Do you have an event or a party coming up? In this article, you’ll find easy corporate entertainment ideas and activities.
Office parties and corporate events are the perfect occasions to entertain your employees, key partners and/or stakeholders. Everyone works hard all year so don’t miss the opportunity to have fun!
Easy Corporate Entertainment Ideas
When booking or planning corporate entertainment, a lot depends on the audience and the desired atmosphere of the party. Below you’ll find 28 different corporate entertainment ideas that are suitable for a variety of events and parties.
If you’re looking for some general advice, you can view our tips for hiring a great corporate entertainer.
1. Fake/Comedy Awards
Create fake awards that can either be decided ahead of time or elected on the night. Give out prizes to all the award winners. It’s important that you keep all the prizes positive. It’s a party after all. You don’t want to make the winner feel bad.
A few examples: “Always happy on Monday mornings even when it’s raining”, “Most coffee cups drunk” or “Most likely to secretly be a dog person”….
- Duration: 10 to 15 minutes
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Planning: DIY
2. Bingo
Bingo is extremely popular at corporate parties and is a great opportunity for fundraising. They’re simple to plan and easy to play.
A different and really fun take on the classic bingo game is music bingo where a DJ will play songs and if you identify a song on your card you cross it off. It’s a great way to play music and play an interactive game at the same time.
Pro-tip: Plan some spare pens & make sure the venue has tables or hard surfaces to write on. Otherwise, you might be better off with another activity.
- Duration: 10 to 15 minutes per game
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Planning: DIY
3. Balloon Popping
Balloon popping is another classic; most often done for fundraising.
Simply have a number of balloons on display. Inside each balloon is a piece of paper which is either blank or has a prize on it. If you’re fundraising, your guests can pay a fixed price to pop any balloon. If not each guest can get a free balloon for attending. They win the prize (if any) that they find inside.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception or dinner and/or after dinner
- Planning: DIY
4. Talent Night
This is a very simple concept. Simply ask your employees if they would be willing to perform for the rest of the company. Comedians, musicians, dancers… Even if you’re a small company, you’ll be surprised at the amount of talent your employees have.
Plan the stage & a mic for the event. Then allocate a specific time slot for each performer; 10 minutes is plenty. As a thank you gesture, plan a small thank you present for all the participants…
- Duration: 10 to 15 minutes per performer
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Planning: DIY
5. Comedy PowerPoints and Videos
Everyone dreads long dull PowerPoints presentations. However, they can be a great (and easy) source of entertainment for a corporate party.
You can either ask the managers to make a fun presentation or get the different teams to do one. It’s the perfect opportunity to make your company’s culture shine through.
The PowerPoint itself could be about anything. For example, looking back on the highlights or the year, a “fake” day in the life of the CEO or a fake business plan to take over the world…
If you have big successes to celebrate, it’s a good time to sneak them in. Just remember it’s entertainment and not a business meeting.
You can find some tips and strategies to make your slides funnier in this article by gold comedy. You can also find some funny slide ideas in this article by Viral Nova.
Pro-tip: Test the equipment beforehand to make sure the screen is bright and the microphone works properly.
- Duration: 3 or 4 minutes
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Planning: DIY
6. DJ, Band or Singer
Plugging a phone into a speaker will work fine for small events. However, if you want the music to be the entertainment of the evening, you’ll want to book a DJ, a band or a singer.
They can provide ambient music for the reception and then fill up the dance floor later on in the evening. Good music makes any party memorable.
Not all bands are created equal. To make sure you book a high-quality performance, check out our guide on booking a live band.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception, dinner and/or after dinner
- Planning: Booking
7. Photo Booths & Polaroid Corner
Photo booths and Polaroid corners have become a staple of corporate entertainment. They come in different shapes and sizes. You can rent an actual photo booth cubicle, you can rent a jumbo selfie mirror, or you can have just a regular Polaroid camera.
To make sure your money is well spent, make sure the photo booth fits the occasion/event. If you’re not sure where to start, you can view our tips on hiring the perfect photo booth.
