The company holiday party is a great chance to share with your colleagues and celebrate the past year. This year it seems that many companies are beginning to cut back on the holiday event budget due to the current state of the US economy. Many employers are holding back on releasing budget details for their holiday parties until they see the stock market start to stabilize, and until they see what happens in America after the recent bailout plan. The results of the upcoming election are also going to be used by some company executives to determine the future of the company holiday party.

For those loyal staff members and employers who love the holidays- this does not have to be the end of the holiday party! There are plenty of low budget ways for event planners to put together a holiday party which will lessen it’s blow on the companies pocket book.

Examining the Holiday Party Budget
The best way to make budget cuts is by looking at the budget. So if you can, find out as much as you can about last years and preceding years company parties to determine what the budget has been in the past. At this time look and see if there are ways you could cut back on expenses.

Here are some examples of places to cut holiday party budgets:

Food - Catering: In years past, maybe you have had a nice fancy sit down catered meal for all your company members. If this is the case you have a great place to free up some budget. simply taking your holiday event and changing it into a less formal event will save a fortune. A “cocktail party” type of atmosphere is usually very successful and offers a casual elegance which is popular among crowds.

The Bar: If you have had a bar in the past, and typically just picked up the tab, a very simple change can save you big bucks. Moving to a “drink ticket” system can save you a fortune. Decide how many drinks you will offer each guest, and when they have consumed that number- they can always move to a no host bar.

Time of Day: Holding you event in the morning can free up a large amount of budget, offering you great savings on food and beverage. A simple pastries and coffee service can be used and you can incorporate all kinds of fun games, entertainers, and activities for the crowd to make the atmosphere more festive.

Also- this guide of holiday party games and holiday party ideas is a great place to look for new alternatives to past company parties!

The school carnival is coming up and you need some great ideas to keep those kids busy, parents happy, and the budget flowing for your school carnival event.

If you have not yet incorporated the use of inflatable games or a professional carnival company into your school carnival event… then you have a great opportunity to turn your event into the best event your school has ever hosted!

School Carnival Ideas

Game Ideas for School Carnival Planners
We have all kinds of great games and game ideas for school carnivals. Our games were professionally developed for carnivals and are ruggedly made to withstand heavy usage.

Ring toss - the classic toss rings and try to make a ringer. It is the perfect addition to any school carnival event you may be planning.

Fishing Game - Kids love not knowing what they will catch. And the classic fishing game is a perfect addition to any carnival.

Bowling Game - This is a very simple addition to any carnival event. And you can hand out carnival prizes or trinkets to all participants regardless how they do!

Dunk Tank - Dunk tank rentals are the perfect activity- especially if you can get a fun teacher, principal, or other school official to sit on the seat and get wet!

Inflatable Slide - Kids love the inflatable slide, and the slide will also bring a visual impact to your event which can not be matched anywhere. The height alone will excite your carnival guests!

There are all kinds of School carnival ideas and games available on our website- just browse through the pages, and see if there is something that interests you. We also have a full selection of carnival prizes available so we can truly be your one stop carnival shop!

Community celebrations and party rentals go hand in hand during the dog days of summer.

Community celebrations, like festivals, fundraisers, and block parties, held during the hot summer days beg for party rentals like water slides, giant inflatable games, and bounce houses. These party rental items add instant fun to any community celebration. Try out a few of these types of party rentals to make your next community celebration a success.

Community Celebrations and Party Rentals: Water Slides

Water slides are a terrific way to cool down during hot summer days. Water slides come in different sizes and are appropriates for guests of all ages. Even toddlers and 100-year-old guests can enjoy a good water slide. Water slides are available from most party rental agencies, and can be obtained for a few hours or a few days. You can even rent inflatable slides minus the water if you prefer drier fun for your community celebration.

Community Celebrations and Party Rentals: Giant Inflatable Games

Giant inflatable games are a big hit at community celebrations. Inflatable obstacle courses encourage a spirit of competition and are great for fundraisers. You can time participants with a stopwatch and award special prizes for winners in different age categories to increase participation and break the ice.

Giant inflatable games may include Velcro walls, giant sumo wrestling, giant Twister, or bungee run. These games are always popular at community celebrations and are available from a party rental supply company.

Community Celebrations and Party Rentals: Bounce Houses

Bounce houses are irresistible to children of all ages. Bounce houses come in fun colors and characters to delight kids with diverse interests. You can select a bounce house shaped like a pirate ship, a castle, a dragon, a horse, or a clown. Bounce houses also come in fun popular characters like Sponge Bob, Disney Princesses, Winnie the Pooh, or Super Man.

