You may think it is slightly too premature to start thinking about the festive season whilst we are meant to be in the height of summer (finally the sun has come out!), BUT for us entertainment peeps Christmas planning started even before last Christmas had even finished! SO if you find yourself in charge of organising the pinnacle of any corporate social calendar our advice would be to start NOW to ensure your party is full of Christmas cheer!
We have popped together below a Top Tips For Planning The Office Christmas Party as a helpful reminder of how this should go…
1.Get Planning Now
The crème de la crème of dates and days for Christmas parties get snapped up super quickly so it is best to start planning and securing as soon as you can – it’s never too early to start organising! We know that the job of planning the company Christmas party can seem a scary prospect – the time constraints, pressure to make it a great night for all your colleagues, whilst still maintaining your 9-5 job (or should we say more realistically 8-7 job). However getting to work on this as soon as you can will take the edge off, much like the first sip of a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc on a Friday evening 🙂
2. Find An Awesome Venue
We think it’s key to get out of the office for your Christmas party. No one really wants a flat glass of bucks fizz in a cramped office environment with a sad little radio pumping out Cliff Richard’s ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ on repeat for the duration of the evening. The majority of event spaces are extremely accommodating and will want to facilitate your needs and requests as much as possible (such as several site visits, firing questions all day at the events team, what can be done with the space, negotiating costs etc.). If you find a number of venues that you quite fancy for your big night try where possible to place these on hold so that you have options and fall back plans.
3.Send An Invite (E-vite)
Make sure that once you have secured a date that you shoot out an e-vite or save the date to all your colleagues, so that you have everyone on ‘lock down’ as soon as possible. ‘Tis the season to be jolly is manic for everyone and the last thing you, as top party planner, would want is a great venue, great entertainment, great food and then to have a NOT so great guest list. At this stage it doesn’t matter if you don’t know all the details about the party, it’s more important to get as many people from your workplace to put the date in their diary.
4. Tie It All Together With a Theme
To theme or not to theme, that is the question…. And the answer is, we think, to THEME! The theme is the heartbeat of your event and it can actually make life a little bit simpler for you, as you can tie everything together under one themed umbrella! For example Winter Wonderland, Dickensian, Great Gatsby, Hollywood – the entertainment, dress code, food, cocktails, music and décor can all tie into this very neat and tidily! It also makes your checklist a little easier too 🙂
5.Give Everyone That VIP Experience
Have your guests greeted on arrival with one of our professional hosts, toastmasters or dancing meet and greets! It puts guests immediately at ease and it’s a very simple and effective way to make sure that everyone knows where to put their coats, where the main function space is, where the bar is (very important) and a call to dinner if you are having a sit down affair. It also immediately gets everyone in the party mood and kick starts your evening.
6. Don’t Skimp on the Entertainment
The entertainment on the night can be one of, if not THE most talked about aspects of the whole event, unless someone gets outrageously drunk and ends up under the mistletoe with one of the BIG BOSSES …. Fingers crossed that’s not you! Entertainment is something that can massively help bring people together too, for example a strolling act during a drinks reception such as a magician is a great talking point for people that don’t know each other too well. Or you could create a centre point for the whole with a live stage show. Table games, arcade games, a giant scalextric and casino tables always go down an absolute treat at office parties too! And hey if you really want the night to go with A BANG why not have a few fireworks to help along the way?
After a few tipples everyone is desperate to have a dance and show off their (what seems like it at the time) A-M-A-Z-I-N-G moves. Having a dedicated dance space on the night is key, the last thing you want is colleagues dancing on the tables, chairs or even the bar to show of their signature ‘Gangnam Style’ impressions and as FUNNY as this can be, unfortunately health and safety regulations don’t find it AS funny. We can also provide a range of dance floors so that this is very obvious to see!
When it comes to the music a lot of our live bands are happy to include their own DJ service, which is ideal, as you can have amazing live music for a couple of hours and then a DJ so you and your guest can dance until the early hours …. Alternatively we also have a whole host of awesome and renowned DJs who can keep your guests entertained all night long.
One of the more entertaining working days of the week is the morning after the Christmas party. Various colleagues missing from their desks, numerous bacon sandwiches being consumed in the office canteen and then there is that amusing email that pops up in your inbox titled ‘Christmas Party Photos’. The photos are almost as important as the event itself and are what people love to hate! We have a whole selection of photography options from photo booths with an array of backgrounds and props, a selfie pod where you and basically your whole office can jump in the photo, a professional photographer, paparazzi photographers and a movie booth where guests can record a video as a bit of memorabilia from the event (which some may prefer to forget!)
Towards the end of the evening (or the beginning) when people have danced their socks off, drunk a wee bit too much and are in need of a nice sweet treat then there is nothing better than a few of our fun food stands! From Ice Cream and Popcorn to Candy floss and Pick ‘n’ Mix, all of these deliciously tempting treats will be a welcomed surprise and we can also provide a range of savoury snacks too.
10 Have F-U-N
And now this may be last on our list, but it is by no means least, you as the party planner/event manager/creative genius/production specialist/technical support…the list could go on and on, YOU deserve to have the best time out of anyone! Once everyone has checked in their coats, have a drink in hand it is then time for you to relax and enjoy yourself!
Why not talk to one of our experienced events staff about planning your Christmas party?
BCE XXX