Pro-tip: Photo booths are fun and create great memories. However, don’t assume that these will replace a professional photographer.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception or after dinner
- Planning: DIY or Rental
8. Magician
If you’re looking for some truly memorable entertainment, you can hire a magician to entertain your guests.
At corporate events, magicians are usually booked to perform “mix and mingle” magic. This is where the magician walks among your guests, entertaining them in small groups at a time.
Typically, this happens during the reception, between courses at dinner and/or before the band after dinner.
However, magicians can also be booked for a stage show. This is a formal show like comedians would perform. Most often this happens once everybody is seated at the tables.
For more information view our tips for hiring a magician. If you’re based in Ireland, you can also book a corporate event magician with PartyWizz.
Pro-tip: Corporate magicians perform magic that’s designed to baffle and amaze adults. If you primarily want to entertain children, consider hiring a kid’s magician instead.
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception, dinner and/or after dinner
- Planning: Booking
9. Raffles & Fundraisers
You can host a raffle during your corporate event to raise money for a charity. At a party, everyone is in a good mood; it’s the perfect opportunity to do some good. You can view some tips and ideas in our article about hosting a corporate fundraiser.
We recommend making the ticket price low so that everyone can play (encourage players to get multiple tickets) and find some fun & silly prizes.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or Dinner
- Planning: DIY
10. Caricaturists & Cartoon artists
Booking a caricaturist for your corporate event is a fun way to entertain your guests and to have them walk away with a fun souvenir of your corporate event.
Only those who are brave enough and ready for a laugh need to ask for a drawing. Others are free to remain in blissful ignorance.
Most often caricaturists and cartoon artists are booked to entertain during the reception. Each drawing (usually) takes 5 minutes or less to complete.
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
11. Body Painting & Face Painting
You can also hire a body painting artist to decorate your guests. This can be done in real-time or in advance. It provides some great branding opportunities and always makes for some unforgettable pictures!
If it’s a family event and kids will be attending, consider booking a face painter for the occasion. Organising some entertainment for the kids is always appreciated. Don’t be fooled… some of your adult guests will want to get their faces painted.
Pro-tip: If the objective is to have amazing & crazy pictures, pair this activity with the photo booth or Polaroid corner.
- Duration: 1-2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
12. Match Making Games
An important part of corporate events is to break the ice and to get different groups to know each other. This is where matchmaking games come into play.
There are many rules and many variations of this activity but the basics are always the same. Allocate a random name, item or tag to every guest and task them with finding their pair.
For extra motivation, the winners should win a prize (even a silly one). Alternatively, you can have a forfeit for those who don’t find their pairs in time (singing a song is always popular…).
This activity works best for smaller corporate events (less than 100); it can be difficult to find your pair with too many people.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception, dinner and/or after dinner
- Planning: DIY
13. Dance Troupes
Irish dancing obviously comes to mind. Especially, if you’ve grown up doing Irish dancing. You might have some talented employees who would be willing to do a demonstration.
Alternatively, you can hire a professional dance troop to come and do a full show. This activity isn’t just limited to Irish dancing. You can find dance troupes for most forms of dancing.
If you want to learn something new, you can also book a course for your employees. This works best for smaller events (less than 100). Even if most people don’t get the moves down perfectly, it’s a great way to open the dance floor.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or after dinner
- Planning: DIY or Booking
14. Bouncy Castle
Kids love bouncy castles… but the reality is that most adults can’t wait to climb back onto one. You should be able to easily book one in your area.
If you want to rent one for the adults, make sure the model you rent is appropriate. Not all bouncy castle units are.
Pro-tip: Get the bouncy castle set up a bit further away from the main reception area. Depending on the unit you rent, the ventilation noise can be loud.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Rental
15. Make Your Own Cocktails
A DIY cocktail bar is always fun. Simply look up a few easy cocktail recipes and lay out the ingredients for your guests to assemble. Alternatively, If you want professional results, we recommend hiring someone to man the stand.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: DIY or Booking
16. Singing Waiters
Surprise your guests by booking waiters to spontaneously break into song during the dinner or the reception! This is always great fun and they can be booked to perform different styles of music depending on your tastes.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Dinner
- Planning: Booking
17. Petting Zoo, Reptiles & Live Animals
You can book a mobile petting zoo for your event. This will amuse kids and adults alike and the pictures will definitely make it to the photo album.
