Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips
By
Ellen Zucker
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
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Mamaroneck Town, NY
Mamaroneck is a town located in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 28,967. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of Mamaroneck, part of which is located in the Town of Rye. The portion in Rye is also unofficially called "Rye Neck".
The Village is home to distinct residential neighborhoods, each with its own characteristic. Along the Sound, there is Shore Acres, Greenhaven and Orienta, all places previously owned by wealthy families from New York City as summer residences.
Heathcote Hill is situated on the hill overlooking the harbor, developed since incorporation; The Heights, at the north eastern corner of the Village, developed in the 1920's; Old Rye Neck area, with older homes built in the 1880's along Barry and Melbourne Avenues; further east in Rye Neck, neighborhoods developed in the 1920's and 1930's; first developed before the Civil War, the Washingtonville area, which is also known as "The Flats" because of being surrounded by higher ground.
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Mamaroneck, with its population of people from all over the world, is known as "The Friendly Village" - A place for all to enjoy living in a community that welcomes different cultures and appreciates their differences.
History & Trivia
Famous historical figures that lived in Mamaroneck include Bishop William Heathcote DeLancey and novelist James Fenimore Cooper. It was in Mamaroneck that James Fenimore Cooper wrote his first novel, Precaution. American artist Norman Rockwell attended secondary school in Mamaroneck, and donated one of his paintings to Mamaroneck High School. The painting now hangs in the school library. In 1910, the course at Winged Foot Golf Club was constructed. Winged Foot was the location of the 1997 PGA Championship and the 1979 and 1984 U.S. Open and is scheduled to host the U.S. Open in 2006.
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