8 Inexpensive Work Summer Party Ideas
So, you’ve been tasked with arranging your corporate summer party? Event planning can be tough, especially when you have to stick to your companies’ budget. Trying to come up with work summer office party ideas that everyone will love, whilst at the same time keeping it inexpensive is the ultimate challenge. Here we have outlined the 8 best inexpensive work summer party ideas that are guaranteed to stick to your budget.
At Sedgebrook Hall, we host an abundance of innovative and successful corporate summer work parties and Christmas parties each year. With the sun shining, birds chirping and everybody generally in an epic mood, there truly is nothing better. Our summer party venue in Northampton boasts 13 acres of stunning outdoor grounds, with picturesque gardens. There is plenty of room for team-building activities, summer BBQs, outdoor events and private dining events held in one of our many function rooms.
So, let’s get some awesome inspiration on affordable end of summer work party ideas.
Contents:
Summer Work Party Ideas
Whether or not you want to host your summer work party in the office, a public open space or rent outdoor space at local summer venues, our work night out ideas are adaptable for all.
1. Classic BBQ
What better way to celebrate a hot summers day and have a good time than with a BBQ with all the classic favourites. The great thing about BBQs? They are simple yet brilliant and don’t have to be expensive!
Pop to your local shop and pick up some burgers, sausages, ice creams, salad and snacks and you’re pretty much sorted. If you have some budget left over, then buying a few bottles of Pimm’s will go down a treat. BBQ’s are a great way for your staff to socialise and bond in a relaxed environment – the perfect office summer party.
This company summer party idea is fun and inexpensive. Get your grill ready and light up the flames. Going to the park or open public space is one way to do this but if you really want to host the ultimate BBQ party consider hiring the perfect venue that will have to offer outdoor facilities.
We can organise a corporate summer BBQ at our gorgeous country house venue. We appreciate that you have a budget to stick to, so we can help create an affordable event that is sure to stick to your budget. This can include everything from the food, drinks, music and entertainment – we will even put aside an event room for you in case the British weather decides to take a turn for the worse!
See some fabulous BBQ work summer party ideas on Pinterest.
2. Corporate Summer Olympics
A competitive and fun team-building event that all your employees will love! One of the more perfect and affordable summer office party ideas, you have the ability to be creative, whacky and wonderful. Come up with some unique office Olympic activities that will leave everyone buzzing. This can work as a great summer party theme too, as everyone dresses up in their most active clothing and you can assign each team to a country!
Not only is this end of summer work party idea fantastic for team bonding, it is also very inexpensive. Summer office Olympics can be held in the office, in a park or you can hire out a venue with a dedicated events coordinator to help plan out the day!
We can tailor packages to suit your needs, which can include lunch and snack breaks and we promise, it won’t break the bank! We’re thinking tiny bicycle races, human pyramids and egg & spoon races. A great keepsake for your staff is to purchase branded medals for the winners. We’re sure that this will also provide for some hilarious and super social media content for your business too.
View more office Olympic and work summer party ideas on Pinterest.
3. Murder Mystery Office Parties
If anyone is a fan of The Office, then I’m sure you will remember the murder mystery episode? Well, now it’s time to be our own Michael Scott and take some inspiration from the episode.
Our manor house is the ideal location to host your murder mystery party. The traditional décor and stunning grounds make for a perfect 1920’s murder mystery event. For the ultimate ‘who dun it’, give your guests a character in advance and with everyone in full costume it makes for a truly spectacular event.
A murder mystery themed party doesn’t have to be expensive and with some venues offering all inclusive packages, you know exactly what you’re getting for your money. Once you have played along and found out who the culprit is, celebrate by hosting a private dining event. Relax and enjoy a delicious 3-course meal, lavish tables and a DJ and disco to take you into the night.
Your corporate summer event this year is an occasion that needs to be done right as your employees and staff will be looking forward to this event for months beforehand. A murder mystery theme will leave everybody talking for weeks afterwards, is unique and can bring people together. The perfect recipe for success.
You can view more murder mystery ideas on Pinterest.
4. A Day at The Races
Everyone loves a good day at the races and what’s more, it doesn’t actually cost you the world and is a great end-of-summer work party idea. With the races being a ready-made excuse to celebrate, it’s the perfect summer event. This summer event idea will also give your staff the chance to dress up in their favourite attire whilst they relax, drink and bet on their favourite horse.
Racecourses often have hospitality boxes that are ideal for work summer parties. These come with a number of different catering options including a sit-down meal or light buffet so that your staff can graze throughout the day.
If you are still after more of an inexpensive work summer party idea, then you can create your own races in the office and use fun money to place bets. This will go down a treat with some drinks and buffet food or street food and will be sure to lift everyone’s spirits. It’s a fabulous work summer party idea that’s cheap and inexpensive.
