A huge trend that Bright Ideas is noticing recently is a request for a touch of real nature at our clients’ Corporate Events. Something green, something sustainable, something like a Gardening Green Picnic to remind us of the beautiful locale and environment we live in.
So what is a Gardening Green Picnic? It’s an outdoor event that features an activity involving actual gardening or potting plants in innovative ways. Bright Ideas came up with this theme and it has become quite popular.
At Registration, we give each guest a coupon for a pot and several coupons for any of many types of flowers. They exchange their pot coupon at the ‘Rummage Sale’ for a container of their choice. It could be a basket, it could be a Terra Cotta pot, it could be a mug or bowl, etc. Then they arrive at the ‘Workshop,’ a table filled with all kinds of decorating materials. Guests can glue a ribbon and bow onto their pot, or paint butterflies around the edge, or spell out fun messages in sequins or buttons, affix tiles or spikes in a pattern, anything their heart desires!
After the decorations set, guests then arrive at the ‘Plant Sale’ where they exchange their plant coupons for any variety available. Guests can choose from marigolds, chrysanthemums, pansies, begonias, daisies, violets, whatever your local plant wholesaler can provide in bulk. And, if you organize a contest with different categories, such as “Best Use of Sparkles” or “Most Interesting Pom Poms” and “Best in Show,” even the stiffest of your guests will find themselves racing for the best colour of sequins or most flattering material for ribbon, and really getting involved!
But beyond being fun and appropriate for an outdoor company event, there are many great reasons to host a Gardening Green Picnic. First of all, your guests will really appreciate that you as a company are answering the question of corporate environmental responsibility by literally handing them an oxygen producing plant. Second of all, this theme with its decorating component allows the gardening activity to be both a take-home keepsake as well as a really entertaining pastime. And finally, this type of activity is a wonderful conversation starter, even between strangers, so it always turns into a great networking and mingling tool. Guests start talking with each other about what kind of perennials they have in their front gardens, and sharing soil aerating techniques, and of course, offering each other advice on which size of papier mâché robin-on-a-stick they should nestle among their blooms!
The benefits of hosting a Gardening Green Party are numerous. As mentioned, you’re demonstrating to your guests that you heard their feedback about becoming more environmentally responsible as a company, and people really respond to this, both at your event as well as developing a sense of loyalty to your brand. It’s also the perfect theme to host outdoors during the best of weather in summer. Getting your guests outside gets them invigorated and energized, and by providing them with a take-home momento, they will remember this and the fun they had whenever they see their handmade plant creation. Finally, and importantly, by creating an activity that is mostly self-directed, you are providing a casual environment for your guests to get as engaged and involved as they wish, thereby allowing them the flexibility to make of their time at your event exactly what they want. What more could a guest with a green thumb ask for!?
So get your guests outside and enthusiastic about gardening, about being green, and about the company picnic. Call Bright Ideas today and make your next outdoor event a Gardening Green Picnic, complete with marigolds and mugs, ribbons and robins, and sequins and sparkles!
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You might also enjoy reading the following blogs:
Benefits of Hiring Bright Ideas – Part 1 of 2
Benefits of Hiring Bright Ideas – Part 2 of 2
