How to Plan a Company Picnic Successfully

Tap to Read ➤ Aastha Dogra

A company picnic is a great way for employees to get together and relax. Picnics also strengthen relationships and teams. Read on to know the kind of food, activities, games, and themes you can plan to show your employees a grand time.

Company picnics have become quite a norm in the corporate world today. They offer an opportunity for employees to mingle with one another and become friends, thus contributing towards team building. They are used by the organizations to convey to the employees that they are valued and cared for.

These picnics are as much about fun and entertainment, as they are about improving employee motivation, productivity, and employee retention.

Ideas and Planning Tips

Set a Budget

The first step is to set a budget. You should be very clear on how much you want to spend before you can decide on the venue, the number of invitees, whether to invite the families of the employees, and the kind of theme and games you want to have.

Select the Venue

When selecting the venue, you should ideally go by the choice and tastes of your employees. Some other things to consider are: weather (if it's spring and you choose to have an open air picnic, things may go very wrong), how far the venue is from your office, and the kind of activities you can organize there.

A good idea here would be to come up with four or five venues which you think are appropriate and then have your employees vote and select the final place.

Choose a Theme

These days, planning picnics around a particular theme is in vogue. Some of the popular themes are: country fair, jungle safari, Olympics, beach, Halloween, and Christmas.

If you want to make the picnic a grand affair and have the budget for it, you can even hire the services of professional corporate event planners who will tell you exactly what to bring and which activities to have.

Plan the Games and Activities

Games and activities are the life of any picnic. So, make sure that they are fun and entertaining for the staff as well as their families (if they are invited).

Dividing employees into teams and having them compete in games like volleyball, football, or soccer is one of the most popular ideas. If the venue has a pool, you can keep water sports activities such as water polo.

One minute contests can be held. Four to five employees compete against each other to complete a task in one minute. Some contests could be: 'who will drink the most sodas in a minute', or 'who can collect the most lipsticks'. Some other games you can keep are treasure hunts, tug of war, charades, truth or dare, and relay races.

Other options for entertainment are arranging for a good DJ and having a dance floor, a face painting booth, a tattoo artist, having art and crafts activities (especially if the employees' kids are there), a magic show, and pony rides.

Plan the Menu

Usually, most of the picnic venues have their own caterers who will provide some pre-arranged menus for you to choose from. So if you do not want the added burden of arranging for food, you can opt for these services.

However, if you have the time, choose foods which are convenient to handle and carry such as hamburgers, sandwiches, vegetable salad, fruit salad, or hot-dogs. For beverages you can keep fruit juices, soft drinks, and maybe a few mocktails for the kids.

Whenever you have any games or contests, make sure that you give away prizes to the winners. They don't need be expensive, they can be something as small as a pen or a t-shirt with your office logo on it.

Also, if the families are invited, give the kids or the wives a candy bag as an appreciation for attending the picnic. Besides the entertainment, it is simple thoughts and tokens like these that make the picnic memorable.