Bounce houses are safe for kids of all ages as long as an adult supervises them and the posted safety guidelines are followed. Bounce houses provide hours of giggling fun and physical exercise for children and adults.

Contact your party rental supply company of choice to find out more about renting entertainment equipment for your community celebration. A trained party rental specialist can fill you in on the details of renting the equipment, including the necessary space requirements, limitations, pricing, and availability of the party rental equipment.

Planning community events is a complicated and lengthy process. 5K runs, bike-a-thons, health and safety fairs, demonstrations, marches, rallies, outdoor festivals, street fairs, and carnivals require extensive planning, permits and organization.

Planning Community Events: the Planning Team

Planning community events is too much work for a single person. A planning committee is necessary to divide the work into manageable portions. A community event planning team is comprised of Chairpersons for the following categories: Overall Event, Logistics, Program/Agenda, Fund-raising, Media/Promotion, Space, Equipment, Food, Setup, Traffic Theme, Length, Speakers, Entertainment, Budget, Sponsors, Promotional Materials, and Media Packets. Each of these chairpersons can select and oversee a team of workers to complete their assigned tasks.

You should select each chairperson based on his or her prior experience, expertise, commitment to the event, willingness to work, and availability.

Planning Community Events: Setting Goals and a Timeline

Next up on the agenda for planning community events is setting your event goals and establishing a time-line. Determine what you wish your event to accomplish and outline clear objectives related to that goal.

Next, you need to establish a time-line for accomplishing each of your objectives. It is not unusual for a community event to take more than one year in the planning phase. It is better to allow enough time for unexpected problems than to push the clock and risk completing tasks poorly or overworking the event committees.

Planning Community Events: Financial Backing and Budgets

For any community event to be a success, solid financial backing must be obtained. This can come from paid advertising, donations, sponsors, or private contributions. You can also plan fundraising events to support your community event. These fundraisers can be held as far in advance as a year before the scheduled event.

Once solid financial backing has been established, a realistic and detailed budget must be created for the event. Setting a budget for a community event can be difficult. Selecting a few financially savvy people to serve on the budget committee can help make this process easier.

Planning Community Events: Management and Overseeing

Managing and overseeing the community events planning process is necessary to ensure that each committee is making adequate process, all permits are obtained, and city ordinances are followed. Overseeing the progress of each committee is the job of the head chairperson. If a committee is struggling with a particular task, extra help may need to be brought in to stay on schedule.

Planning community events is a large task that requires many hands to achieve success. This checklist is a simple guideline for beginning the community events planning process. More detailed information is available from your local library or event planning professional.

Are you looking for new picnic food ideas for your summer outing? Picnic foods need to be tasty, portable, and resistant to spoiling, and finding recipes that meet these requirements is challenging.

Finger foods are always a good choice for your picnic menu, but may not provide enough variety for more mature tastes. To keep you picnic food ideas fresh and healthy, try out a few of these picnic food ideas for your next summer outing.

Picnic Food Ideas

*Try packing fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole chesses for a fresher picnic menu. You can tuck a small cutting board and a sharp knife to prepare your foods on the spot.

*Avoid packing any picnic foods that contain mayonnaise, eggs, or dairy products to avoid the risk of food poisoning. Meats and fish should also be used with caution. If you include meat on your picnic menu, be sure to keep it cool and out of the sun.

*Instead of coleslaw, try shredded broccoli with carrots and a light salad dressing.

*Mixed nuts make great alternative picnic finger foods.

*Salsa and tortilla chips are safer, and healthier, than dairy-based dips.

*A few alternatives to the traditional sliced bread sandwich are wraps, bread pouches, croissants, bagels, and crackers. You can stuff these sliced bread alternatives with your favorite veggies or sandwich ingredients.

*Summer fruits and vegetables are great picnic items. Zucchini, squash, tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries, peaches, pears, and grapes are perfect for picnic totes.

*For a lighter picnic menu, replace that traditional fried chicken with cold chicken strips tossed in Italian dressing or your favorite barbeque sauce. You can serve the chicken on bread, pita wraps, or over cold pasta.

*Picnic beverages should be refreshing if you plan to spend time in the sun. Be sure to check if alcoholic beverages are prohibited near your chosen picnic destination before packing a bottle of wine or your favorite beer. Always include bottled water for extra hydration during your outdoor activities.

*For a little added twist, include fresh lemon slices, lime wedges, and peppermint sprigs to flavor your iced tea or water.

