Not all of our corporate events in Scotland are for 150 people. Many are for much smaller groups - like the fourteen or so employees of a Scottish utility company which we propose turning into a cohesive and efficient team this coming January.

Wait a minute, you say, January? In Scotland? Yes, the weather can be a bit rough at that time of year. Fortunately this particular team building exercise takes place mostly inside the famous Crieff Hydro in Perthshire, one of Scotland’s best known hotels. We think that piece of news will probably raise team morale before our guests even arrive.

Even the opening ice-breakers will be held indoors - as will one of our favourite event elements, the trebuchet, where participants compete to construct the most efficient machine capable of launching a given weight as close to a target as possible. Another log on the fire?

In the end the idea is to create increase the effectiveness of communication between the employees, raise morale and promote a really close team feeling through a shared experience. The fact it all happens in the cosy, dry and plush surroundings of a first class hotel in Perthshire rather than outside braving the ravages of a Scottish winter is just incidental. Or a bonus, depending on your point of view.

Dunblane has one of the three great hydro hotels of Scotland, beloved by generations of Scottish families. However that doesn’t mean it can’t move with the times. Today we’re working on a some ideas for new fun theme events at Dunblane Hydro in partnership with our friends at Tapestry Audio Visual in Falkirk. One idea we have been planning is a fantastic Narnia themed event with a magic wardrobe leading through to a snowy forest and various adventures beyond.

Stopping short of supplying a real lion - particularly one with a strong religious agenda - we shall still do our best to conjure up the atmosphere of Narnia. Defeating the white witch will involve all sort of elements within the team building exercise.

We always take the weather into account at Activate Events when organising corporate events in Scotland but if we don’t get what we want we can always create it - even if that takes us into another world. Hence our second vision for an amazing celestial wonderland where guests arrive through fluffy white clouds to be served champagne by angels - accompanied by harps of course. Heavenly fun.

Tony and Sean just presented our plans for the next three years of the Arbroath Sea Fest to the Sea Fest committee. This is one of the most enjoyable summer events on Scotland’s east coast reeling in something like 30,000 visitors over two days in August. Gourmets won’t be surprised to learn the event is something of a homage to the Arbroath Smokie - and if you have never had a smokie you have missed a treat - but there plenty of other edible goodies on offer along with family entertainment, displays, stalls and assorted bands and musical groups. Here are some of our photographs of last year’s SeaFest. To say, Activate is delighted to be involved in the Arbroath Sea Fest is putting it mildly. We’ll keep you abreast of our plans as they unfold. Next year’s Arbroath Sea Fest will be held on August 16 and 17 2008.

If we came up with a list of favourite clients, Hilton Hotels would definitely be on it. We are currently working on a themed evening for the Hilton Caledonian in Edinburgh, one of the city’s grandest and best-known hotels, right at the west end of Princes Street and a great venue for event management in Scotland.

We will be catering for 150 guests and the plan at the end of the evening is to leave a happy revitalised corporate team.

The Hilton Caledonian is accustomed to playing host to the rich and famous, particularly during the Edinburgh Festival. That is just as well as we are planning a Hollywood evening for the occasion, a corporate event which will make everyone feel special.

Guests will get the full red carpet treatment on arrival with paparazzi photographers and flashing cameras before they enter a room packed with Hollywood icons, past and present. Games will be played and dinner served, then the jet set treatment continues with a glitzy casino loaded with wads of fake money. Should be fun.

Andrea and Laura have been working on some great ideas for BP, who are planning a corporate event for 150 staff this Christmas. The Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre is a excellent venue and we have been putting together several creative ideas which combine seasonal entertainment with dynamic team building.

There is no doubt the BP staff work hard and deserve a fun event and one of our hottest ideas is to create a Winter Warmer theme, featuring flickering flames and a cosy glow from a huge virtual fireplace.

There will certainly be lots of laughs during the Stuff the Turkey race and the bucking Rudolph the Reindeer competition but we think the high point of the evening’s entertainment should be The Dojo Drummers, a new taiko group. Taiko drumming is a highly visual and exciting art form which never fails to thrill. Afterwards the guests would be invited to have a go at drumming for themselves, which should be just as entertaining in its own way.

As an alternative, we have also been working on an All the Fun of the Fair idea in conjunction with Red Pepper Productions in Dundee. We would have a wild time decorating the venue to generate a real wow factor and then the BP staff would participate in all sorts of traditional fair events such as coconut shies and candy floss creations but all tailored to help a new team gel effectively for the future.