5 Top Tech Solutions For Hybrid Companies
With over 50% of US workers working remotely at least once a week and tech solutions catching up quickly to meet the new challenges faced by modern businesses, hybrid workplaces... Read More
Now that spring is here, the annual office summer party can’t be too far behind. Whether you work at a small company or an enterprise giant, you know that treating everyone to a night of free drinks and food at a swanky hotel downtown can be pretty expense.
If it brings colleagues closer together, makes people appreciate the company, and introduces a jolt of happiness into work life, going big on a summer party can well be worth it.
Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to budget the thousands of dollars it takes throw a full-blown extravaganza, and a happy hour isn’t much of a break from the norm. Not to worry. With a few inexpensive moves you can throw a feel-good party for the ages.
1. Take the Summer Party Outside
Having everyone head to the nearest park for a picnic makes for quintessential summer celebrating without breaking the bank on a venue or holing up in the office on a nice summer day. And if everyone contributes at least one item to the picnic, you’ve discovered yet another source of savings.
Weather permitting, a picnic in the park might be the most budget-conscious summer party you’ll ever throw.
2. DIY Dye
A fun way to spice up a summer party and incorporate a team-building activity is to have everyone dye their own shirts. After a couple drinks, the patterns might start to get really interesting, too. And the end results make for colorful contributions to the summer wardrobe for the rest of the season.
3. Renting Vintage Games
Renting a projector, bringing in an old gaming console and taking a trip down memory lane is both fairly inexpensive and infectiously fun. Super Marios Bros. is seriously way harder than you remember.
4. Catering the Summer Party
If you’re going to splurge on a summer party, err on the side of tasty bites. Finding a balance between light, healthy fare and bold, interesting flavors is key, as no one wants to spend the rest of the night regretting that fourth pulled-pork slider.
5. Summer Party Favors
Fact: Employees love swag. They can’t get enough of it, even that of the grossly inexpensive variety. Problem is, the occasions for them to get their hands on it can be surprisingly limited during the course of a year (OK, maybe not so surprising; it does cost money, after all). Using the summer party to unveil a new line of swag can rejuvenate your brand internally and provide a morale spark for your team. And while you could probably get away with giving out laptop stickers, some relatively budget-friendly summer items include branded sunglasses, mason jars, bottle openers and flip flops.
Don’t forget what might be the most important, unofficial rule of a great summer party: take it easy on the team the next day. If the party’s a success, they may get off to a slow start the following morning.