Getting ready for Holiday events!

Great Themes for Winter Parties

Take advantage of the upcoming winter months with appropriately themed parties. Sure winter can be dreary, but the cold weather does not have to put a damper on the party spirit inside you. The winter time offers eclectic and unique theme possibilities that can knock the socks off of any guest. Cold weather beware, because the following themes will show your guests just how fun winter can be.

Winter in the Country

You may despise the snow, but there is no denying that view. As long as you have the proper preparations-tents, wraps, blankets, heaters, etc. – having a party outdoors is never out of the question. Use that to fuel your theme and have yourself a winter party in the country. Bring your guests to the countryside to revel in the nature’s wintery glory. Simple hors d’oeuvres such as s’mores and hot chocolate cocktails are perfect examples of options to spice up your country party.

Winter Wonderland

While primarily associated with Christmas, a winter wonderland is a welcome sight throughout the season – and it is so simple to pull off. Decorate your party with snowflakes, fake cotton as snow, and the occasional snowman or woodland creature for good measure. Organization should be quick and painless considering you will want to have a consistent color scheme of white and ice blue. Add some seasonal drinks, food, and music to make your party one for the books.

Garden Party, The Winter Edition

For all the classier party-goers out there, nothing is more elegant than a garden party during winter. Create extravagant invitations, provide delicious finger foods, and create a chic atmosphere. Needless to say, a dress code is encouraged Have your guests dress to the nines to fully capture the concept. If you would like to go the extra mile, make it a black tie event or a 1920’s themed party.

Whether you are throwing a rustic, winter themed country party, or a garden party with class to spare, you have plenty of options to host a great event in spite of the weather.

Has it been too long since your last company outing? Here are some ideas:

Company Team Outing Ideas

1) Volunteer

Giving time to support a good cause isn't just good for the soul; it's also a great way for your team members to bond. Place-based volunteering ideas include things like volunteering at a local soup kitchen, helping build a Habitat for Humanity house, or delivering gifts to children's hospitals during the holidays. Skill-based volunteering is a cool way to stretch your employees' expertise: It's when your team volunteers their time and uses their professional skills -- anything from marketing to app development to writing -- to help a nonprofit.

Try VolunteerMatch.org for either type of volunteering opportunities, and Catchafire.org for skill-based volunteering opportunities.

Image Credit: VolunteerSpot

2) Mystery Dinner

Mystery dinners are one of the most beloved traditions here at HubSpot. On a single night, you send a group of folks from different teams within your company to dinner somewhere in your city (or at someone's house). The dinner is hosted by one of your company's leaders and paid for by the company. These dinners allow random groups of people from the same company to spend an evening chock full of good food and conversation together. 

What makes them a mystery dinner? The only thing participants should know about the dinner ahead of time is the date and time. Then, on the afternoon the dinner is supposed to take place, send each group an email with the name of the restaurant they're going to and who they'll be going with so they can arrange transportation together. Optional: Give every dinner host the name of a restaurant or bar to invite everyone to congregate at once the dinners are over.

3) Room Escape Games

Here's a great bonding activity that requires leadership skills, teamwork, logic, and patience. Room escape games -- Escape the Room, Puzzle Break, AdventureRooms, etc. -- have become a wildly popular team-building exercise for groups around the globe. (Want to find one close to your office? Check out this directory for Escape the Room.)

Here's how it works: A group of people get "locked" in a room for one hour. During that one hour, they have to find hidden objects, solve puzzles, and figure out clues to locate the key that will set them free. And it's not easy: Only 20% of players actually make it out before the hour is up.

Image Credit: Escape the Room St. Louis

4) Kayaking/Canoeing

Nothing says "let's work together" quite like trying not to end up in the water. Want to take advantage of the outdoors? Grab a paddle and head down to the closest river for a great spring or summer outing.

Many public rivers and ponds have boat houses where you can rent kayaks and canoes -- and you can encourage folks to rent multi-person ones and pair up with people they don't usually work with.

5) Trampoline Parks

Hey, who says trampolines are just for kids? Take your team to a trampoline park for some jumping fun and a chance to work off the day's stress. Many cities have local places with trampoline activities -- if you're in the Boston area, check out Skyzone for trampoline dodgeball and basketball games.

Image Credit: Mustbeart

6) Karaoke Night

What better way to get your employees to break out of their shells than to have them get up and sing some karaoke? You can even have a contest for best group karaoke performance. Bonus points if there are feather boas and cowboy hats involved. This works best for a more extroverted group, so if your team isn't into strutting their stuff on stage, consider an idea on this list that caters more toward their personalities.

Image Credit: derekgavey

7) Something Embarrassingly Touristy

Embrace your city! Pick a hot tourist destination and go as a team. You can even do a Segway tour. (Fanny packs: optional.) It'll be fun to laugh at how silly it feels to be a tourist in your own city, and you might even learn something new.

Image Credit: Wikimedia

8) Kart Racing

Nothing like a little competition to bond a group together. An adrenaline-pumping event like kart racing is a great way to get employees to interact with one another in a totally new and fun way. Just make sure everyone pays attention during the safety lecture.

9) Laser Tag

Another great way to get your adrenaline pumping? A good old game of laser tag. Not only is it great fun, it's also an opportunity for employees to exercise their strategy and logic skills, as well as teamwork skills. Bonus: Make teams ahead of time and have people dress up.

10) Painting Class

If you're looking for a slightly more relaxing activity, take a group painting class. Paint Nitehosts painting classes by local artists at various bars throughout major cities for painting on canvases, wine glasses (like in the picture below), and so on. It's a great way to let your team members unwind, catch up over some drinks, and express their creativity.

