It’s still middle of winter, so it may be early to start thinking of summer plans. But as any good business owner knows, it never hurts to think ahead, and thinking of sunshine in the middle of heavy rain and snow is no exception. Inevitably, winter will end, and the time will come for all sorts of summer activities.
Amongst these are barbecues, which are an excellent opportunity to gather your whole team for a day of fun in the sun!
Although there are corporate parties and events that can be planned for the winter, most of them are holiday centered, having to do with Christmas, New Years, etc. But after the holidays are over, throwing a holiday party doesn’t make all too much sense. It takes some serious Christmas cheer to do Christmas in January or February, and chances are that most of your employees will not be too enthusiastic about it. You could forego having a theme altogether, and throw a team building party so loaded with activities that everyone forgets it’s winter, and has a great time rock climbing, or playing sports, or even escaping a room together. These are all great ideas, and they’re bound to get your co-workers excited. But no matter how much fun you load into one day, people will still remember that between them and their home there stands a pile of slush and snow, and it will remain there until some point in mid-April. There’s no avoiding this harsh reality, and to be honest, you don’t need to. You just need to keep your team adequately happy until summer rolls around and you can throw a weekend barbecue bash, something that your employees will truly be excited for.
You might be thinking, “summer’s still so far away, why do I need to start planning the barbecue now? Well for starters, outdoor events actually require quite a bit of planning. There’s tons of rentals to think about, and you’re responsible for curating all the activities. When you take your team to an activity center, you have the luxury of activities being provided for you. When you throw an outdoor barbecue, you need to book everything accordingly, from the tent or canopy under which you’ll eat and present your team building info, to the sports and games in which you’ll be engaging. That’s why starting to plan early really doesn’t hurt, and your employees will only appreciate you more for putting in such meticulous planning into their enjoyment.
On that note, let’s take a look at what it takes to throw a successful summer barbecue!
A company barbecue is so much more than just a barbecue. If all you’re looking to do is to grill up some eat, that’s something which can be done pretty easily from home. When your employees show up to the work barbecue, they’re expecting not only good food and drinks, but also games and competitions! These add to the fun environment, and give your team some much needed friendly competition.
There are tons of outdoor games that you can choose from, each serving its own purpose at your corporate BBQ. Perhaps the most famous outdoor game that you can have is a relay race. These are a great opportunity to pit your team members against one another in what is usually a hilarious competition to watch! You start by dividing your team into two groups. Each group gets a different color bandana, and along with their team leader, they can even create a team flag. Coordinators, provided for by Pop Events, will get each group warmed up with a focus exercise, which usually mimics what the relay race will be. Each team accumulates points for the relays that they succeed in, and to be fair, team spirit always deserves some extra points! Finally, you can reward all their hard work with medals! When you order with Pop Events, you get all the supplies you need, such as:
- Two Coordinators to Run Games
- Megaphone
- Olympic Style Medals for all participants
- Colored Bandana for all participants
And you can choose to have any five games for the relay. Some of your choices are:
- Three Legged Race
- Potato Sack Races
- Sponge Pass
- Water Balloon Toss
- Pinky Hoops
- Ring Toss
- Tug of War
And tons more!
And if you really want to give your team a taste of something new and interesting, pick out the hottest day this summer, and have them play a game of Water balloon volleyball! It’ll test their volleyball skills, and get them soaking wet in the process.