Prize Ideas

You can put just about anything in your social prize packages, so here's a list of ideas to get you started. Scroll down for additional tips on purchasing and finding other sources for social prizes.

Adventure gift card or tickets:

Archery
Axe throwing at Bad Axe Throwing or Lumberjax
Bubble soccer party rental
Cabin rental
Canoe rental
Fun Park Amusement Centre
Hang gliding lessons at Adventure at Altitude in Steinbach
Hot air balloon ride from Sundance Balloons
Indoor rock climbing at Vertical Adventures
Indoor trampolines at Flying Squirrel
Laser tag at LaserTopia
Paintball at Splatters Paintball
Red River Ex Pay-One-Price Ride All Day wristband
Skiing lift tickets for Springhill Winter Park
Tour from the Winnipeg Trolley Company
Whitewater kayaking course at Prairie Whitewater
Zip line adventures

Performance and festival tickets:

Celebrations Dinner Theatre
Festival du Voyageur
Fringe Festival "Frequent Fringer" pass
Manitoba Theatre Centre
Rainbow Stage
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Winnipeg International Jazz Festival
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
Winnipeg Wine or Beer festival

Activities:

Board games and gift cards for board game cafes
Dave Barber Cinematheque annual or ten-pass admissions (buy online)
Cooking lessons at DeLuca's
Dance lessons at Arthur Murray, Shirley's or Ted Motyka
Escape room
Fitness starter pack - gym bag, foam roller, water bottle, and gift card to a gym
Fishing gear and tackle box
Fun Mountain waterslide park gift card
Go-kart racing at Grand Prix Amusements, Thunder Rapids, or Speedworld
Golf gift card for the Golf Dome, or City of Winnipeg green fees
Golf starter pack - clubs, bag, tees and balls
Jets, Bombers, Goldeyes, Moose, or Valour FC tickets
Kayak, paddle, and lifejacket
Piercing or tattoo studio gift card
Spa gift cards, for example to Thermea
Tarot reading at Rising Moon
U-Puttz minigolf gift cards
Uptown Alley
Winnipeg Jets Jerseys and Fan Gear

Month or year subscriptions:

Audible
Netflix
Spotify
YouTube Music
iTunes
Meal kit subscription from HelloFresh, PrairieBox or GoodFood
Subscription box for a year, eg: Hot Sauce of the Month Club, mintMONGOOSE Jewelry Subscription

For families with kids:

A Maze in Corn or Deer Meadow Farms tickets
Children's Museum family pass
Family board games
High-end strollers
Kid's bicycle, tricycle, scooter or wagon
LEGO sets
Nerf guns
Tandem bike rental gift card
Tickets to Activate Games
Tickets to Tinkertown Family Fun Park
Tickets to the Zoo
Toys

Cooking:

Barbeque smoker
Coffee press, grinder, and gourmet beans
Collection of extreme/gourmet hot sauces
Ice cream machine
Instant Pot or other pressure cooker
Kitchenaid stand mixer
Kitchen essentials pack
La Creuset bakeware
Outdoor barbeque and tools
SkipTheDishes gift card
Slow-cooker
Sous-vide machine
Theatre-style popcorn machine

Alcohol:

Minifridge
Mixology pack: cocktail shaker, muddler, shotglasses, fancy glasses, bitters, and grenadine
Party in a box - alcohol, snacks, music, and party decorations
Selection of local craft beer, wine, or liquor
Stocked beer fridge
Stocked wine fridge
Booze wagon - a kids' wagon, full of bottles of alcohol
Texas mickey (3 litre bottle) of alcohol such as rye whiskey, although this is commonly done as a separate draw called a Perfume Draw
Yeti brand cooler

Electronics:

4K TV
Amazon Echo, Apple Homepod or Google Home
Dashboard camera for the car
Fitbit
GoPro
High-end headphones
Home automation package
Kobo e-reader or Amazon Kindle and gift card
Laptop or tablet
Quadcopter/drone
Roomba
Smart watch
VR Headset
Vaporizers and related products (no cannabis or tobacco can be included though)
Video game console
Wireless speaker system

Travel:

Airline gift card
Luggage
Travel guide books, neck pillow, sleep mask, etc
Trip to Vegas

Novelties:

American snacks
Japanese snacks subscription
Gourmet candy

Misc:

Dyson vacuum or similar luxury brand appliances
Items for couples from Love Nest or Adam & Eve
Jewellry
Lawnmower or snowblower
Lottery Tree - a collection of lottery scratch tickets, displayed arranged like a tree
Pair of adult bicycles
Tools
Wellness package - yoga mat, water bottle, book on meditation, essential oils, bath bombs, beauty masks

Themes

Have a theme for each prize package, and try to make them as varied as possible. Each package should have a major and several minor prizes. Each package will have a list in front of it, detailing its contents and naming any companies that donated.

Think outside of the box. Most socials will have the standard prize packages, so try to get at least one prize package that will stand out and get your guests excited.

Tips for buying prizes

Take a look at clearance stores like Primary Direct Liquidation, G and L Liquidation Warehouse or Surplus Direct.

If you have a Costco membership, it can be a great place to find high-quality large ticket items.

End-of-season sales, boxing day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be great sources of regular and grand prize items.

Other sources of prizes

Consider cashing in any shopping reward points that you collect, and if it is a wedding social, talk to your wedding party to see if they have any that they are willing to donate.

Talk to people you know who sell through home parties, such as Avon, Scentsy, Tupperware or Passion parties. It is not uncommon for multi-level marketing salespeople to give discounts or donate to events in exchange for you hosting a sales event.

You can always include hand made items like cookies, jams, salsa, or things like greeting cards or knit items. This is a great task to outsource to skilled family and friends.

Prize Ideas

Themes

Tips for buying prizes

Other sources of prizes

See also