Team picnic day
Colleagues only, heavier on competitive games and lighter on logistics, usually a full working day out.
A company picnic is a single day in the open air with buses, food, sunshine and somebody's grandmother. We handle the counting, the feeding, the shade and the safety so the day stays easy.
A picnic is the friendliest event a company runs and the easiest one to get quietly wrong. Nobody remembers the banner. They remember waiting in the sun for a bus, food that arrived cold, a queue for two washrooms, and a child who went missing for ten minutes. All four are avoidable, and all four come from planning the care rather than the entertainment.
Our picnic plan starts with a headcount you can trust and ends with everybody back at their pick-up stop before dark. In between sit coaches with marshals, a ground we have already walked, shaded seating that stays shaded as the sun moves, drinking water within reach of the play area, food served in batches instead of standing out all morning, staffed first aid, and games written for a mixed crowd of colleagues, spouses, parents and children.
Grounds an hour or so from the city suit this well: far enough to feel like a break, close enough that the day is not spent on the road. We are based off Sinhagad Road, so the open grounds beyond the southern and western edges are the ones we visit most.
Every photo here is from an event our team planned and ran.
These are the six pieces we take charge of for a single outdoor day.
Buses sized to confirmed attendance, several boarding points, a marshal on every coach and a ticked list at each stop.
The site walked in advance: shade, washrooms, water points, play area, parking and where the rain shelter actually is.
Batch cooking, covered counters, separate vegetarian service, cold items kept cold and a fixed time after which food goes.
A running order of activities that a child, a colleague and a parent can each join without anyone sitting out.
A staffed first-aid point, lifeguards where there is water, wristbands for children and the nearest hospital route mapped.
An announced departure time, a final headcount before the coaches move and a plan for anyone travelling separately.
Colleagues only, heavier on competitive games and lighter on logistics, usually a full working day out.
Spouses, children and parents included, which changes the food, the games and the washroom planning completely.
Open grass, trees for shade and simple facilities, suited to groups that want space rather than a resort.
A booked property with pool, rooms for changing and a covered hall, easiest when the weather is uncertain.
Water views with strict safety rules, supervised access and activities kept away from unguarded banks.
Wet-season days planned around a covered area, with slippery routes avoided and dry clothes accounted for.
Smaller groups travelling in tempo travellers, easier to schedule and quicker to move between activities.
Outings built so new joiners meet people, with mixed teams and introductions worked into the games.
A picnic looks like the least demanding event on the calendar, which is exactly why it goes wrong. There is no stage to hide behind and no hotel staff quietly fixing things in the background. Everything your guests need that day — water, shade, a clean washroom, a safe game, a bus home — is something you brought with you or arranged in advance.
Attendance is the one number every other decision depends on, and it is the number people are casual about. Collect confirmations with a closing date, ask separately for adults, children and their ages, and ask for elderly parents by name because they change your seating, your menu and your walking distances. Expect some drop-out on the morning and some extra guests who were never registered. Order food and seats against confirmations with a sensible cushion, and keep the boarding list per coach rather than one long sheet nobody can find.
Travel is where the day is won or lost. Use boarding points on both sides of the city instead of making everyone converge on the head office, and set departure times that assume traffic rather than hoping against it. Put a marshal on each coach with the passenger list, a phone number for the ground and a first-aid kit. Families travelling in their own cars should get a route note and a parking instruction, and they should still be counted. On the way back, announce the departure time twice during the day, then hold a final count before the wheels turn, because searching a dark ground for one missing person ends the day badly for everybody.
Outdoors, food safety beats food variety. Ask for batch cooking through the service window rather than one large spread laid out early, keep counters covered, keep vegetarian and non-vegetarian service genuinely separate, and agree a time after which anything left is cleared rather than kept warm. Drinking water belongs at the play area as well as the dining tent, since people will not walk back for it and then will not drink at all. Shade has to be planned for where the sun will be at two in the afternoon, not where it is when you arrive. Washroom count decides comfort more than the menu does, so check it during the recce, and check that the taps actually run before you count them. Tea in the middle of the afternoon is worth more than an extra sweet at lunch, and a shaded corner with chairs for people who simply want to sit and talk will be the most used part of the ground.
| What tends to break | When it shows up | What we have ready before it does |
|---|---|---|
| Count stops matching the coaches | At the second boarding point | Per-coach list, marshal ticking names, spare seats held |
| Water runs dry | Right after the first big game | Refill points beside the play area, stock checked hourly |
| Shade disappears | Early afternoon, as the sun moves | Covered seating positioned for the hottest hours |
| A twisted ankle or a cut | During the first competitive round | Staffed first-aid point and a mapped route to hospital |
| A child wanders off | While parents are playing | Wristbands, a supervised zone, a named meeting point |
| Rain arrives | Any afternoon in season | Covered hall identified on arrival, indoor games packed |
| Departure drifts | Always, at the end | Announced cut-off and a final count before moving |
Design the activity list for the slowest person present, then add optional challenges for the competitive ones. Relay races, treasure hunts, tug of war, housie, simple water games and a group photo all work across ages, and none of them require fitness or courage. Keep anything adventurous optional and supervised. Run a short activity early so people mix before lunch, keep the afternoon lighter, and end with something calm rather than a final sprint. Structured, facilitated team formats are covered on our team building activities page. Multi-day trips that carry a working agenda, with stay and sessions, belong on our corporate offsite planner page; here we plan a single day in the open air and getting everybody home by evening.
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It includes travel, a ground, food, activities and safety cover for one day. Coaches collect people from a few boarding points, a site is booked and laid out with shade and water, food is cooked and served in batches, games run through the day for all ages, and a first-aid point stays staffed until the last coach leaves.
Close enough that travel does not eat the day, which usually means around an hour and a half each way at most. A longer drive leaves tired children, a rushed lunch and a late return. Judge it by travel time on your actual date, including weekend traffic, rather than by the distance shown on a map.
Picnic cost follows headcount, the distance coaches travel, the kind of ground booked, the menu, and whether families are coming. Children change the food and the activity plan. Extras such as water activities, a photographer, a sound system or gifts add to the total. Send your numbers and the date, and we will itemise the day for you.
Yes, and it is worth deciding early because it changes everything. Families mean more seats on coaches, a menu that suits children and elders, a supervised play zone, more washrooms and gentler activities. Ask for the number of adults and children, plus ages, at registration. Wristbands and a named meeting point keep the day relaxed for parents.
By cooking in batches through the service window instead of laying everything out early, keeping counters covered, separating vegetarian service completely, holding cold items cold, and clearing anything that has stood beyond an agreed time. We also check the kitchen area and water source during the recce, because most outdoor food trouble starts before the food reaches the counter.
We book grounds that have a covered hall or shed, and confirm on arrival where everyone will go if the sky turns. An indoor set of games travels with us, seating moves under cover and the food service shifts first. Only unsafe conditions, such as a flooded approach road, would move the date, and that call is made early.
Book about a month ahead for most groups, and earlier for weekends in the pleasant months when popular properties fill quickly. Early booking also gives time for a recce, for collecting family numbers and for arranging coaches. Short-notice picnics are possible, but the choice of ground narrows and coach availability becomes the limiting factor.
Pune · PCMC
Offsites · Game zones · Outbound
Pune · PCMCOne good day out, properly counted
Tell us your headcount, whether families are coming and a rough date, and we will suggest grounds with a full day plan.