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
Long Island is, literally, a long island stretching eastward from New York City. The largely suburban area is approximately 115 miles long from Brooklyn and Queens at the western end, to Montauk at the easternmost point. At its widest the island is approximately 20 miles from north to south. While Long Island geographically includes Brooklyn and Queens, politically Long Island in general includes Nassau County and Suffolk County of New York State only.
The primary tourist attractions are the large number of excellent beaches along Long Island Sound to the north and especially along the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The North Fork is also home to many wineries. Other attractions include harbor towns such as Port Jefferson, where a variety of eateries and small businesses thrive in a bohemian atmosphere.
Long Island is essentially a suburban area throughout (except for the Twin Forks region, which is rural) and has few major cities.
There are many ways to get into Long Island: by plane, by train, by boat and by car. National and international airlines land and take-off at four major airports in Long Island. They are MacArthur Airport in Islip (which is a convenient regional airport centrally located on Long Island), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), which is located to the west of the Island (and New York City) in the state of New Jersey.
Long Island Railroad (LIRR) provides service to and from the New York City area to most major towns on the Island. Be aware, however, that the farther from New York City one travels, the more sporadic service becomes.
If you prefer going in by boat, there are ferries available at the north shore of Long Island Sound.
When considering using a car or limousine service, one can take into account the many controlled-access highways that run through New York City from Connecticut and New Jersey. It is advisable, however, to travel on routes that do not cross Manhattan Island (where traffic is perpetually horrendous). From New Jersey, I-278 runs across Staten Island to Brooklyn where major roads (including Route 27 and the LIE) can be reached. From Connecticut, take I-95 South to I-678 and the Throgs Neck Bridge. Once into Queens, nearly every major thoroughfare is encountered while still heading south on 278.
A convenient way to bypass most traffic is to take a car ferry from either Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson (on the North Shore in the center of Suffolk County) or New London, CT to Orient Point (on the North Fork).
*****
Why use a limousine service in New York?
A limousine service can easily be substituted for a car service. The comfort and safety of having a chauffeur-driven limousine service is more valuable when traveling in and around New York. There are practically hundreds of limousine services in New York.
Look up other areas covered by New York NY Limo limousine services:
Limousine Service (Bronx) – Limousine Service (Brooklyn) – Limousine Service (Long Island) - Limousine Service (Manhattan) – Limousine Service (Queens) – Limousine Service (Staten Island) – Limousine Service (New York)
