Planning Christmas Corporate Party Top Tips

When planning and organising a Christmas corporate party for your work, it can feel like all the pressure is on to execute an unforgettable night. From the food to the music, it can seem slightly impossible to plan an event that every attendee will love.

In order to plan the Christmas party effectively, considerations for the event need to begin as soon as possible. Advance planning to book a venue, food, decorations and entertainment will make your event the one that stands out!

It can often be a daunting task to organise a large scale event, especially if you have not done before. In this article, we hope to provide you with tips to help the planning of your corporate Christmas event so that you can relax and enjoy the party when the day comes.

What is Your Budget?

First things first, what is your budget? Knowing this will help you to map out rough guidelines as to where you can spend what amount of budget on the different aspects of the party.

You need to consider; the venue, the food and drink, the entertainment, the decorations and the invitations.

You should always have the budget in mind when planning the event so that you do not waste time organising something unrealistic. In order to initially determine the budget, find out what your colleagues are willing to pay for a ticket.

If the event involves a sit-down meal, the cost of the ticket will be more than if not. The event should be run to show your thanks to the employees, so plan it with them in mind.

Save the Date!

During Christmas, social schedules can become pretty busy very quickly and so it is important to save the date as early as possible.

Find out when is the best date that all of the employees agree on. Send a handful of dates around the office and choose the most popular date to pencil into your diary. This will also help you to grab a feel of potential numbers attending the event.

Kill two birds with one stone and ask people to highlight any dietary requirements or allergies they may have so that you can keep these in mind when organising the food for the event.

Christmas Party Venues

To book a venue it is important that the planning and searching are conducted in the summer months of June, July and August. This is when venues start to showcase their party packages and when dates are not yet limited.

When choosing a venue for your Christmas corporate event, it is essential that you gather the consensus of your employees. For example, throwing a party with a free bar and hog roast will not satisfy employees who are non-drinking vegetarians.

As well as budget, a clear indicator of the type of venue you should book is the transportation services available to your attendees. A venue where the guests are able to easily get home at the end of the night is a must. Why not book a venue that has on-site accommodation or one that is nearby to a hotel?

With all this being said, before booking a venue, visit it! By going to the venue you can see the space available and work out if it is worth the money being spent.

The facilities within the venue are important to know, are there enough toilets? Is there parking for guests? Is the venue easily accessible?

Why not opt for a venue that your employees will get excited by, such as a stadium where your favourite team score goals each week? If you want to host your Christmas party in a stadium, get in touch with us at Stadium Experience. We promise it will be a night to remember.

What Will The Theme Be? What Will Guests Wear?

When it comes to choosing what you’re going to wear to a work party, it can be hard to know the boundaries between looking professional whilst also letting loose and being yourself. By arranging the party to have a theme, you steer guests into having a clearer idea of what to wear.

There are popular themes that you could choose from such as:

• Winter Wonderland
• Circus
• Masquerade Ball
• Black Tie
• A Christmas Story
• Decades (the 60s, 70s,80s)

Why not get creative and come up with your own theme!

Not only does having a theme help to make the outfits easier to choose, but it also means that when it comes to choosing which food to serve, decorations to hang and invitations to send, but you also have a clearer vision of what to get.

When entering, enjoying and leaving the party, the theme should be apparent. Research your chosen theme and make a detailed list of all the possible things you could incorporate into your party so that the theme is integrated into every aspect of the event.

What Food and Drink Will Be Served?

It can be quick to decide that for the food you will serve Turkey and a traditional Christmas dinner. Why not serve something a little less traditional? Gage the preferences and dietary requirements from the attendees and curate a menu around that.

Hire a caterer that has good reviews and can cook enough food for the whole party. Depending on the venue, caterers can be in-house or external carters can be hired.

Will you have a 3-course sit-down meal? Will you have a buffet? or a range of delicious canapes handed to guests by waiters? This is a decision that can affect the success of the party as some people enjoy sitting down and chatting, whereas others like to be moving about the room all night.

When it comes to drinks, the only thing that could go wrong is not having enough! The decision of arrival drinks, dinner drinks and drinks at the bar (if you choose to have one) are important to ensure all attendees wants are met.

Decide on whether you will pay for a drinks package or pay for the volume of drinks consumed on the night. When working with a strict budget, a package is most likely the best option. How will these drinks be served, over a bar or by service waiters?

What Music / Entertainment Will Be Played?

The dancefloor is really the perfect chance for everyone to let their hair down after the stressful year. Once again, the music depends on the guests and what they would want to hear.

In order to make the music up to the tastes of everybody, curate a Christmas playlist of songs from everyone in the office or workforce and then hire a DJ and let them choose out of the songs on the night. This way there is bound to be some songs that everyone enjoys.

Make sure that the DJ has a good sound system that is loud and plays throughout the venue but doesn’t blow the guest’s heads off.

To add excitement to the event, consider hiring a performer or entertainment to keep the stamina of the guests up.
Some ideas for entertainment are:

• Comedians
• Singers / Band
• Karaoke Machines
• Circus Acts
• Magicians
• Stilt Walker

Final Thoughts

Planning a corporate Christmas event can be a daunting task, but with these tips to guide you, you can effectively plan and execute an unforgettable night!