Planning to Party More in 2024!
By Beth Standlee, CEO, TrainerTainment
In preparation for getting more out of 2024, I’d like to help you get your party on! In addition to a focused effort and goal planning for group events and birthday parties, what about designing BIG in-center events for your community.
For example, you may have already considered events like the following for February:
• Super Bowl Sunday – Run specials during the game, especially if you have it on the big screen! Do fun giveaways and have food/drink specials during the game.
• Fat Tuesday – Get in the spirit of Mardi Gras and plan a fun evening with face painting, balloon animals, and more!
• Valentine’s Day – Plan a singles mixer, father/daughter or mother/son dance the Wednesday or Thursday before. Also, have Valentine’s giveaways and collect information for the e-club to enter.
Take a 30/60/90-day approach to planning successful in-center events.
With this idea in mind, let’s look at March, April and May. I’ve taken a page or two out of the TrainerTainment Reach Calendar to give you a small glimpse of how you might want to attack profitable community events over the next 90 days.
I hope something sparks your interest. And, get your team involved. You don’t have to do all the work. When you have team buy-in, the success rate of your event has the potential to soar. Word of mouth and viral exposure can turn any party into an event to remember.
Wouldn’t it be great to be known for throwing the best parties in town?
March – Take Your Pick
Whatever plans you want to implement, you need to speed up the process because March is coming up quickly. (Obviously, events set in April and May will give you more planning time.)
• Lunch & Learn – Host a networking lunch and learn event and showcase your center.
• St. Patrick’s Day – On March 17, it’s the luck of the Irish! The 17th person through the door wins a family four pack and double their game play all day.
• Breakfast with the Easter Bunny – On Saturday, the day before Easter, open a few hours early and plan breakfast with food fun, games, pictures with the Easter bunny, and host an Easter egg hunt.
• National Laser Tag Day, March 28 – Celebrate the day all week long with fun laser tag specials! Buy one get one, special contests and more.
April Showers Bring May Flowers
Remember, the party doesn’t just have to be on the day of the celebration. Use the week or take one of the following ideas and make it a theme!
• Earth Day, April 26 – Partner with a local park, school or organization and plant a tree in honor of your center. Look for local events in which you can participate and set up a table with a prize wheel and information.
• Summer Calendar – Plan this out now! Schedule events during the summer to drive walk-in business. Ideas include character meets, reading times and arts/crafts sessions.
• Tip – Use fun holidays such as National Siblings Day to engage your fans on social media. Ask them to share pictures of their favorite food, etc. It’s fun and it’s easy!
May the Fourth Be with You & More
With the right kind of focus and planning, May can be a top-rated group and party month with end-of-school celebrations and graduation parties (and don’t forget Star Wars Day on the 4th). You might consider:
• Mother’s Day – Host a Mother’s Day card-making project during the week, hand out carnations to the moms that come in on Mother’s Day and give moms a free game card.
• Lady’s Night Out – Host a lady’s night-out event on a weeknight (Monday – Thursday). Ask vendors to attend and offer food, drinks and fun.
• Memorial Day – Offer free games, food, etc. to any service person when they show their ID.
I hope this month’s article inspires you to plan for in-center event success from now until the end of May. If you like this information and would enjoy seeing ideas for June in next month’s column, please let me know. Reach out to RePlay at editor@replaymag.com or me directly at beth@trainertainment.net.
These tips are provided as excerpts from the Reach Calendar© that can be downloaded from trainertainment.net/product/the-reach-calendar-digital-download.
Until next time, party on!
Beth is the CEO of TrainerTainment LLC, a training company devoted to the family entertainment and hospitality industries. Beth and her team are focused on helping the companies they serve to make more money through sales, guest service, leadership and social media marketing training. Training products and services are delivered in person, through books and DVDs, and virtually with e-learning courses, webinar development and 24/7 online access. Visit her company’s website at www.trainertainment.com.