of alcohol on
their premises. If you wish to serve alcohol, keep in mind the following items.
Be sure to have a sufficient amount
of soft drink options in addition to any alcohol you may serve, not only for
the children, but any adults who may choose not to imbibe or limit their
alcohol intake.
Act responsibly. You may not or may
not be legally libel for any accidents that may occur by a guest who has
left your event, but you are morally responsible to make sure of your
guests' safety.
If you suspect someone has
over-indulged (and it takes only one drink -- a can of beer, a glass or wine
or a mixed drink per hour for most people to reach or exceed their alcohol
limit by law), be certain that they do not drive themselves home.
Establish a car-pool system, request
volunteers to be designated drivers (and offer an incentive if you must) or
hire a transportation service to make sure everyone arrives home alive.
Arrange for a bartender or two to
ensure that no one is either over-indulging or imbibing and are under the
legal drinking age.
Remember, friends don't let friends
drive drunk. Be a friend to your employees and their guests.
For alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverage recipes, look for Party Potables on the http://www.PartyPlansPlus.com
Web site.
Better Safe Than Sorry Many people assume that their
homeowners or business liability insurance will cover them during an off-site
party. Depending on your policy, that might not be the case. Likewise, when you
are working with vendors, be sure to obtain a contract for services.
Contact your insurance provider to
determine if you have sufficient coverage.
Insist that any vendors hired for
your event are covered with a minimum of a $1 million policy and provide you
with a valid insurance certificate that has you named as an additional
insured for the day of the event.
Have any contracts for services
reviewed by your attorney. For general guidelines of what provisions should
be found suppliers' (entertainers, caterers, photographers, etc.) contracts,
check Chapter 5: "When It's Time to Go Pro" of The Complete
Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party (Alpha Books, a division of
Macmillan Publishing).
Most of all, make your company picnic
an event that will be looked forward to, not only by your employees and their
families, but also by yourself. After all, don't you deserve a wonderful day in
the great outdoors too?
Copyright 2001, All Rights Reserved
Phyllis Cambria is a speaker, co-author
(with Patty Sachs) of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party,
celebrations and marketing expert and partners with her co-author in www.PartyPlansPlus.com.
She can be reached at PartyPlansPlus@aol.com
or 954-974-7907.
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