Lucky draw ideas

Lucky draw ideas for a company dinner people remember

The prizes matter less than you think. What people remember is how the draw felt: the build-up, the name on the big screen, the table that screamed. Here is how to plan prizes, rules and the running order so the draw is the best part of the night.

Plan the prizes as a ladder

Instead of one big prize and a pile of small ones, build tiers. Each tier is a reason to stay in the room.

  • Consolation tier: many small prizes (vouchers, merchandise, hampers). Draw these early, during dinner.
  • Middle tier: a few prizes people would buy for themselves (gadgets, staycations, appliances).
  • Top tier: two or three big prizes.
  • Grand prize: one prize, drawn last, announced at the start of the night so everyone knows what is coming.

Prize ideas by tier

Consolation prizes:

  • Food delivery or coffee vouchers
  • Supermarket or petrol vouchers
  • Company merchandise people actually use (bottles, umbrellas, power banks)
  • Movie tickets for two

Middle prizes:

  • Wireless earbuds, smart watches, air fryers, robot vacuums
  • A weekend staycation
  • Extra annual leave days (check with HR first, and get it approved before you announce it)
  • A dinner voucher at a good restaurant

Top and grand prizes:

  • Flight vouchers or a travel package
  • A new phone, tablet or laptop
  • Cash, if your company allows it

Ideas that make the draw more fun

  • Sponsored prizes: ask directors or each department to sponsor a prize. Announce who gave it as it is drawn.
  • Table prizes: draw a table number instead of a person; everyone at that table wins something small.
  • Second chance: guests who have not won by dessert go into one last draw.
  • The winner picks: the winner chooses between a sealed envelope and the prize on stage.
  • Long-service draw: a separate draw only for staff with five years or more.

Rules to decide before the night

Write these down and tell the emcee:

  • Can one person win twice? Most companies say no.
  • Must winners be in the room? If yes, how long do they have to come up before you redraw?
  • Are directors and the organising committee in the draw?
  • Can a prize be swapped for cash?
  • What happens to prizes nobody claimed?

Running order on the night

  1. Open with a few consolation prizes while food is served, to wake the room up.
  2. Draw the middle tier between programme items.
  3. Keep the top tier and the grand prize for the last 20 minutes.
  4. For each prize: show the prize, roll the names, let the winner walk up and take a photo, then move on.

Make it fair, and look fair

Guests trust a draw they can see. A name rolling on the big screen, picked by the computer, is trusted more than a hand in a box.

  • Load the full guest list, or let guests enter themselves by QR code at their table.
  • Draw on the big screen so the whole room watches it happen.
  • If a winner is not there, press Redraw and pick again, in front of everyone.
  • Keep a record of every winner, for HR and for prize collection.

Drawing many prizes at once

With 100 vouchers to give away, drawing them one by one takes all night. Draw them in one go, show the list of winners on the screen, and let guests check on their phones whether they won.

What you need

  • Your guest list as an Excel or CSV file (names, and staff ID or phone number if you want winners to be easy to identify).
  • A laptop on the projector, and your phone to run the draw.
  • Someone at the side of the stage to hand over prizes and take photos.

Try it free

You can run a lucky draw in Yaypick free with up to 20 people, enough to rehearse with your committee. A pass for the full guest list covers every other game in the same event too.

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