20 Creative Corporate Event Ideas that Are Anything But Corporate

Think beyond the DJ

Having entertainment at corporate events doesn’t have to be a big sit-down performance. By having smaller entertainment selections, your guests can have a personal experience that’s more meaningful.

“I love to come up with hip, fresh stuff at my parties that most don’t see every day,” says Patti Darwin, a corporate event organizer with over 20 years of experience. “I just like to have fun little surprises that keep people entertained.”

In the past, she’s had anonymous performance artists The Bumbys, the bar napkin cartoonist Napkin Killa, lipstick readings, and even had Puddles, the well-known pity party clown sing at one of her events.

Keep these entertaining corporate event ideas in mind:

1. Entertainment doesn’t have to be in the traditional sense either. Offer shoe shines, manicures, and guided meditation so your guests can feel pampered and relaxed.
2. Get a little artsy with silhouette artists, giant coloring maps, speed portrait painters, and airbrushed temporary tattoos.
3. Small group magicians, digital ventriloquists, hypnotists, and improv groups are also crowd-pleasers.
4. Photo booths have become a standard at events. Step up your game with newer, creative ways to take photos. Find a photography company that offers 360 photo booths, 3-D selfies, VR experiences, slow-motion videos or GIFs for your guests to share on social media.
5. If the venue allows for it, entertain your guests with aerialist bartenders, bouncing stilt walkers, or even a marching band.

Create healthy competition

Competition is a great way to get your guests to put down their phones and really engage in a corporate social event. It not only fosters team building, but also connects employees who would otherwise not interact during work hours.

A few healthy competition corporate event ideas include:

1. Break everyone out into groups and have a scavenger hunt around the city or even just around the venue.
2. Set up a tournament when guests roll up their sleeves for an afternoon of board games. Play anything from the much-beloved Settlers of Catan to old-school options like Operation and Twister.
3. Escape the room challenges are available in every major city now. Test the detective skills of your guests with a murder mystery parties as these are making a comeback.
4. Foodies will surely be worked up in a lively cook-off competition, similar to Chopped. You can even rent a local kitchen space on Peerspace to have all the essentials on hand from the start.
5. Really get the blood flowing with physical activities such as axe-throwing, archery lessons, laser tag, or a fitness boot camp class.

Make it budget-friendly

If your budget is constrained, there is still plenty of ways to throw a unique and fun corporate event.

These tried-and-true inexpensive corporate event ideas will help you wow guests:

1. Organize an off-site corporate event where guests volunteer at an animal rescue. Playing with dogs and cats is a free way to boost morale and it also helps the animal rescue by donating your time. It’s a win-win!
2. Have a low-key movie night in the office. Create a movie bingo for the event, pop plenty of popcorn and settle in for an affordable and easy night. Don’t have the theater atmosphere in the office? Instead, rent a theater space on Peerspace with ease!
3. Contact art students from the local university to model for a drink and draw. Place models and objects to sketch around the space. Serve wine and let people get creative. You can even have a few of the art students walk around and give pointers.
4. Food can be entertaining! Try recreating childhood favorites like an ice cream sundae bar or decorating cookies or gingerbread houses around the holidays. These simple foods are an affordable way to involve your guests. They’ll be excited by the nostalgic aspect and participate.
5. Reach out to local services for a free trial. A neighborhood yoga studio is incentivized to reach new potential clients and might be willing to run a trial class in the corporate office. Similarly, a nutritionist might offer a cooking workshop or a dance instructor a beginner lesson. Look for local services that might be popular with your guests.

Get festive and throw the best bash ever using our holiday party planning tips!