6.
Re: Company party May 23, 2008 2:28 PM
The celebration event my group seems to remember and talk about most was a day trip to the horse races (track was about 2.5 hours away). Everyone met at the office early in the morning and boarded a charter bus. We stopped for a little shopping at an outlet mall on the way up, hit the racetrack for lunch and the Saturday afternoon program, and then stopped at a Mexican food restaurant for a dinner together on the way home. Even the people who didn't gamble had a blast.
We arranged child care for those who needed it, which included time at a hands-on science museum for the school-aged kids. We had one car available at the track in case anyone needed to return for a family or work emergency.
It doesn't have to be racing, of course. You could choose some other activity based on the people -- but I think it's best when the activity is both entertaining and something that people can participate in.
(Puzzleman, we love bocce ball -- had a nice little court set up on-site with an after work "burgers, beer, and bocce ball" thing going twice a month for more about 5 years. Storms and floods wiped it out last summer, but I plan to bring it back once construction is done. You're right -- it's easy to learn and play, and hard to get good enough at to "dominate," which keeps it fun for all!)
