Summer is officially here. That means businesses around the country are planning their annual company outings. Company outings are a great way to bond with team members and reduce workplace stress, allowing for employees to get to know each other on a personal level. Whether it’s a golfing scramble or a family-friendly picnic, BPC has all the fun swag you need to make your event a home run. Still keeping with our year of 30 theme, here are 30 company outing ideas to make your next company outing a lot more memorable.

1. First things first, embrace the fact that you’re all on the same team. This can be done in a variety of ways, but outfitting the entire office in branded apparel is a fun, easy way to show your company spirit.
2. Take the outing off-site. A change in scenery brings in a change in attitude. Since the outing is less about work, make sure you’re nowhere near it.
3. Make your outing voluntary. Chances are high that every employee will participate, but if you take away the option to choose for themselves, this will be just one more thing an employee has to do.
4. Customize to your culture. If your employees enjoy physical activity, host a volleyball tournament. If they’d rather use problem-solving skills, a board game marathon might be more your speed.
5. Allow input from others. You can’t please everyone, but you can make the effort to please most. Asking people for input shows you care and generates excitement around the event.
6. Leave an element of surprise. While you might be getting help from several team members, the main coordinator should have one or two tricks up their sleeve to surprise even the planning committee.
7. Schedule event during work hours. Employees appreciate employers who respect their time. Hosting an event during the day allows for all employees to participate without taking time away from home life.
8. Invite families. If your outing does end up outside office hours, be sure to extend the invite to families, giving employees a way to bring work and family together.
9. Pick a theme. You can’t go wrong with a themed event. From favorite decades to Game of Thrones, there’s something for everyone.
10. Make it festive. A picnic can be more than just any old picnic when you add balloons, streamers, and music.
11. Build a DIY photo booth. Everyone knows pictures are the best way to capture memories from events. But, it doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. All you need is a large piece of cardboard for the backdrop, a few props from the dollar store and, of course, a camera!
12. Create a custom SnapChat filter. After all, this is the era of selfies. The process is simple – come up with the design, determine the time and place the filter will be active and submit to SnapChat for approval.
13. Highlight employee talents. Whether it’s juggling or making balloon animals, capitalize on the outside talents of your employees.
14. Vary the activities. If you know anything about people, it’s that they all have diverse interests. Offer different activities to meet the needs of most, from volleyball tournaments to arts & crafts contests.
15. Arrange a scavenger hunt. No matter what type of outing you’re hosting, adding a scavenger hunt will bring out the competitive nature in any employee.
16. Organize food trucks. Fun fact: people love food trucks. Adding one or two local food trucks is a great way to bring a gourmet treat to an otherwise simple event.
17. Contribute to the community. Your company event can extend beyond the team into the community. Combine your event with a canned food drive, have your badminton tournament raise money for a local cause, or simply host your event at a volunteer site.
18. Host a cook-off. To allow for a little friendly competition (and save a little money on expenses), host a cook-off of different foods, whether it’s chili, ribs or even pie.
19. Hire a pro. With all the many team-building events out there, planning an outing can seem overwhelming. Hiring a planner who specializes in company events can alleviate some of the stress.
20. Don’t plan for every second. Company activities should ebb and flow. You should balance structured activities with plenty of downtime for employees to have natural conversations.
21. Make it educational. It’s true that learning can be fun. Learning something new together, like a cooking class, can give participants something they can take away for years to come.
22. Have a plan B. What’s the saying about the best laid plans? They can often go awry. Weather, deadlines, and unforeseen events can all lead companies to need contingency plans, so it’s best to be prepared.
23. Include fan favorites. You don’t always have to recreate the wheel every year. If you found the magic unicorn with a company event, do it again. Your employees will thank you for it.
24. Incorporate social media. In the days leading up to the event, post teasers on your social media channels to gain excitement.
25. Hashtag everything. Building on the tip above, creating a specific hashtag for your event also ups the excitement level and gives participants a way to share photos they took throughout the day.
26. Provide transportation. If your event is far from the office, offering a transportation service or parking spaces will help employees get to the event with little hassle.
27. Consider food preferences. From gluten-intolerant to vegetarian and everything in between, there are a lot of food restrictions. While you can’t make everyone a special dish, you should have options that cater to the majority.
28. Offer awards. No company outing is complete without an awards ceremony. Present awards to best attitude, most creative, etc. BPC has a slew of promotional items from hats to water bottles to coolies that make great prizes!
29. End day with a circle of appreciation. Since the goal of a company outing is team building, this is a simple, yet powerful activity. Team members form a big circle and every participant is asked to share something they appreciate about the person to their right. It may sound corny, but it leaves each member feeling good about the day.
30. Send guests home with a parting gift. Everyone invited should go home with something to remember the event, whether it’s a picture frame (with a picture from the day), keyboard pads or notepads.

Company outings can be a welcomed break from work, as long as you have everything planned in advance. Let BPC help you with all your promotional needs and company outing ideas from team T-shirts to awards. We have everything to make your next company event unforgettable!