Picnic Ideas Everyone Will Love in 2021
Bringing a whole group together has become a major challenge over the last year or two. If your group is finding it difficult to balance everyone’s unique needs with the challenges of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. It can be difficult to find team-building activities that are actually fun.
As sentiment for in-person events goes up and down with the latest news, a company picnic may be the best option for bringing your crew back together. A picnic ensures that appropriate social distancing is possible, while implementing CDC guidelines that encourage outdoor activities as the safest way to interact with those outside your household. And, best of all, it isn’t a video conference call!
Even a company picnic will look a little bit different right now, but it’s one activity that you can make both safe and fun. Just remember the three keys to creating a company picnic your whole team can enjoy during these times: safety, food, and entertainment.
Safety
Some of your group may feel especially cautious about social gatherings right now, and some may have medical reasons for ensuring that they interact safely with others. There are a few things you can do to help everyone take part in the fun.
Individual Everything
At your picnic, modify normal things, like the food you’ll serve or the activities you offer, to ensure that people share as few surfaces as possible. Have food pre-portioned for each individual, and make it easy for everyone to serve themselves without touching others’ portions. Also be sure to tell everyone to bring their own lawn chairs and picnic blankets, so that each family can set up their own space. Be prepared with plenty of supplies for sanitizing anything that people unavoidably share, and apply it to that surface after each use.
Masks
The CDC strongly recommends masks at group gatherings. Especially at a team-building event, masks are a great way for everyone to be respectful of others’ varying needs. Help others comply by providing masks if needed, so you can avoid any unnecessary drama at the event.
Hand Washing & Sanitization
The most important thing you can do to create a safe & healthy environment is to be sure that attendees can wash and sanitize their hands. Luckily, hand washing stations and hand sanitizing stations are readily available to rent and can make guests feel much more at ease at an outdoor picnic.
Food
Food is the glue that holds company picnics together. You may want to invite everyone to bring their own picnic foods for themselves to take that liability “off the table.” 😉 You could even provide some great picnic food recipes or take out ideas and let the attendees expense the cost of food. But if you choose to provide food, ditch the typical picnic buffet and instead, consider these fun ideas:
Carnival Food
Easily create a carnival theme by renting our cotton candy machine, funnel cake station, popcorn machine, pretzel warmer, or hot dog rollers. All of these items are easy to serve in individual portions, and incorporating containers that mimic those you might find at a carnival will add some fun to an important safety precaution.
Frozen Treats
Help everyone cool off in Austin’s summer heat with a treat from Frios Gourmet Pops, a snow cone machine, or a frozen margarita machine.
Food Trucks
The food truck scene in Austin is legendary, but in public it’s often crowded with long lines. A picnic is a great time to give your team the chance to enjoy a private food truck. Many, like Garbo’s Lobster Truck, offer private event, on-location options. Hiring a food truck would also be a great way to support a small business during these challenging times.
Entertainment
Many typical picnic activities require shared surfaces or close quarters, so some people may not be comfortable participating in them. But that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t have fun. Here are some ideas everyone can enjoy, while adhering to current safety guidelines.
Outdoor Movie Night
Making your picnic an evening event has two advantages: everyone will be happy to avoid the heat of the day, and you can host an outdoor movie! You can rent everything your team needs to create an enjoyable evening for your entire team with an outdoor movie night.
Scavenger Hunt
If your team enjoys being active, you might also consider a scavenger hunt. Teams can consist of families, since they’re already in close quarters with each other. The only modification you’ll need to make is to the clues at each leg of the journey. Consider posting each clue in the desired location, rather than putting it in an envelope — then there will be fewer items to exchange hands throughout the journey.
Carnival Entertainment
If you’ve already gone for carnival themed food, you can bring it all together with a magician or a stilt walker performance. This theme works especially well if your team members have small children they’ll be bringing along. A petting zoo would also be fun, and they provide lots of hand sanitizer!
Musical Bunch
Music is entertainment that everyone can enjoy from wherever they are. Hiring a music group or a DJ to perform can liven up your picnic.
It’s important to keep your team connected despite the fact that they may not see much of each other in person. A company picnic offers a variety of group activities that can bring everyone together while our workplaces constantly evolve with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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