* Picnic food ideas for a romantic picnic could include finger foods, like whole strawberries, cheese chunks, and sliced French bread. Avoid recipes that call for broccoli, beans, garlic, or onions to reduce unpleasant odors during your romantic picnic. Include your sweetheart’s favorite foods and don’t forget to pack something sweet for dessert.

*For a picnic with kids, pack individual ingredients and allow kids to prepare their own picnic creations. Sandwich ingredients, mix-your-own fruit and veggie salads, individual cold pizzas, and decorated deserts are always a hit with kids.

Creating your own picnic food ideas allows you to incorporate your favorite foods into your picnic menu. Picnic food ideas should be fun, tasty, and easy to transport without spoiling.

Be sure to pack a few plastic bags to cart home the leftovers, and pack a few extra crackers to feed the ducks, birds, and squirrels that are may invite themselves to your picnic.

Coming up with ideas for bridal shower games is one of the major tasks of planning a bridal shower. If you are a bridesmaid looking for ideas for bridal shower games, these game ideas will help you make your loved one’s bridal shower a fun-filled success.

Ideas for Bridal Shower Games: Don’t Say It

This game begins as soon as the guests begin arriving. Each guest is given three decorated clothespins when they arrive. They are instructed to not say the words “wedding” or “bride”. In turn, each guest is to try to get the other guests to say these two forbidden words. When a guest is caught saying wedding or bride, they must give up a clothespin to the person who first calls them on slipping up. The guest with the most pins at the end of the shower wins a prize.

Ideas for Bridal Shower Games: Bridal Bingo

Guests are each given a blank Bingo card before the bride begins opening presents. Each card should have five columns and five rows, for a total of 25 blank squares. Each guest writes in his or her best guesses as to the gifts the bride is likely to receive at the shower. As the bride opens her gifts, guests mark off any that appear on their card. The first person to get five in a row yells out, “BINGO”, and wins a prize.

Ideas for Bridal Shower Games: Guess the Legs

This game is sure to bring a few laughs, but it requires cooperation from a good-natured groom. Before the wedding shower, recruit the groom and four or five other men to visit the shower at a given time. (The game only takes a few minutes of their time, unless they decide to stay for refreshments.)

Blindfold the bride and have the men enter the room with their pants rolled up to their ankles. The blindfolded bride must feel each set of legs to determine which ones belong to her beloved.
If she’s successful and can pick out her groom, reward her with a prize, if not, the prize goes home with the groom.

Ideas for Bridal Shower Games: What’s Inside

This game begins by passing out a page listing items that may be found in a woman’s purse. Each item is given a point value with the rarest items earning more points. Each woman rummages through her purse in search of items on the list.

The final question can be used as a tiebreaker, or just for fun. Ask the guests who believes they have the most unusual item in their purse. The bride votes for the most unusual item and awards an extra 10 points to the owner.

Ideas for bridal shower games are abundant, but not all games are appropriate for every bridal shower. Consider the guests who will be attending and avoid any games that may be considered offensive.

Company Party planners like us have seen all kinds of corporate events and parties.

Just as celebrating a holiday, birthday, anniversary, or hosting a family gathering is important to the health and growth of your family; it is equally as important to the well being of your company.
In today’s world it is hard to find quality employees, hard working staff members, and people who you can trust to make a commitment to your business in the manner which you know it requires. When you finally do find the people you need – it is in your best interest to make them feel appreciated.

Maintaining employee relations and encouraging quality extracurricular interaction among staff can produce bonds which will ultimately build your business. Taking the time to pull people aside and saying a heartfelt “Thank You for a Job Well done” has immeasurable effects on company moral, employee loyalty, and the longevity of your company.

Hosting a company event or celebration is a great way to nurture the relationships which keep your company going. Giving back to those who have given their time and commitment to the company encourages people to continue the commitments they have made. It is also a great way to find new people to continue a companies growth.

When your employees talk about the good things your company does for them- it often creates a desire in other people to work for your company!

The bottom line is that creating memories which your staff will remember for years to come will instill a sense of pride which will translate into a commitment to your company which can be attained no other way. Creating memories of a happy workplace creates discussion, interaction, and makes your company a desirable place to work which in turn brings you higher quality workers.

Our mobile ropes course is the ideal attraction to have for any event.

We have utilized it for team building activities, at carnivals and fairs, school events, celebrations, and all sorts of other special events. You can see some video of it in action by clicking the following link: Ropes Course Video

The ropes course features all kinds of elements and challenges including rope swings, tight ropes, tremor bridges, and even a fire mans pole to slide down.

