Your business has more than a few very important people who deserve to be celebrated every so often with an exciting and exclusive event. While you could hold a VIP luncheon or dinner, odds are that your VIPs won’t be particularly impressed by the typical meal. If you are looking for something that your VIPs will remember for years to come, you might consider any of the following special event ideas:

Awards Ceremony

Workplace awards ceremonies don’t have to be as cringe-inducing as Michael Scott’s Dundies. In fact, with the right level of sophistication and tact, you can create an annual event that your VIPs ardently look forward to. You should try to mimic the style and tone of famous award ceremonies like the Academy Awards, which means avoiding controversial topics and keeping humor light. You might consider hiring a real emcee to host your event, as they will have more experience keeping up the audience’s energy and excitement. Additionally, the awards you give out should be valuable in some way to your VIPs, either as attractive decorations for their office spaces or because they come with thrilling prizes, like gift baskets or vacation vouchers.

Foodie Tastings

Few VIPs will be particularly impressed by an invitation to the regular, run-of-the-mill restaurant. However, not all food-related events need to be so predictable and dull. For your next VIP event, you might hire a private chef with unconventional culinary practices to provide your VIPs with a unique foodie experience. For example, you might treat your guests to a meal made entirely from ingredients foraged in the local environment or foods that are extreme in some way, such as size or spice level. The better you know your VIPs, the better you can create a dining event they will enjoy.

Pop-up Shop

A pop-up shop is a deliberately temporary retail location where select visitors can enjoy a brand’s offerings in a unique way. You might create a pop-up shop for VIPs in a location outside your normal operating region, so your VIPs can enjoy your company’s products without the hassle of visiting a regular store. This works particularly well if your VIPs are already gathering for a conference or convention, especially in an exotic locale. Alternatively, you might create a pop-up shop by partnering with one or several luxury brands that will impress your VIPs.

City Tour

Rarely do VIPs get the opportunity to take in the history, architecture and culture of cities they visit, especially when they are traveling for work. If many of your VIPs are coming from out of town, you might treat them to an exclusive tour of your city — with bonus points if you can find a memorable and distinctive type of tour. For example, your VIPs might particularly enjoy duck tours, haunted tours, hidden city tours, costume tours, music tours, urban art tours and more. A city tour should only take an hour or two, and it is almost certainly something your VIPs would never do for themselves.

Family-friendly Events

Many VIPs lead busy working lives that often take too much time away from their families. Therefore, it might be a welcome change of pace for you to host an event that allows your VIPs to spend an afternoon with the people they cherish most. Family-friendly events can involve picnics, carnivals, field days, live music, scavenger hunts and more. To keep your event restricted to your VIPs and their families, you might hand out fabric wristbands to guests, which might also help you track attendance.

Celeb One-on-Ones

Even VIPs can be starstruck. Every industry has its celebrities, and for your next event, you might invite a well-known face to meet and greet your business’s VIPs. There are plenty of ways to take advantage of a celebrity at your event, from asking them to give a talk to arranging a Q&A session to simply wandering around the room shaking hands and taking pictures. You can reach out to your industry’s stars through social media or through third-party booking agencies.

Your VIPs have endured more than their share of boring dinners and cocktail nights. Your next VIP event should dazzle and amaze, and you can take inspiration from any of the above exciting and memorable ideas.