PLANNING YOUR EVENT

Tips for successful events

Whether you’re a Children’s Day newbie or an event organiser extraordinaire, there’s always something new to learn. We’ve gathered together some words of wisdom from those in the know – past Children’s Day event organisers - so read on for hints and tips to set you on the road to success in 2010.

1. It’s never too early to start planning for your event. Around about now is a great time!
2. Set objectives for what you want to achieve from your event, how you will go about achieving them and how you will measure the results.
3. Share the load. Establish an organising committee, with one person taking a lead role with other individuals responsible for specific areas such as media liaison, sponsorship and so on.
4. Be prepared for all weather. Plan your event with indoor and outdoor activities so at least something can go ahead if (when) it rains.
5. The more people you get involved in your event, the better. Promote it to the wider community and encourage local businesses to get involved.
6. If there are other events on the same day, try to work together, particularly if you’re from a small town.
7. Local schools and early education providers are some of the best places to publicise your event. Ask them to display posters or put your event in their newsletter check out the Children’s Day Communication Toolkit for more practical, cost-free ways of publicising your event.
8. Offer a variety of activities for different age groups – and encourage parents and caregivers to take part too. Who says dad can’t get his beard painted?
9. Kids have a limited attention span, so short activities with lots of variety tend to work better.
10. Show your appreciation after the event to sponsors (and anyone else who donated time, money etc) with a thank-you letter. Include photos of the event.
11. It gets easier every year, so the quicker you get started on this year’s Children’s Day, the easier organising next year’s will be.
12. Encourage written feedback from people who came to your event (consider offering a prize as an incentive.) Evaluate their feedback and have a debrief with your team as soon as possible after the event while it is still fresh in your minds.

Use the free resources available on the Children’s Day website. The Children’s Day Communications Toolkit is packed with practical advice to help you with fundraising, generating publicity for your event and event planning. You also have access to posters and Children’s Day images if you want to create your own marketing material, plus Children’s Day goodies such as activity booklets, flyers and balloons.

Contact us for further information - expert advice is only a freephone call away (0800 10 33 22). We want your event to be a success!

Communications planning toolkit

Children's Day Planning Toolkit (PDF 92KB)

Information pack includes:

• Publicising your event
• Fundraising
• Event planning

• Suggested publicity timeline
• Event ideas
• Examples of a Children’s Day events
• Tips on how to write a press release

Inspirational Stories

Be inspired for Children’s Day 2010, by the huge range of activities from previous Children’s Day celebrations, from old favourites such as face-painting to upbeat alternatives such as skate-boarding and krumping competitions.

Small Events: <100 People

• Kids Only Market, Three Kings, Auckland
• Old Fashioned Family Picnic, Takaka

Medium events: 100 – 500 people

• Children’s Day and Well Child Week Celebration, Onehunga
• Children’s Day in the Park, Kaikohe
• Wairoa Children’s Day, Wairoa

Large events: 501+

• Picnic in the Park, Kensington, Whangarei
• Children’s Day at Canterbury Museum, Christchurch

Kids Only Market, Three Kings, Auckland
Organiser: Mt Roskill Activities

This small event provided an excellent opportunity for primary, intermediate and secondary school-age children to clear out their cupboards of unwanted books, games and toys and make themselves some pocket-money at the same time.

Unfortunately the outdoor market was adversely affected by the weather, but for those children that did take part, it was a fun day as well as a valuable new learning experience as they manned their stalls and sold their wares.

Look out for a bigger and better market in 2009, at a location that won’t be affected by the rain!

Old Fashioned Family Picnic, Takaka
Organiser: Golden Kids Inc

This Golden Bay town at the tip of the south island, proved that big isn’t always better when 30 or so people gathered to celebrate Children’s Day with an old-fashioned family picnic. The combination of planned activities such as cricket, kite flying and ball sports, plus free play on the nearby school playground, proved a winning equation for adults and children alike.

Events don’t have to be huge or cost a fortune to run and as this event showed, it really is the taking part that counts. Organisers are looking forward to Children’s Day 2009, with even more activities and opportunities for the whole family to join in.

Children’s Day and Well Child Week Celebration, Onehunga
Organiser: Tongan Health Society

Over 300 littlies and their families joined in the celebrations at this Children’s Day event in Central Auckland. Perhaps the highlight of a wonderful day, bringing many a tear to the eye of immensely proud whanau, was the onstage performance of children from 12 local pacific preschools, reciting songs and poems around the Children’s Day theme of “New Experiences”.

