Event attendees who go solo (especially introverted ones) are all too familiar with the feeling of showing up, checking in, and scanning the room hoping to see a familiar face to avoid awkwardly walking around aimlessly. Others may know people at the event, but after a solid hour or two of visiting, want a quick break from the socialising without seeming rude. Still others just want something to do with their hands while they chat with their friends or colleagues.
The concept of having activities for attendees to do at events isn’t a new one, yet it’s something that still gets overlooked. An event might have a new theme year over year but keep the same activities, or might quickly slap together a bingo card icebreaker activity because that was the easiest thing to whip up. But for many event attendees, activities shape their experience of the event.
We’ve put together a list of activity types below, with some example ideas for each one. Keep in mind that not all of these ideas will work for every event – these are just a starting point. Some of them are tried and true things we’ve done before, but others are things we haven’t had the opportunity to coordinate yet. Perhaps your event could be the first!
- Creative activities. There are a plethora of ways to incorporate this; they can be guided activities or they can give attendees more flexibility to do what they’d like, depending on the nature of the activity.
- Sticker making
- Bracelet making
- Coaster making
- Tote bag painting
- Photo frame painting
- Painting small canvases
- Clay sculpting
- Wreath making
- Corsage making
- Potting small plants
- Terrarium making
- Lego making
- Cocktail or mocktail making
- Cookie decorating
- Activities that produce a mosaic or have some sort of cohesive “end result.” This is a great way to get attendees to create something that you can keep afterwards as a memento of the event. These do require a bit more instruction, and are best done with an attentive crowd.
- Painted mosaic wall
- Lego mosaic
- Photo mosaic
- “Idea walls” where attendees write ideas out and they get tacked to a wall
- Using online platforms such as Slido to create word clouds based on real-time input from the attendees
- Competitive activities. These are often best received when there is some kind of prize involved. Not everyone likes these kinds of activities, but the ones that do tend to get really into them.
- Bingo cards with actionable items related to the event
- Scavenger hunts (these can be a one-time activity or span multiple days if your event is multi-day)
- Mini escape rooms
- Activities involving riddles to solve or trivia
- Costume contest
- Passport contest
- Orienteering
- Party activities. These are things that are universally loved and easily accessible fun for everyone. They’re great for single-day events such as galas, parties, festivals or social nights. Some of these are more geared towards kids but could be fun for adults too, depending on the context.
- VR games
- Karaoke
- Photo booths (and there are many ways to make a boring photo booth more creative and fun!)
- Caricature artists
- Face painting
- Glitter or spray tattoos
- Balloon artists
- Bouncy castles
- Large-format board games (giant Connect 4, Jenga, etc.)
- Dance Dance Revolution
- Cigar rolling
- Vodka or Mezcal tastings
- Perfume or essential oil making
- Guided tours and educational activities. These are more passive in that they don’t involve the attendees actively creating or “doing” something – they’re there to learn or experience something. These sorts of activities are often very popular at conferences and other multi-day events.
- Guided hikes
- eBike, segway or pedal bike tours
- Beer or wine tours
- Local culinary walking tour
- Historical tours
- Location-based tours (for events with out of town attendees)
- Indigenous storytelling and/or educational activities
- Educational tours based around the theme/topic of the event
- Non-activities. These are things that aren’t technically activities, but still fit the bill in that they give attendees something to do that isn’t directly related to the event.
- Wellness dogs or puppy therapy room
- Interactive food stations, such as cabane a sucre and s’mores
- Movies
- Hockey games (or any sport)
- Meditation breakout space
- Working room available for attendees to quietly send an email or make a phone call so to as not disturb other attendees
There are also a few activities that can be done well, but might have some drawbacks to be aware of:
- Board game rooms. While these are a great idea in theory, in practice, they don’t get used much. It also seems very low-effort from an attendee’s perspective – like no one could think of anything, so they threw a bunch of board games into a room hoping that people would enjoy them.
- Gamification apps. Apps with gamification incorporated aren’t a bad idea in themselves (and can sometimes be great), but similar to the board game room concept, relying on them comes across as lazy and boring. If digital gamification is used, it should be in addition to other activities, not in lieu of.
- “On the nose” activities. Proceed with caution if planning an activity that is closely related to the attendees’ field of work. It’s very hit or miss – we’ve seen it succeed before, but we’ve also seen it flop. Examples of this would be having a VR game at an event for videogame developers, or having a medical-themed escape room at a conference for doctors.
There are so many ways to incorporate activities into an event, and as we continue to innovate, new exciting new ideas pop up. If you like any of these ideas, or have an idea that isn’t on here that you’d like to explore with an event planner, give us a shout!
Your Tycoon,
Elizabeth