Countless development opportunities

The development opportunities for an event organiser are countless! As I wrote in another blog post: “Some days the feeling is almost like being a magician. Other days more of an office clerk, personal shopper or weight lifter. All great skills to master, when working with events.”

Some people say they are so afraid of public speaking, they would rather die than speak on stage for an audience. For me, combining the tasks of an event organiser and a Master of Ceremony / program host, it feels natural to stand in front of public and talk, sing or entertain.

Are you afraid of heights?

One special case came to my mind when I was cleaning after an event. Taking down decorations could also be a task that doesn’t suit everyone. Balloons that are hanging from the curtain rod can be a couple of meters high, depending on the venue. And the ladders are not always the most stable ones. Well, if the task was just to take down the decorations, it could have happened quickly. Just a clip with scissors and it’s done. But. I always think about sustainability. It takes a bit more time to collect everything and pack them nicely at once. This way the decorations are ready directly for the next suitable event. 

Using the right knots makes the task easier of course. I am so grateful for my background as a girl guide for having learned many useful knots. Not only to make them, but indeed with the sustainability thought, also to open them.

I will write more about my thoughts and actions around UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in another blog post. Now, more countless development opportunities await as I still have some balloons up there…

Decorations at the curtain rod can be an issue for the client. The good part is, you can leave it for the event organiser to hang and take down.

Christmas came early this year?

No, it’s not Christmas already – it’s Christmas STILL for some days. The red-hat-season was quite busy for me. When en event organiser is “in the mood”, then it’s a Christmas party all day long! One day in December I had two Christmas events to organise in different parts of Stockholm. And they both had ordered rental for Christmas decoration from me. It needed indeed detailed planning and some quick moves during the day, as you can guess. It was fun and everything went well, as all guests and hosts in both events were happy. At the starting time there were no signs of rushing, as everything settled well to their places as planned. In between everything I had a quick lunch at home; of course “elf porridge”, (tomtegröt). Elf porridge means rice porridge, which is the traditional energy source for all the elves of Santa Claus.

To energise your customers you need to energise yourself

During busy event days it’s extremely important for the event organiser to remember to eat as well. When you live and breathe the event you are making, you focus on every detail to be perfect. This is when you can easily forget to load yourself with energy. Adrenaline keeps you going. But when the moment comes when you would have a minute to sit down, you notice it. Whoops, I missed the lunch and the snack and the dinner… I have learned the lesson. In one project over ten years ago I even had a personal assistant just to make sure I ate. He made sure I sat down and ate properly twice a day. Then again I was “free to go” to continue my duties.

Have you seen a Finnish Christmas calendar TV programme “The Joulukalenteri”? They sing it’s so well about how it is to be an elf (tonttu): “Yeeeeah, it’s hard to be a tonttu.” Hard or not, anyways, I love it.