Here, we offer 6 tips to ensure your party is a success and gets the whole team in a festive mood.
- Book Early
Reading this in August, the Christmas party may be the last thing on your mind. But other businesses will be proactively doing their homework and starting to book up the best venues and snaring the best deals. Leaving it until the last minute to book a venue will leave you short of options. Additionally, entertainment and transport can get booked up months in advance. Here, Venues.org.uk argues that the best time to book your Christmas party is during the summer months.
- Get to Grips with Your Budget
After deciding on a total budget, make a list of the costs including the venue, food, drink, entertainment and transport in order of importance. If you are booking a venue, be sure to check exactly what’s being provided – it may be possible that you don’t actually have to provide any décor or drinks with the package that you’ve booked.
- Check for Allergies and Preferences before Booking
When selecting a venue or restaurant, be sure to check for any allergies and food/drink preferences before booking. Get a full list of requirements from the office, ensuring you can find a venue which accommodates the entire team. As well as checking for food allergies and preferences, it may also be helpful to check which members don’t drink alcohol, so you can sort out alternatives.
- Share a Party
If you want to treat your small team to a memorable event but don’t have the budget to book out a stunning venue all to yourselves – why not consider a shared party? Larger venues often offer businesses the chance to share their party with other businesses Not only does this give your team a chance to enjoy a glitzy night out, it could present you with a few networking opportunities.
As Emirates Old Trafford explain: “Shared parties are a fantastic opportunity for smaller companies to enjoy a special Christmas celebration with their team, at a more manageable cost.”
- Provide Travel Arrangements
One of the common causes for team members to drop out of a Christmas party is insufficient travel arrangements. If it is difficult or costly for them to get to the party and then get home, they may just decide to miss out. Make sure that the venue you book is easily accessible, either by providing private transportation or checking for nearby public transport.
It’s important these are arranged in advance – leaving it to the last minute can lead to long taxi rank waits.
- Hold Back on Secret Santa
If you’re planning an office-wide Secret Santa, it may be better to swap presents before or after the party. Whilst swapping presents during the festive meal may seem like an ideal time, it is more than likely that some will be forgotten after a couple bottles of wine have been consumed.