5. Group Scavenger Hunt
Throwing a scavenger hunt for your staff is not only epic and fun but also requires collaboration and teamwork. Organised scavenger hunts are available, however, if you want to make it a bit personal then the DIY route is the best! This is an affordable way for your employees to let loose and have a laugh – definitely one of the more entertaining work summer party ideas.
However, a DIY scavenger hunt does require planning but there are lots of different ideas and games you can incorporate into your hunt. For example, a photo-based scavenger hunt, where your employees take to the streets of your city and try to take as many hidden gem pictures on the photo list as possible. Or how about a nostalgic scavenger hunt where employees recreate and relive moments from their favourite TV shows?
You can view more scavenger hunts and work summer party ideas on Pinterest.
6. Annual Awards Night
Going back to The Office and the Dundies, it’s time to throw your own company annual awards night. Start with both serious and non-serious categories and invest in some branded trophies or medals! Some award ideas are best dressed, friendliest, most outgoing and office clown.
The great thing about the awards night is that it doesn’t have to break the bank. You can do it over dinner and take your employees to a reasonably priced restaurant or incorporate it into your corporate summer BBQ!
Awards nights are also a great way to show appreciation to your employees and building relationships.
However, if you really do want your office awards night to go out with a bang, make it a black-tie event! Hire out a venue that can provide you with a private dining banquet with tablecloths, centrepieces, and a divine 3-course meal! Lots of facilities will be able to help with a package so you are getting everything included with no extra costs. Just look around at conference and event venues in your local area and start getting some quotes!
You can get office certificate ideas and work summer party ideas on Pinterest.
7. Outdoor Cinema
When the hot sun is beaming down on you, what better way to relax than with an outdoor movie night, a blanket, picnic and a bottle of Pimm’s? It’s an ideal company summer party idea. There are companies around the UK that have outdoor movie equipment for rent. This includes inflatable screens, projectors, PA systems and some packages even come with a technician to help guide you through the setup!
What’s more, is that these don’t cost the world either. They can be affordable and low cost and if this is where most of your budget is going to be spent it’s worth it! You won’t have too much else to pay for other than snacks, popcorn and some booze.
This corporate summer party idea is one of our favourites and is brilliant if you already have an outdoor space available to you. If not, we have 11 acres of stunning grounds that would add a fantastic scenic countryside feel to the day.
You should ask your staff what their favourite movie genres are so that you can make sure everyone is watching something they are keen and interested in. Comedy is always a great shout if you want to keep the atmosphere light-hearted and relaxed at your garden party.
You can see chic and innovative movie night ideas and work summer party ideas on Pinterest.
8. Boardgame Marathon
Probably the least expensive and most affordable yet fun work summer party idea is to host a board game marathon party. Have people sign up to bring in their favourite board games and assign them to specific colours. You’ll need to do a bit of maths here. So for example, if you have 30 attendees and 10 games, you know that each game should have 3 players at a time.
Board games have become more and more popular over the years with some hysterical and fun games being released in recent times. Try to keep the game choices short so that people have time to play a variety of games (this, unfortunately, means no monopoly or dungeons and dragons). Trivial board games are great fun and so are the classic Codenames and Uno. If you want to add some adult antics to the day, games like Cards Against Humanity will leave everyone laughing.
You can see more board game themed party ideas on Pinterest.
How do you make a summer party fun?
There are many ways you can ensure to make your summer work party fun for all your employees! Incorporating the ‘fun’ within your summer work party encourages workers to let their hair down and connect with coworkers that they usually wouldn’t within the working environment.
- Include Games
- Choose a Theme
- Create an Appealing Menu
- Serve Tasty Drinks
- Play Music
- Hire a Photobooth
What is the best theme for a summer party?
To help with the planning for your upcoming summer party a popular idea is to introduce a theme. Introducing a theme for your summer party will help to spark conversations between employees whilst encouraging workers to step out of their comfort zone. Depending on the type of summer party you are going to be hosting there are plenty of themes you can use. Some of the top summer party themes that we would recommend are:
- Football Theme
- Hawaii Theme
- Pool Party Theme
- French Theme
- Bohemian Theme
- Carnival Theme
- Mexican Theme
8 Inexpensive Corporate Summer Party Ideas
- Classic BBQ
- Corporate Summer Olympics
- Murder Mystery Office Parties
- A Day at The Races
- Group Scavenger Hunt
- Annual Awards Night
- Outdoor Cinema
- Boardgame Marathon
Company Summer Party Ideas Concluded
So there you have it, our 8 inexpensive work summer party ideas that stick to your budget. These summer party themes for work are light-hearted, fun and innovative. Now that you have some awesome work summer party ideas, it’s time to start the planning process.
Sedgebrook Hall is a corporate event venue based in Northampton and we have the capacity and facilities to host all the above themes and events at an affordable price. We are the ideal venue for celebrations including baby showers, proms and hen parties. Get in touch with us today and start planning your epic and brilliant corporate summer party with one of our event spaces.
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