Selecting the appropriate games, rides, outdoor activities or indoor fun is equally as important as selecting the right party food and music. The more fun your guests have, the more they will talk about their positive experience with others and the more likely they are to participate again in the future. When thinking about your event, a determination of number of attendees, age groups and family status (i.e. Will this be a child friendly event or adults only event. Will there be singles as well as married couples) will help to decide what types of entertainment activities are needed for your event. Knowing the number of people planning to attend is extremely important as you don’t want to be caught off guard by not including enough entertainment to please your crowd. If people have to endure extremely long lines on a hot day, their positive experience can quickly turn negative. A full service planner will have the knowledge in helping you to determine what is enough or not enough entertainment for your event. Crafts and keepsakes as well as inflatable fun carnival rides, fun food machines, midway games, costume characters, clowns and carnival games are appropriate for guests 18 and under. Because the styles and types of inflatables differ greatly from moonwalks, tot towns, mini slides and wind tunnels to giant slides, bungee runs, obstacle courses, slip and slides and climbing mountains, age assessment is important.
Many times adult aged guests enjoy video games, sports games, water fun, casino equipment and racing games as well as inflatables, magicians and famous impersonators. When considering event entertainment it may be a wise decision to conduct a survey and give participants the opportunity to help select the items featured at your special event. That way you are sure to provide a fun filled event for every person in attendance. A determination will need to be made about the tone of the activities as well. For instance, if your event is going to be held in a hotel, restaurant or country club, you may want to offer activities such as story telling, a magic show, balloon twisting, photo booths, green screen technology, caricaturists, handwriting analysis or other constructive activities rather than more energized options requiring running, loud voices or constant movement.
Alternately, if you are able to utilize wide open outdoor space, you may want to include a climbing mountain, giant slide, bumper cars, trackless train or other high energy activities. If your event entails a specific theme, the entertainment equipment you choose can enhance your theme. For instance, a Hawaiian themed event can include cooler racers, human beach balls, dunk tank, water slide, or surf rider. If you are interested in keeping the same color scheme throughout the event you will want to choose items, decorations or props that display your preferred colors. Ways to do this is by providing Mylar balloons, center pieces for tables or an inflatable arch. If your business caters to a certain sector of the population such as the airline industry, a great piece to include would be an airplane wind tunnel or fly guys. Perhaps you are aware that several of your guests are sports fans, this would be a good opportunity to include sports equipment, baseball toss, quarterback attack, soccer kick, grand slam batting, golf distance caddy or other sports related activities. Whatever the case may be, there are several hundred options for making your event unique to your guests needs and preferences. There is no need to have a “canned” experience at your event. No two picnics or parties should be alike because not all goals and objectives are the same.
If you are hosting an outdoor event, and your event venue does not provide tents, tables or chairs, or other forms of shelter, you will want to make sure that your rental company or event staff provides them. If a full picnic meal is being served, it is important to have enough tables and chairs, and table coverings for all of your participants. The only exception to this rule is if the food will be served over a long period of time in a casual buffet style. In that case, you can limit the amount of tables and chairs as your guests may be off enjoying other event activities. Tents are important for an outdoor event in case of in climate weather. There is nothing worse than having your guests caught in a rainstorm with not shelter to run too! A tent is also vital if you are to have a live band, specialty performer or Disc Jockey at the event. Even a small 10×10 tent will help to protect the disc jockeys equipment or the live bands instruments from sun exposure. If your event is indoors, you will want to know how many tables and chairs are available and plan accordingly. You may event want to consider providing additional event rental items such as a stage, portable toilets, event decorations/props, sound system, megaphone, raffle drum, freezer, carnival fronts, etc. Directing the flow of traffic at an event is also directly affected by the placement of tents, tables, chairs and rental items so be aware to the layout of the site you are utilizing as well as the items you are placing there. A quality rental company or event planning service will supply enough knowledgeable staff to make sure that all areas of set up, execution and take down are tended too.
Once all four of these areas of fun are prepared you are ready to host an exciting and fun filled event for your guests!