Pro-tip: Don’t forget to check ahead of time with your venue!
- Duration: 1 – 2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
18. Silent Disco
Silent discos have grown in popularity over the past few years. In fact, you’ve probably seen or attended one in person.
The concept is simple: Instead of blasting music through speakers, all the guests listen to the tune through wireless headphones. It’s a completely different and surreal experience.
If this is something you’re interested in, search your local area for the equipment rental.
- Duration: 5 hours+
- Time slot: After dinner
- Planning: Booking
19. Jugglers
Jugglers can be booked either to perform a show or to perform “atmosphere” entertainment. i.e they are there for the people who want to watch. If they plan on juggling with fire, check with the venue ahead of time.
- Duration: 1 – 2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
20. Stilt Walkers
Book giants to walk among your guests. Stilt walkers add eccentricity to any type of events. If the event is on at a festive time of year, you can also get them to wear a costume to match the occasion.
- Duration: 1 – 2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
21. Fire Eaters
Fire eaters actually exist. It’s not just folklore. Obviously, if this is something you’re interested in, check with the venue. They may or may not allow it.
- Duration: 1 – 2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
22. Circus Acts
Technically the past three entertainers are circus acts. They’re the most common at corporate events but the list goes on and on. The red thread is that they’re jaw-dropping demonstrations of skill and practice.
Most often circus acts are booked to entertain at the reception. Just check to make sure that they’re allowed at your venue (fire, insurance etc.).
- Duration: 1 – 2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: Booking
23. Pub Quiz
Another fun DIY activity to do at corporate events is table trivia or a ‘pub’ quiz. Simply plan a series of questions about the company and other topics for the audience to answer.
To make the game fun, the questions should be silly. Combine internal knowledge/trivia with common knowledge questions. The winning table gets a silly prize.
- Duration: 15 – 20 min
- Time slot: Dinner
- Planning: DIY
24. Casino Night
Set up a few classic casino games (blackjack, roulette etc. ) for the guests to enjoy. The funds that are raised can contribute to your chosen charity or can help fund the next party.
However, if you don’t want to bet with real money you can also set up a token system. The winners can win a drink or a silly prize.
- Duration: 1-3 hours
- Time slot: Reception
- Planning: DIY or Rental
25. Karaoke
Judge your audience carefully before going down this route. It can be hit or miss. However, if it’s a hit, it’s the most fun you’ll ever have.
Check with the venue to see if they have the equipment you need. A screen, a speaker and a microphone is all you really require. You might also be able to rent the equipment for the evening or book a karaoke entertainer for the occasion.
Once again, don’t make this activity too long and don’t force everyone to do it… it’s likely going to terrify some of your guests.
Pro-tip: Make sure you test the equipment beforehand. The lyrics and the microphone need to be fully functional for this game to work well.
- Duration: 30 min
- Time slot: After Diner
- Planning: DIY or Rental
26. Pass The Parcel
Pass the parcel sounds childish… and it is… but it’s a really fun game to play during dinner. For a twist, you can add a prize or a forfeit at each layer.
- Duration: 10 min
- Time slot: Dinner
- Planning: DIY
27. Blind Tasting
Have a stand where you blindfold guests and get them to guess different drinks and/or food. Wine tasting is always a popular choice. Especially if your employees are wine connoisseurs.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or Diner
- Planning: DIY
28. Stage Show
If you have the required space, why not book a stage show? This can be whatever art form you particularly relate too. A singer, a comedian, a magician… It’s the perfect after-dinner entertainment.
- Duration: 30 min – 1hour+
- Time slot: After Diner
- Planning: Booking
That’s A Wrap
We hope you have an amazing time at your event and you have fun with these corporate entertainments ideas.
At PartyWizz, we specialise in providing the best professional corporate entertainment. If you’re based in Ireland and you’re looking for corporate entertainment, please get in touch. We’d love to help!
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