Planning a Corporate Holiday Party
If you have the same mindset as us, you feel like summer just flew by! Well, technically we still have about a month left in summer, but we’ve already seen a lot of leaves changing, not to mention the brisk mornings which can only be evidence of one thing, fall is right around the corner! We’ve already received several inquiries from businesses and corporate clients about fall and winter holiday parties, so we decided that we would get a jump start on things and provide a nice check list that will come in handy when planning a corporate holiday party.
Below, you’ll find some ideas and things to keep in mind when planning your holiday party, whether at the office or at a rented venue.
Theme or Type of Event:
This may be an easy chore depending on what you have in mind for your party. For example, if you want to have your event in October, a Halloween party is more than appropriate. The same goes for an event that’s taking place in November or December. If you’re not sure what kind of party to have a good choice it to simply have a “Holiday Party” and incorporate all the holidays at once. This is a good idea if you want your party to be more inclusive of everyone’s background.
Develop A Guest List:
Who will you invite to attend your holiday party? This is a good time to determine if this will be closed off to just employees, or if the invitation can be extended to employees and their friends and family. This will be helpful in determining the final count of everything and helping with budget.
When:
Choose when the party is most convenient for everyone to attend, this includes date and time. If you’re planning a corporate holiday party, you may want to plan to have it take place before or after the actual holidays. We’ve been contacted for events as late as February that are still classified as holiday parties. With everyone’s busy schedule during the holidays it may be a good idea to plan it a little later in the year so everyone can attend.
Where:
Decide where you want to have your party. Sometimes it’s best to get away from the office. So instead of planning the party to take place in the same building where everyone works, try to see what venues close by are available and affordable. These venue can include hotels and country clubs.
Food:
A big thing to think about is food. Will you have snacks, hor-dourves, or 3 course meals. Sometimes the venue where you decide to have your party will have catering options. If not, there are plenty of restaurants that offer catering for a good price.
Entertainment:
This is a big factor when it comes to planning a corporate holiday party! Will you have a band, a DJ, comedy, another type of performing art? Entertainment is what keeps people engaged and well, entertained! A DJ is a good choice because of the versatility of music programming and ability to cater to the audience – we can certainly help you with this!
Create An Agenda:
Agendas are great if you plan on having different aspects or portions of the night. These can include a cocktail hour, dinner hour, a ceremony, and a dance hour. This will help the flow of the evening and let your guests know what to expect.
Determine If There Will Be Alcohol:
Depending on your business, serving alcohol may not be appropriate. In other instances it may be fine. We’ve seen several businesses hand out drink tickets, in which each person will only get a certain number of drinks corresponding to the number of drink tickets. Other parties have had open bars and let their guests enjoy adult beverages all night. This really just depends on what your business policies are.
Determine If Giving Awards Or Some Kind Of Employee Recognition Is Appropriate:
A great way to keep your guests involved is to include a ceremony of some kind in the middle of the evening. This is a great time to acknowledge employees for going above and beyond in the workplace, or even peer acknowledgments. After all, it is the holidays and it’s always good to keep your employees feeling good about the place they work.
Activities And Games:
Going along with the awards option, it may be good to have different games or activities to do throughout the evening. This can include having a sketch artist, a photo booth, or different game stations placed throughout the venue.
Planning a corporate holiday party can be stressful sometimes. Luckily, there are plenty of resources to take advantage of to eliminate some of that stress. We’ve gone over some ideas and things to keep in mind when you’re planning your next event, and we hope they have been helpful! The best thing to do is have fun planning and certainly have fun enjoying your event!
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