Organisers were also keen to include nutritional education so provided a healthy lunch for everyone, followed with a range of educational activities, food games to test nutritional knowledge and sporting fun.

Parents and caregivers kindly completed evaluation forms on the day, the positive results of which delighted organisers, Tongan Health Society, showed just how much the day was enjoyed by all, as well as providing valuable ideas for improvements for Children’s Day 2009.

Children’s Day in the Park, Kaikohe
Organiser: Amokura/EDC Kaikohe

Kaikohe certainly lived up to its reputation as the “hub of the north” with over 500 people attending two combined Children’s Day events at Kaikohe and Te Tii Marae.

This was family fun for the entire community, with a shared lunch, stalls, hands-on activities, games and competitions during the day. Good behaviour (such as getting a parent involved in an activity), was rewarded with free movie passes for a movie event and dinner in the evening.

Meanwhile, visitors to Te Tii Marae were treated to a visual extravaganza as children displayed their creative talents with an indoor and outdoor Art Exhibition of works completed throughout the day.

Organisers were delighted with the level of participation from families, the bonds between siblings helping each other with activities, and parents joining in rather than simply dropping off the children and doing their own thing.

And the lasting memory of the day? Simply… “kindness”.

Wairoa Children’s Day
Organiser: Child, Youth and Family

This hugely successful event enjoyed massive support from around 500 children and their families, community organisations and local media.

The day began with a karakia by kaumatua Ken Ross, before nationally renowned band Spacifix really got the celebrations underway! This up and coming group delighted the crowd with an energetic and colourful performance of hip hop, reggae, a little bit of rock and even soul and gospel music. These talented young musicians, who write and perform their own material, were incredible role models, mingling with the crowd and delighting the children and rangatahi as they joined in the various activities.

The day was a breathtaking whirl of colour and activity, with something for everyone, the young and the not-so-young. There were opportunities aplenty for those wishing to display their creative talents, with painting, colouring-in and mirror-making. For those seeking a little more action, the skateboard and krumping competitions were guaranteed to get the limbs (and adrenalin!) pumping. (For those of us for whom our teenage years are but a distant memory, krumping is a form of urban street dance, involving free, expressive, highly energetic moves.)

And with the free bus service from outlying areas, it was a fantastic family fun day for the entire greater-Wairoa community. Organisers were thrilled with the response and participation from families, particularly the number of dads who joined in the activities, and are looking forward to an even bigger and more exciting event in 2009!

Picnic in the Park, Kensington, Whangarei
Organisation: Barnardos

One of the biggest events planned for 2008, unfortunately only got as far as the planning stage and became a victim of the weather.

However, this Whangarei suburb certainly knows how to celebrate Children’s Day in style, as it showed the previous year with a family festival enjoyed by around 700 attendees.

Families had the option of bringing along their own picnic lunch, or savouring the delights at the sausage sizzle stall (or both!). There was entertainment and activities aplenty, including balloon blowing, face-painting, a mini-golf tournament, basket-weaving demonstration and the opportunity to try it for yourself, kapa haka, nail painting, even fishing! Whew! The organisers were particularly delighted with the number of children who took part in the talent contest, and blown away by the talent displayed. The little prizes given out during the day were very popular, as kids were encouraged to get their parents involved and try new experiences too.

Organisers also tried some new experiences for themselves, dressing up as animals for the day!

The secret to the success of this event, was the support of the entire community, with local government agencies, community groups and local businesses all working together to provide a fantastic, free day out for the whole family.

Kensington will be back bigger and better for Children’s Day 2009, with even more entertainment, activities and services including child health checks, plus of course, a weather-proof location!

Children’s Day at Canterbury Museum
Organiser: Canterbury Museum

In the space of just three hours on Children’s Day, more than 1500 people combined new experiences with old as they explored the treasure trove of New Zealand and international riches that is Canterbury’s internationally-renowned Museum.

Dressing-up is always a favourite pastime for children, and Children’s Day was the perfect time to try on the “coolest” attire in the Antarctic Gallery. From stamping their name in hieroglyphics to trying their hand at early Maori toolmaking, Canterbury Museum offered young people an incredible insight into days gone by through practical, hands-on activities in each of the 4 main galleries.

And of course, Children’s Day proved to be the highlight of the year for Cliff, Canterbury Museum’s children’s mascot. It was green gecko heaven for Cliff, as he joined in the fun with all the children. If geckos could count, Cliff would be counting the days until Children’s Day 2009.

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