Who doesn’t love Summer? The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and the warm weather has got everyone feeling more positive. We can’t wait to be delivering summer team building events again. It’s a chance for everyone to get out into the fresh air, and there are endless possibilities for corporate summer parties that promise to inspire and delight attendees. We’ve rounded up 10 great ideas so you can spice up your social get-togethers throughout the summer.
1. Corporate Festival
Switch up your conference or meeting with an exciting corporate festival element, this works great for two-day events whereby there is a conference on the first day and a fun festival on the second. Corporate festivals are a great way to achieve maximum engagement from your delegates, incorporating informative business meetings and fun social get-togethers. Divide the days into interactive and immersive experiences, at your venue of choice. Section spaces into different break-out rooms or speaker sessions then transform them into exciting evening entertainment, such as bar and activity areas. On the second day, why not provide fairground stalls and delicious street-food-style catering, for delegates to socialise after meetings? Finish the event with a live music set from our impressive range of acts and performers. Consider going all-out with the festival theme, including ticket invites, personalised lanyards and company-branded merchandise such as bucket hats and T-shirts.
Great fun for everyone involved, hosting a corporate festival is guaranteed to freshen up your next conference by creating memorable experiences with high employee engagement.
2. Garden Party
Turn your summer social into an unforgettable classic, with a bright and breezy garden party. Get everyone together for a team catch-up over tea and cake before they get the chance to let down their hair and play some giant garden games! Set the scene with pastel colours, playful bunting, and sparkly fairy lights, and create a matching menu of finger sandwiches, cream teas, and yummy cakes. Swap the boardroom for a sunny meeting space with picnic blankets, hay bales, bunting and of course a Pimms station! Why not have a live band provide the perfect soundtrack to accompany your day?
A relaxed and memorable occasion, a garden party is the ideal theme for your summer event.
3. Family Fun Day
If you’re looking for a fun summer event that will reward your employees and give everyone a chance to get to know each other better, a family fun day could be the perfect event. Packed with exciting games, from giant inflatables to traditional fairground stalls, it’s a great way to get employees and their families engaging with one another, increase team bonding and build better relationships. There are loads of activities for guests of all ages, including bouncy castles and face painting for younger children, along with archery and motorised activities for older attendees. Add in some delicious food stalls and entertainment from circus performers and it’s sure to be a summer party that your colleagues will remember for years to come.
Company family fun days are a fantastic summer event and help to encourage a good work/life balance and show an interest in your employee’s lives outside of work.
4. iPad Treasure Hunts
Getting active in the fresh air can be a great way to refresh your employees and help promote positive physical and mental health. Tie this in with an exciting way to explore a new place and you’ve got the perfect outdoor team building activity! Set your employees off on a treasure hunt around the city, where they will solve puzzles, collect clues, gain points and take some hilarious photos! A great fun activity to build communication, problem-solving and leadership skills, Company treasure hunts also promote a fun business culture and give employees the chance to get away from their desks. Take the theme further, with a ‘treasure chest’ prize hamper or even pirate-themed fancy dress if you’re feeling brave!
Team building treasure hunts are a great way to make the most of the summer and get all the team involved in a fun and challenging group activity.
5. Outdoor Cinema
Combine your conference presentations with the magic of Hollywood and go for an outdoor cinema-themed event. Why not take your presentations to the great outdoors, and project your content onto a large outdoor screen? Set up picnic blankets, cushions, or outdoor seating for everyone to get comfortable and watch the show unfold. Or why not create a drive-in-style experience? Where everyone parks up their cars and tunes their radios into your audio stream. A change of environment and a more exciting set-up than your typical boardroom will help to keep everyone engaged and focused on your content. You could look into theming the whole event, with an Oscar’s-style awards ceremony, and film-themed presentation design with popcorn and sweets for delegates to snack on as your meeting gets underway. Finish the day with a fun movie and yummy catering vans that everyone will enjoy and give employees a chance to socialise and relax.
An outdoor cinema experience is ideal for a quirky summer conference and makes the most of the weather!
