Sometimes the theme for a party is obvious, like Christmas or New Year’s or Valentine’s. But themes can be so much more; more inventive, more creative, more in-depth, and add so much more to the experience of your guests.
Why include a theme?
We’re going to provide you with a Quick Guide on why, even in the deepest, darkest corner of Winter, even for a squanky Gala, even at the Ritz, Summer Themes are a MUST! This week and next, Bright Ideas Events is highlighting Summer Themes in a two-part blog series designed to make you long for the warm days of Summer and how much fun it can be to incorporate it into your next corporate event.
The Benefits of Having a Theme
But before we talk Summer, let’s talk benefits of having a theme. The answer is simple, but twofold. With a theme, both you and your guests know what to do and what to expect. For you, the planner, it focuses your choices for décor, food options, activities, and entertainment. For your guests, they know what they’re walking into and can get excited about it which increases their likelihood of attendance. For exactly these reasons, parties with a good theme invariably have higher attendance because they are more cohesive and easier to enjoy.
Ok now, why Summer, you say? Because who doesn’t love the sun, the outdoors, the games played on the lawn, the delicious cocktails designed to cool you off after a day of open-air dalliance? And ‘Summer’ can be thought of in so many ways, the theme possibilities are endless! Summer themes invariably bring a huge smile to people’s faces, so they’re a win-win. A no brainer!
A Good Summer Theme
So what makes a good Summer theme, anyway? This has a two part answer. First, the result has to scream everything ‘Summer’ so your guests know that they’ve definitely arrived to West Palm Beach or The Mexican Riviera or wherever your party takes place. Secondly, you have to know your crowd and understand what they might expect from a ‘Summer’ theme. For example, a particular client that hires Bright Ideas to plan their family reunion, requires a theme that is family-friendly and reflects their core value of environmental sustainability.
Gardening Green Picnic
So, one year, we produced their Gardening Green Picnic. At this event, guests received coupons at Registration they could redeem at various stations to create their own potted plant arrangement. One coupon was for the planter pot of their choice, another for a bunch of decorations to decorate their pot, and several more for the plant varieties of their liking. They could choose from Marigolds, Begonias, Pansies, and half-a-dozen other colourful, happy garden flowers.
Guests of all ages could participate and all arrangements were entered into a competition for the Best and Worst Effort by age categories, awarded to much laughter and applause, given that everyone was related! Guests could participate in other theme-related activities, but most of all, they got to actively engage with their environment, and teach their youngsters a little bit about their core family values.
This week in Part One of the Quick Guide to Summer Themes, Bright Ideas has shared with you why it’s important for your event to have a theme, why that theme should be a Summer theme, and what it takes to make a good Summer theme.
Stay tuned, because next week we really dig in with Part Two of why Summer themes are a MUST, explaining how, exactly, to incorporate Summer into your event, the benefits of guests knowing about your Summer theme in advance, precisely how Bright Ideas is going to help you, and, after all of this information, how, on earth, you can possibly pick just one Summer theme?!
The Summer Theme Quick Guide continues here next week with Part Two, but if you’re already keen, give us a call and we’ll spill the beans on the rest of the tips and get you started on planning the best Summer-themed event your crowd has even seen!
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