11) Cooking Class

In the mood for something a little more... culinary? Change up the usual outing to a bar or your local restaurant, and try a cooking class. Through a service such as Kitchensurfing you can hire a professional chef to come cook a fancy meal for you in your home or office kitchen. Between the multiple courses prepared before your eyes, your team will have plenty of time to strike up conversation and enjoy the delicious aromas.

12) Sports Game

Round up the team and head out to a sports game. What a fantastic way to rev up team spirit while combining both competition and camaraderie.

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Team-Building Activities, Games, and Exercises for Work

13) Scavenger Hunt

Find a beautiful day, break everyone out into groups, and have a scavenger hunt around the city. You can organize one yourself, or use an app like Stray Boots. Your team will feel nice and refreshed after some fresh air and fun challenges. Be sure to take lots of silly pictures -- you can even have a slideshow when everyone regroups at the end.

14) Cook-Off

Here's a culinary team-building activity that could end in dessert or disaster -- in a fun way. Creating new dishes together requires creativity and will require everyone to put their team and leadership skills into action. Divide your team into smaller teams, pick a food category, and challenge each team to whip up something delicious. The category could be anything from ice cream to salsa to pizza. 

One fun twist you could add? Pick a single ingredient that all teams must use, like maple syrup or Oreos. Or, have each team get creative with the shape of their food -- you can make pizzas into almost any shape.

Image Credit: Teambonding.com

15) Improv Workshop

Comedy and improv events are fun, interactive experiences that'll have your employees roaring with laughter while teaching them useful communication and soft skills, like focus and trust. Depending on your budget, you could do anything from simply playing improv games with your employees to bringing in professionals to run competitive, fast-paced activities.

Image Credit: Al-Jazeera

16) Board Game Tournament

Here's one way to spark your team members' competitive sides without having to leave the office. Organize a team-wide board game tournament. Especially if your team is pretty big, it may be easiest to pick a single game, and then have people sign up for specific time slots where they're free to leave their desks and spend some time playing the game. Some great games with reasonable play times include Boggle, Jenga, or even games using good ol' playing cards. Don't forget to incentivize with prizes for first, second, and third place. 

Image Credit: Glassdoor

17) Professional Development Workshop

Want to encourage your employees to bond while providing them with an opportunity to learn and further their career? Offer a shared learning experience either at your office or at an off-site workshop or conference. The activity could be specifically related to your employees' jobs, or it could be something more broad, like a negotiation or leadership skills workshop.

Now you're ready to show your team a great time while increasing their happiness andcreating a great company culture. And hey, you might just be the "cool boss" now. How cool would that be?

credit: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/creative-team-outing-ideas#sm.0000b7dc061ceserfr9rqvqot0b0j

Clearspan Tents available for rent from Encore Event Rentals in Shreveport, LA

Encore Event Rentals recently rented and installed a Clearspan structure tent over a tennis court in Oklahoma. Clearspan structure tents are the efficient structure for large volume events. Designed for quick installations and easy handling, Clearspan tents can be installed on any surface without foundations required. 

Events that Can Be Held in a Temporary Structure 

A Clearspan Tent can be any structure that is built and disassembled quickly. These can include outdoor shade structures such as clear span tents. These structures are great for any time of year, as they can be augmented with different types of fabric and structural elements that fit different kinds of weather. Whether things need to be kept out of the heat and sun or the rain and snow, a good temporary structure should be able to get the job done.

Planning the Use of an Outdoor Space

 As you plan the layout of your outdoor space, you should first consider what kind of event you are holding. What ill the weather be like on the dates you are considering? What are the physical logistics of the site? Will you be requiring other accessories? For example, if you are going to have a performance on a stage, the structure will need to be tall enough to accommodate the entire stage structure. If the ground is going to get muddy, you might want to have steel floor tiles to keep the surface level and slip resistant. If you’re planning an event during the winter months, you may want to consider portable heating. Everything from flooring, lighting, to temperature control will be important aspects to keep in mind.

Events Housed in Temporary Structures

 There are many different ways to utilize the layout of an outdoor space. Typically, a clear span tent is the best option to maximize the efficiency of space usage and to minimize distractions. Here are some examples of how to set up different events.

• Trade Shows: A trade show can be positioned in the most appropriate area when you can bring the structure anywhere. Specified entrances and added lighting can create a perfect space for exhibiting various items for sale or display, and fit multiple vendors and appraisers.
• Hotel or Resort Events: By utilizing blackout fabric and custom lighting, you could transform any space into a beautiful dining or event area. Flooring is a great option for one of these events, where you can create a truly intimate setting.
• Sporting Events: Sometimes you may want to have a high-tiered shaded area for people to look down on a sporting event. Or maybe the actual area for the event itself needs to be shaded. An outdoor structure can have its legs adjusted to fit onto any incline or elevated surface, allowing for infinite possibilities.
• Corporate Meetings: If you are going to have a lot of people coming from around the nation to attend your company’s meeting, and you don’t have a conference room big enough for all of them, a temporary structure will allow you to make the perfectly sized area for any space accommodations.
• Outdoor Concerts: When planning a concert, wouldn’t it be great to be able to have the perfect sized venue? Temporary structures are a great option because they allow you to make an area perfectly sized for the number of tickets you’ll be selling and tall enough to accommodate special equipment.

There are many more ways that a Clearspan Tent can be used, and the above are just some examples. If you can imagine an event space, we can build it..