Picnic Planning Tips
| 1. |
HOW TO SAVE MONEY $ / BUDGET
First, what is your budget? Once you have established the budget, you can begin getting
quotes. Many parks offer Special Promotional Packages and Early Bird Bookings. Be sure
to ask about any discounts they may offer. Sometimes hosting your event on a Sunday may
be less expensive. You may also consider hosting a weekday or employee only event. If you
are going to allow guests, in order to obtain a fairly accurate attendance number, we
recommend taking the number of employees and multiplying it by 1.5.
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| 2. |
ORGANIZE YOUR COMMITTEE
Many picnic facilities have event planners that will do most of the work for you, alleviating
the need for a large committee. Once the committee is established, hold a meeting to discuss
initial thoughts and desires on what the picnic should entail. After you find a location, each
committee member can research a picnic facility to, getting quotes.
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| 3. |
FIND A LOCATION
Choosing your location may be the most crucial step. First, you need to determine what type
of picnic you are looking for. Do you want a Family Picnic Facility or a Theme Park? Family
Picnic Facilities allow everyone to interact, socialize, build team spirit, meet their families
and have old fashion family fun. Theme Parks on the other hand, offer a lot of activity and
are often the choice of the employees but they do not allow employees to socialize. Quite
often, Theme Parks are just a day for employees to get a free ticket to ride the rides with their
families. You are faced with the decision between building company unity and spirit or
simply providing a free day for your employees' families.
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| 4. |
SELECT A DATE
First, find the dates that do not work for YOU or your committee, one of the perks for
planning the event. Then check the dates with the "higher ups", CEO, CFO, President,
Owner, etc. Now you can narrow it down to those dates that work best for everyone. Saturdays
will book up first, so reserving a date earlier than later is highly recommended.
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| 5. |
MENU / REPUTATION
Great tasting food made from the highest quality ingredients and plenty of it is a must for
every successful picnic! Choosing a park with a great reputation for delicious food is sure to
be a hit with the troops. Be sure to choose a menu that has a wide variety of options; people
like to have choices. Don't forget about the vegetarians, make sure they are taken care of too.
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| 6. |
ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES
Entertainment and activities are a great way to increase team spirit and build employee
morale. The first objective is to entertain the kids throughout the day so mom and dad can
relax. We recommend bounce houses, a swimming pool, arts & crafts, carnival games,
dunk tanks, inflatable interactive games, playgrounds, volleyball, horse shoe pits, DJ's,
Clowns and plenty of areas to discover.
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| 7. |
SCHEDULE / AGENDA
Create a schedule of activities to distribute to your employees prior to the event and then
post your schedule the day of the event. Many parks will provide an agenda for you, just ask.
Include start and end times, meal service, and other special activities. The object is to show
that the day is organized, filled with fun & excitement but not too rigid or structured.
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| 8. |
PROMOTE / INCREASE ATTENDANCE
Announce the date as soon as it is established. Place notices in paychecks, email employees
and mention it at meetings. The goal is to plant the seed. You won't start the heavy
promotion and sign ups until 4 t0 6 weeks prior to the event. To do this, put posters and
agendas throughout your office and in all the break areas. Evite.com is also a great free
service for inviting and tracking your guests. To ensure fewer no shows, you may want to
charge $5 to $10 per ticket. The money can either be returned to the employees that do show
up or it can be used to purchase door prizes. Cash gifts and give-a-ways are also a good way
to increase attendance and create excitement. As a last resort, you can always threaten
with the potential loss of their job! :-)
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| 9. |
AESTHETICS
Try to select a place that "takes you away". A place close enough to the city but able to
give the feeling you've momentarily escaped the Silicon Valley to a peaceful, fun and
relaxing family oasis. Be sure you choose a facility that has plenty of shade, trees, and
natural beauty. Parks with a pool and creeks are big hits with employees & their families.
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| 10. |
SIMPLICITY
The day of the event should be just as enjoyable and relaxing for you and your committee
as the rest of the employees. Choose a facility with a friendly, experienced and accommodating
staff that will take care of all the event details.
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| 11. |
OH YES, There's one more extremely helpful step we just thought of ...
CALL SARATOGA SPRINGS & WE'LL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING FOR YOU.
Every day is a picnic at Saratoga Springs... Let us share one with you!
Picnic Planning Guide ~ 10 Steps |
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Picnics
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