Adult party game ideas can be difficult to find. Run an Internet search, and you might get results for X-rated parties and other unmentionable games. If you are looking for good, clean adult party game ideas, look no further.

Ideas for Adult Party Games

*Casino night is a great theme for any adult party. You can rent casino games, slot machines, and even have your own party money printed.

*The Mardi Gras party is a favorite for adult party themes. Guests can come in full costume and dance the night away.

*A Luau party is another fun adult party theme perfect for those warm summer nights. Even if you do not have a beach nearby, you can create a Luau in your own backyard with a bonfire, good food, relaxed attire, and some inexpensive leis.

*Select your favorite old movie and throw a party centered on your favorite characters and scenes.

* Do you have a favorite decade? Are you an eighties child, or a sixties groupie? You can throw an adult party themed to match your favorite time period.

Adult Party Game Ideas

Try out a few of these adult party games on your guests to liven up your party.

*The Irish Drinking Song Game- Have guests write and sing lyrics to an Irish drinking song. (This game is similar to the skits presented on Whose Line Is It Anyways.)

* Apple Bob- Guests compete to pull out apples floating in a tub of water using only their teeth.

* Belly Dancing Competition- Girls judge the guys and vice versa!

*Blind Volleyball- This game is played like a traditional game of volleyball except a sheet is used instead of a net so players cannot see the other team.

* Egg Breakers- Provide guests with cartons of eggs- some are hard-boiled, some are not. Eggs must be broken over your head. The guest who finds the most hard-boiled eggs wins.

* Diaper Race- Guests race to see who can diaper a baby doll first, using only one hand.

*Worthless Junk Auction- Raffle off your worthless junk to the highest bidder with a special prize hidden with one piece of junk.

*Board Game Mania- Present your guests with fun board games like Cranium Cadoo, Cranium, and Checkers.

*Crazy Put Put- Create a haphazard mini-golf course in your backyard and give guests plastic kid’s golf clubs to put with.

Adult party game ideas are nearly endless. If you have a favorite party game from childhood, go ahead and present it to your guests. Chances are good that they loved the same games and will play along too. Don’t forget to throw in a few motivational prizes to get the games going!

Choosing the perfect event location is one of the biggest steps in planning an event such as a wedding, birthday party, prom, or corporate event. Selecting the wrong location can ruin your event and finding the perfect event location helps all those other details fall into place more easily.

In order to evaluate an event location properly, you must have a list of your required needs for your event.

Evaluating Your Needs for Choosing the Perfect Event Location

Different types of events call for different types of facilities. Review this checklist to determine your needs for choosing the perfect event location.

*How many guests are you expecting?

*Will you need audio/visual equipment for your event?

*Are the meeting facilities located within a reasonable travelling distance?

*Is the facility within city limits and subject to any special ordinances, such as low-level noise after 9 PM or a curfew?

*Is the facility available on your desired date and for the duration of your event?

* Is on-site parking available?

What to Ask When Reviewing an Event Location

It is best to evaluate each possible event location in person. Call to schedule a walk through with a facility employee and prepare a list of questions to take with you.

Things to Look for When Visiting an Event Location

*Is the overall condition of the building in good repair (I.E. no peeling paint, no sagging roofs, all handrails are secure)?

*Is there adequate guest parking?

*Are heating and cooling provided for the rooms you will require?

*How many bathrooms are available for guest use?

*How noisy is the surrounding area?

*Is there a kitchen available on site?

* Does the facility provide enough seating options for all of your guests?

*Are there enough outlets in the room to meet your needs?

* Is there any evidence of insect or rodent infestation on the grounds?

*Is the surrounding area visually appealing?

Things to Ask When Evaluating an Event Location

*Is audio/visual equipment provided? If so, what is the rental charge and requirements for use?

*Is on-site catering available?

*Does the facility offer staffing for assistance with the event?

*Are parking and direction signs allowed?

*Can banners or ceiling decorations be hung?

* Are there any limitations for open flames such as candles?

*Can the room’s layout and lighting be adjusted if necessary?

*What services does the facility offer?

*Is alcohol allowed on site?

*Does the facility offer a guarantee?

* What payment options are available?

*Will you need to sign a contract to secure the event location?

*What are the terms of renting the event location?

Never select an event location without viewing it in person. Choosing the perfect event location takes planning and leg work for the event coordinator. The perfect location for your event meets all of your needs, provides a visually appealing atmosphere, and includes a friendly support staff at a reasonable price.