6. Beach Party
Whether you take your party to the actual beach or bring the beach to you, nothing says summer like sun, sea and sand! A great summer party idea to reward staff and get everyone socialising outside the office. There’s so much potential with a beach party theme – why not encourage team bonding with an active team building activity that gets everyone involved such as a friendly game of volleyball, before whipping up some delicious, fruity cocktails with our cocktail making workshop. Encourage the group to dress up for the theme, with bright Hawaiian shirts and big sun hats! If you’re hosting your event at a waterside venue, you might even be able to incorporate some water-based activities such as raft building. Turn up the summer tunes and decorate with tropical plants and bright colours to finish off the theme.
Summer beach parties are a real treat for employees and great for boosting team morale.
7. Wellness Retreat
If you’d like to make your next corporate away day or multi-day event something a little different, with employee wellbeing at the forefront then why not consider a wellness retreat? Use large tents to create wellness areas and outdoor spaces to set up seating for delegates to listen to inspirational speakers and have them learn mindful practices such as breathwork and meditation. Presentations can be projected onto pull-up screens and camping or glamping provides a unique stay-over experience for attendees. Incorporate some on-theme team building with yoga and tai-chi sessions to promote employee wellbeing and positive thinking. Turn up the dial with an ice bath competition and get the energy flowing or some light physical activity with an outdoor team building activity such as Retro Sports Day. For those who need a reset from the hustle and bustle of corporate life, provide quiet spaces for deep relaxation and reduce sensory overload.
A corporate wellness retreat is a unique experience that will ensure your summer corporate event benefits attendees long after the day ends.
8. A Day At The Races
Our Race Night team building activity has always been popular in the winter months, but why not take your team to the Races for a summer corporate party and turn it into an entire day at the races? Invite delegates to don their race-day finery, with fancy dresses, smart suits, and those infamous extravagant hats. You could even host a competition for the most creative hat choice! Screen a variety of fun horse races, presented by a live host on large screens for attendees to ‘bet’ on and watch as everyone gets competitive! If you’re looking for a way to really get attendees stuck into the racing spirit, you could also incorporate some outdoor motorsport activities and see who can take the trophy with off-road karting or powerturn buggies.
Corporate race day is an exciting summer event with guaranteed glamour and ideal for celebrating team or company achievements.
9. Vintage Fun Fair
Take a trip into the past and embrace your inner child, with a vintage fun fair summer party. Guaranteed fun for all your employees, it’s a great event for them to bring their families and friends along and get to know each other in an informal and exciting setting. Set the scene with vintage posters and light-up signs to get everyone immersed and offer prizes for the best vintage dress. Add your company branding to funny ‘face in the hole’ boards and get attendees giggling as they take their photos and share them with friends. Vintage-style fairground rides, such as carousels and big wheels can be combined with amusements like hook-a-duck and coconut shys, providing fun activities for all ages. And don’t forget delicious catering vans providing hot doughnuts and fluffy candy floss! Circus performers can provide fun entertainment and interact with attendees for photos, even hosting small circus skills workshops.
A great way to get everyone together and enjoy themselves on a warm sunny day, a vintage fun fair event is sure to provide lots of fun!
10. Themed Outdoor Activity Day
Make your summer corporate event stand out by theming your conference or meeting and carrying the theme through to your entertainment and team building. Here are a couple of our favourite ideas for themed events for 2025:
- School Sports Day Take your team back to their school days and don’t misbehave in front of the headmaster! Incorporate team building activities such as sack races, egg and spoon and other sports day favourites.
- Launch Event If your summer event is designed to launch a new product or service, why not try a space theme? Design presentations with a celestial look or assign speakers to different planets to style their speeches around. You could also incorporate an outdoor soap box rally for some fun team building, where everyone’s soap boxes are designed like rockets instead of cars.
With a new year looming in 2025, we’re now looking forward to an exciting summer full of spectacular corporate events! Whatever you have in mind for your company away day, we can help to make it happen. Give us a call on 01827 215 200 or email sales@eventurous.co.uk to speak to one of our friendly team.
