17 Ways To Notch Up the Fun Factor at Your Events

Adding a fun, amusing element to your event improves user experience and can be done in a variety of ways, whether it’s participatory activities, photo opportunities, games, or quirky décor. This allows attendees to associate your brand or event with enjoyment which is particularly useful if you know there will be down time or other “boring bits” you want to overshadow. Engaging with attendees makes them more involved and can foster brand or event loyalty because they have become a part of it making them more likely to recommend you (the best kind of event marketing.) Interactivity in this way will keep attendees coming back and boost turnout and popularity of recurring events.

Incorporating fun into the event theme, tone, or brand ethos makes this approach even more powerful and creates more of an impact so keep this in mind when choosing your strategy. We’ve discussed livening serious events with fun before but here are some real-world examples to inspire you…

1. Creation Stations

Allow your guests to unleash their creative side by having a station where they can make things. This allows them to take away a souvenir from the event and can also tie in with a theme. You could also opt for a competition or a creation that goes on display such as this fun baby shower idea to create the best baby onesie.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXCeZwAD6Vg/?tagged=eventfun

Credit: The Doli Diary

2. Green Screen

Add a sense of movie magic by having a small green screen area where guests can record snippets or take photos on funky backgrounds. The joy of a green screen is that you can change the theme and backdrop to suit the guests and it is easily adaptable to make everyone happy. You can also turn this into a sponsorship idea by having a logo or brand name on the digital or printable images that attendees can take home.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUMJKdEjElD/

Credit: Full Frame Events

3. Retro Video Games

Nostalgia can enhance enjoyment at an event and adding retro video games can bring attendees back to their youth. This awesome idea takes it up a notch by adding a giant element to it and having the traditional Super Mario on a massive controller which can also get others involved playing together!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSJ5VT7hut0

Credit: Perfect Parties USA

4. Giant Lego

Lego is always hours of fun. Turn kid’s toys into adult ones by supersizing Lego blocks. You can incorporate this into team-building activities at corporate retreats as well as competitions at trade shows by giving attendees 2 minutes to make the best Lego creation. This can also be a fun way to drive traffic to your booth. If you don’t have the space for big Lego blocks, why not add miniature Lego packs to table settings for guests to have something to do while they are sitting.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXphtT3BHpp

Credit: Prue Boalch

5. Fancy Dress

Whether you give attendees a theme or just ask them to dress up, this starts the fun and anticipation before they even walk through the door as they plan and discuss their costumes with friends, think about who will come as what, and build the hype. If you don’t want to go full costumes a great alternative is a masquerade theme that allows for a little flair with the masks but more importantly adds a mystery element that goes on all night as guests get used to not seeing people’s faces.

Credit: Luisella Planeta Leoni

6. Ball Pit

We’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times, whether you’re a child or an adult, ball pits are fun. They are always popular and so much so that they have even opened a nightclub with a ball pit room for adults! We are all just big kids at heart after all and a ball pit can be adapted to suit any size venue, plus you could even brand the balls for a sponsorship opportunity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYCzLKKgnM3/

Credit: Shanelle Rivera

7. Fire Artists

Fire can be fun and enticing as an entertainment idea and having fire artists such as these walk around gives a better experience and more of a wow factor because they are so close. You could also enhance this by adding in a workshop where attendees can try a bit of fire artistry for themselves!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXizQqEDGEZ/?taken-by=flowfuzion

Credit: Flowfuzion

8. Gamified QR Codes

QR codes are a great way to combine technology and fun as well as add a new twist to raffles or competitions. QR codes can be adapted to anything from prizes and vouchers to website links and videos so the options for this are limitless. Create a QR code scavenger hunt or turn it into a tombola with each code representing a prize from big to small.

9. Double Photo Booths

What’s better than one photo booth? Two photo booths! You could opt to have two different scenes or themes and allow guests to switch between them for different experiences. This is also a fantastic idea if you have a larger event in order to reduce waiting times  for the booth and allow more attendees to use it, ultimately giving them a better experience.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVa65XhhLbl/?tagged=eventfun

Credit: PhotoBooths of SoCal

10. Guests’ View

Add disposable cameras to your tables and allow guests to take photos from their perspective and then ask for them back at the end. This is the perfect idea for larger events with a lot of tables so that you can capture all of the moments while reducing the cost of needing to hire more than one photographer who can focus on the main parts of the event.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3el74DU54/

Credit: Trilogy Event Design

11. Props

Quirky décor and props always grab attention and can be a talking point that adds fun to your event. You can do this by having intricate entrances from the beginning or try a focal point on the venue floor. Another option is to have mobile props that can move throughout the crowd to get them asking questions and interacting more.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXpj4HNFuDX/

Credit: Giant Deck Chairs

12. Energetic Mascots

Attendee interaction lends itself to fun and using energetic mascots is particularly useful for entertaining while people wait in line, enter your event, or while they are in areas where there isn’t enough space to set up other entertainment or booths. They can also roam and make decisions on who to interact with which gives a personal experience and can help cheer up those who don’t look like they are having as much of a good time. Also, energetic mascots tend to make people gravitate towards them and are memorable. For example, at the World Athletics Championships this year, Hero the mascot made headlines for his funny and crazy antics keeping the crowd entertained throughout the event in between races.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXg87yFB0Jw/?tagged=eventfun

Credit: Lee Wei Yi

13. Tarot Reading

For some, adding a mythical or magical booth such as palm, tarot, or tea leaf reading can be more fun because of the “supernatural” element. In the same way magicians and card tricksters are popular, people also like tarot reading because they enjoy things they can’t explain. Remember, the better the reader or performer, the more of an impact they will make.

14. Archery

Attendees enjoy shooting stuff and there is something about a bow and arrow that is really fun, probably because you have to put a lot of the effort into aiming, drawing, and shooting.. Including archery or other unusual sports can be a welcomed change from the usual ball games and makes attendees more likely to get involved. The downside is that it requires a lot more space to integrate into your event.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUynRQul9Ft/

Credit: Chris Farris Events

15. Animal Friends

Having cute pets or animals attend the event creates an awesome photo opportunity and it really stirs up the animal lovers and leaves them wanting more. A cute puppy or parrot will do all the work for you when it comes to enticing attendees to your booth.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYC7kbnHT4G/?tagged=facepaint

Credit: Megan Hunter

16. Fairground Rides

You don’t need a full-fledged carnival to have fun at the fair. Including one or two elements can add fun and take away from any seriousness. If you have the space you can opt for something big like this Ferris wheel or for smaller, indoor spaces you could try a coconut shy or other tombola.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMWjcqAGDZ/?tagged=eventfun

Credit: Fiesta Party

17. Oversized Games

Bring board games to life by making them bigger for more attendees to enjoy. Doing this allows you to create teams and competitions at corporate retreats as well as fun participatory activities that get everyone involved and these are classics that everyone already knows how to play. Don’t limit yourself to the obvious, you can also try dominoes, Jenga, or noughts and crosses too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWUG7jKBVNA/

Credit: Games on the Green

In Conclusion

Think outside the box and show your attendees a good time by incorporating fun into your next event. Also, remember to team it with promotional opportunities such as an event hashtag so that they can easily tell all their friends. Nothing beats good publicity like genuine live reactions from guests having a good time!