With its beaches, parks and festivals, Chicago is one of the country’s greatest cities for enjoying the summer. When the weather is warm, the Windy City also offers plenty of opportunity for your company picnic. These three tips will help you plan an epic company picnic in Chicago.
1. Keep an Eye on the Weather
Given the unique weather conditions in the Windy City, it’s difficult to plan too far ahead for your company picnic. Even in the middle of the summer, the city is known for its unexpectedly windy, cold and rainy days. In fact, weather reporters around Chicago are notorious for how often they’re wrong. As Avis Car Rental points out, Lake Michigan delivers both cold winters and refreshing summers to the Chicago area.
Your best course of action is picking a day no more than three weeks ahead that is forecasted for sunshine. On the day of the picnic, keep a close eye on the 24-hour radar. If there’s even a slight chance of rain, remind your coworkers to come prepared with umbrellas, jackets and other rain gear.
Alternatively, you could play it safe with an indoor company picnic. This option will sap much of your event’s summer charm, but it will keep everyone warm and dry in the case of inclement weather. Still, an outdoor picnic is usually possible in the middle of the summer.
2. Provide Great Entertainment
The best company picnics are ones that everyone has fun at, so providing quality entertainment is a must. If you are inviting employees to bring their families then provide a party game like archery tag or a bouncy house that the kids will enjoy. Hop N Party suggests to bring a generator if the picnic is at a park, especially if you want a bouncy house present since parks don’t generally have electricity. This is a good idea as other forms of planned entertainment may need electricity to work. Ultimately, what you decide to do will depend on whether it is a picnic that your employees can invite their families to or not, but there are a few things that are standard no matter what.
Everyone loves music, so you should make sure you have a great soundtrack for the event. If your company is large enough, consider hiring a DJ to handle all your music needs. Your DJ can customize the music to fit the crowd and the current activity. You won’t have to worry about someone hijacking the playlist or censoring anything, since the DJ will take care of that for you.
3. Eat the Best Chicago Food
The most important part of any picnic is the food, and Chicago’s unique cuisine includes many great options for outdoor events. Though many of your coworkers may bring hors-d’oeuvres or desserts, it’s always best to supply their main course.
Your best options include Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. The city is known for many other foods, but these are the most picnic-friendly options. Of course, if you’re serving hot dogs in Chicago, don’t let anyone use ketchup.
With a bit of planning, your Chicago company picnic can be a smash hit. So long as the weather holds and the kids are entertained, this will be a great opportunity to enjoy the summer with your coworkers.
