Company outing in winter: plan around light and warmth

A company outing in winter comes down to two things that play no part in May: it's dark by half past four and it's cold. Those aren't objections but conditions, and once you build the programme around them instead of working against them, winter is a perfectly good season. Often an easier one, because fewer holidays fall in between. Below is what exactly changes, and which set-up keeps working from November to February.

What makes a company outing in winter different?

A winter outing differs from a spring outing in three ways: there's less daylight, staying outside takes energy, and December is full. All three can be planned for, provided you take them into account beforehand.

The first point is the hardest. In December the sun sets around half past four, and a little later in January. A programme starting at two o'clock therefore has two and a half hours of usable daylight, and that includes the welcome and explanation. If you're used to a four-hour afternoon programme in May, you'll accidentally be planning an hour and a half in the dark in December.

The second point is more subtle. People don't drop out in the cold because they don't enjoy it, but because they get cold and after half an hour that becomes more important than the game. It happens gradually and can almost always be prevented with shorter blocks.

Daylight is your biggest constraint

From November to February, count on four hours of usable daylight: from about half past nine to half past four, with the usable core between eleven and four. That's the window in which everything that has to happen outside must fit.

In practice that means: start an afternoon programme with outdoor elements no later than half past one. Put the part that needs the most light first, not last. And plan the move indoors deliberately, instead of waiting until someone points out there's nothing left to see.

There's also the opposite approach. The dark isn't a problem if the activity is built around it: a city game with lit-up checkpoints, a scavenger hunt with torches, or laser tag at your venue, which actually works better in the dark than in daylight. Then early dusk is an advantage instead of a limitation.

How do you settle indoor or outdoor in advance?

Agree the indoor version when you book, not two days beforehand. That's the most important planning agreement for a winter outing and it takes five minutes.

The reason this goes wrong: everyone assumes it'll be fine, and on the morning itself it turns out to be too windy or rainy. Then something has to be thought up in two hours for thirty people, and that rarely turns out well. At the time of booking you could have worked out calmly which indoor programme would fill the same time slot for the same group.

We always agree three things: which version runs indoors, who decides, and when. That last one makes it concrete. Two days beforehand is usually the right moment, because the forecast is reliable enough by then and the venue can still switch.

Winter programmes that don't depend on the weather

Programmes that can take place entirely indoors are the safest choice in winter, and most of them are no less active than an outdoor programme. That's the misunderstanding that often makes winter outings duller than necessary.

What works well on a winter day: a pub quiz to finish off an afternoon, a murder mystery dinner where the meal and the game flow into each other, a TV-style game concept in which teams play against each other, or life-size board games in a large space. They all run in a canteen, a hall or an empty warehouse.

An empty warehouse or industrial unit, by the way, is the most underrated winter venue. Cold, yes, but dry and big, and with a few heaters and a good programme more pleasant than a room that's too small. We come to the place you already have, so that option costs no room hire either. A broader overview of what can be done indoors is at indoor activities.

Outside in winter: what has to be right

Outdoors works in winter if you sort out four things: short blocks, a warm space nearby, clear clothing instructions and something hot to drink halfway. If one is missing, it's over after an hour.

For the blocks, three quarters of an hour is the practical upper limit in freezing or wet weather, and an hour and a half when it's dry and above five degrees. Then warm up indoors, even if the group says it isn't necessary. People who are cold don't say so when the rest are enthusiastic.

The clothing instruction sounds childish but isn't. Put in the invitation what people should wear, and be specific: closed shoes, a coat that can handle rain, gloves. Half the group reads the invitation in passing and otherwise turns up in smart shoes. That's one sentence of work for the organiser and it saves three people who spend the second half indoors.

Pay attention to the ground too. A field that's fine in June is a mud bath in January. With farmers' golf or a assault course , the ground makes the difference between a pleasant morning and wet feet for the rest of the day, so we factor that in when choosing the venue.

Why January and February are easier to plan than December

In January and February there's more choice of dates and venues than in December, while the weather hardly differs. That often makes those two months more practical for a company outing.

December fills up with Christmas drinks, year-end gatherings and holidays, and you see that in the availability of venues and in your own colleagues' diaries. If you look for a date in December when everyone can make it, you usually end up on a Tuesday when half of them already have something on.

January doesn't have that problem. There's also a substantive argument: an outing in January coincides with the moment teams start on new plans, and that's a better occasion than closing a year. If you do want that Christmas occasion, there's a separate article about Christmas drinks.

A winter outing for a group that doesn't want to go outside

For a group that doesn't want to go outside, choose a programme in which the space itself is the playing field. That can be done without it turning into a meeting with games.

What works for that is a programme with movement within the space rather than movement in the open air: teams moving through a building, tasks in different places, a storyline that plays out in different rooms. The group is then on the move the whole time without anyone needing a coat.

The other extreme works too: a programme where everyone sits at a table, but where something real happens. A quiz or a murder mystery dinner demands no physical effort at all and still keeps a group busy for three hours. For teams with many older participants, or with people who, for whatever reason, would rather not take part physically, that's often the better choice.

What does a company outing in winter cost?

A programme costs the same in winter as in summer: compact from €195, custom between €550 and €1,250, and from €1,250 for a large group or a whole day.

What does differ is the surroundings. Room hire and catering are more expensive and scarcer in December than in January, and that can make a few hundred euros' difference on the same day. If you run the programme at your own venue, that difference disappears altogether. That's one of the reasons we come to you rather than the other way round.

Timeline for a winter outing

For December you start in October, for January and February four to six weeks is enough. The scarcity is in the venue, not in the programme.

• Eight to ten weeks beforehand for December: fix the date and venue
• Four to six weeks beforehand for January or February: fix the date and venue
• Three weeks beforehand: programme final, including the indoor version
• Two weeks beforehand: invitation with clothing instruction and sign-up deadline
• Two days beforehand: decide on indoors or outdoors

Four mistakes with a winter outing

Four things go wrong more often in the winter months than the rest of the year, and all four can be solved beforehand.

• Planning a summer programme in winter: the same schedule that worked in June is half in the dark in December. Work out the daylight before you fix the times.
• Not agreeing an indoor version: having to come up with something on the morning itself for thirty people rarely produces a good programme. Settle the version when you book.
• Leaving out the clothing instruction: without that one sentence in the invitation, part of the group turns up in smart shoes and stays inside after the break.
• Too long outside in one go: after three quarters of an hour in the cold, warming up becomes more important than taking part, even for a group that started enthusiastically.

What you get from this

Plan a winter outing around light and warmth and the rest follows. Start outdoor elements no later than half past one, keep blocks to three quarters of an hour, agree the indoor version when you book and put the clothing instruction in the invitation. If you like, choose an activity that works better in the dark, and then early dusk is no longer a problem.

If you want to know what suits your group and your venue in these months, describe the situation. The page on the page on company outings in Twente explains how we work, and the overview of all activities shows what's possible indoors and outdoors.