A hot summer day. The smell of hot dogs and burgers on a barbecue. Music blaring, and possibly a very loud MC shouting over a microphone. Sound familiar? This is what a typical company picnic or field day might look like, and most of us look forward to it every year.

Field days are a classic opportunity for unwinding, doing something fun and laid-back, and leave the chair we have been sat on for hours. A chance to focus on team bonding, to build connections, to have the whole family join you – and have your home life and work-life come together. It is an opportunity to eat yummy food, let your inner child a little bit loose, and relax, which we could use sometimes.

While the world is slowly returning to normal, many of us are still working from home. We have not seen the office or our co-workers in forever, we attend the same morning and weekly meetings, it is all a bit monotonous. Why not find a way to recreate a traditional field day in a non-traditional way?

Your previous field day events may have varied in content, activities, and theme depending on your company culture. Maybe it was a family-oriented family picnic, potluck style – where everyone brings a dish (and ignores the sad pasta salad that four different people brought) and has a scavenger hunt for the kids. Maybe you have a more Olympic-themed field day, where everyone's competitive streak comes out, and everyone fights to win bragging rights and possibly, a plastic medal. While these are all great, I am challenging you to think outside the box and hopefully be inspired for this year's field day.

CHECK OUT 5 IDEAS FOR YOUR NEXT CORporate field day:

Virtual potluck picnic

Instead of the traditional potluck, why not host a virtual potluck? Team members can make a dish, share recipes, and eat it outside, like a real picnic. To elevate this experience, here are some suggestions:

Why not have an instructor teach a classic potluck dish? You could send out boxes with all the ingredients and recipes in advance, enjoy a class and have a yummy dish in the end. Alternatively, you could get your team to share recipes with each other – a community folder where someone makes so-and-so's grandma's mac and cheese and vice versa, and then you can see everyone's spin on your classic dish.

Interactive show 

Many field days usually have a special guest – a magician or illusionist, stand-up comic; these can all join your field day and put on a great show. These shows can all be performed virtually, and they can be catered to suit your audience, i.e., if little ears will be watching along. Who knows? Maybe one of your colleagues will be up for the challenge and try to crack their own jokes or challenge the magician.

Escape game 

A take on your traditional escape room. Why not challenge your team to work together, and make their way out? Virtual escape rooms are guided by a host and a game instructor; there is a custom dashboard to navigate your way out, maybe from a wrongful prison sentence, recovering a valuable piece from a heist – or even a murder mystery game. To make this even more competitive, you could get two teams to navigate the same escape game at the same time; who will make it out first?

Virtual happy hour 

While Friday-after-work drinks are a thing of the past, virtual happy hours are still a possibility. There are many ways to be creative with this; you could bring along an experienced mixologist, teach your team a little bit about cocktail making, setting up your own home bar, and even guide you along to make your very own cocktails/mocktails (to include everyone). You can organize to send your team custom boxes that will include all the ingredients, recipe cards, and instructions. To take this one step further, why not challenge everyone to come up with their very own cocktail creation? You never know, you could find your next favorite drink!

Wellbeing retreat

Some industries experience enough rush and excitement on a day-to-day basis, and the virtual space can be an opportunity to do something completely different. Why not host a virtual wellbeing retreat? All the elements that typically promote wellbeing, such as yoga, meditation, a spa, can be achieved virtually. To cater to the whole family, your instructor could design family-friendly workouts; you could have a speaker discuss the benefits of mindfulness and relaxation, and maybe even someone to teach on stress and anxiety management. These can result in a day packed with wellness-filled activities that will remind your staff to prioritize their wellbeing and their physical, emotional, and mental health.

As you can see, virtual field days do not have to be boring. You can have a theme for your field day; maybe it is wellness, international foods, or DIY arts and crafts. The great thing about virtual spaces is that you can cater to everyone's needs as there can be break-out rooms for different activities, different abilities, and different people, which at the end of the day are what field days are all about. If you are interested in hosting your very own field day and do not know where to start, we are so happy to announce that KraftyLab will be launching our very own Virtual Corporate Field Day package – a fully customizable, all-inclusive day packed full of fun activities for you and your team. To learn more, you can visit at www.kraftylab.com.

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