If you’ve been responsible for organizing your business’s annual staff holiday party, your plans should be to maximize the value of your event while minimizing expenses. You can build an event that raises corporate morale and promotes staff morale and retention by carefully considering the best execution for this Christmas party.
It’s vital to commence with the basics before concentrating on specific planning and event execution. Below are some of the ten steps to planning your business’s next holiday party.
1. Identify the Event’s Kind
In general, luncheons are the most popular business holiday party, with nighttime parties coming in second. Evening parties are more frequently held on Saturday nights, but luncheon parties are more frequently held throughout the week. In addition, luncheons frequently cost less than nighttime celebrations.
2. Choose a Day and Time
Businesses typically plan holiday parties around the third or second week of December. The first week of December saw a decline in the number of holiday gatherings. Fridays are the most popular day of the week for holiday gatherings, followed by Saturdays and Thursdays.
3. Plan Your Travels
It is crucial to have a strategy for getting to and from your holiday party, especially if alcohol will be offered. However, that does not imply you must plan a ride to collect everyone from their homes. Utilizing buses or limos to take guests from the workplace to the party’s site and back if it is in a rural area is recommended. Make sure everybody can access taxis or ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber if your party is nearby.
4. Determine Alcohol Policy
Planning a party can be difficult when discussing alcohol. Not only may it quickly increase the cost, but as the evening goes on, it may also cause shaky judgment. The most famous means of accomplishing this is by giving out drink tickets. Usually, the firm provides two drink tickets that entitle guests to free beverages.
5. Create an Invite List
Some employers invite partners or loved ones. Fewer businesses welcome partners and kids. Inviting employees’ wives and kids may be thoughtful, depending on the event type and date. Most workers welcome the chance to bring their families.
6. Decide on a Location and a Caterer
For their Christmas parties, businesses host their guests at various regional locations. The most frequent locations for these events are hotels, restaurants, and country clubs. Additionally, a caterer is used by most companies who throw holiday parties. In actuality, catering usage rose over the previous year. Caterers and venues are frequently the same for businesses.
7. Send Out Invites
Send invites out at least a few days in advance and include a deadline for an RSVP once such details are finalized. You might wish to mail out invitations if your party has a theme or is particularly formal. For less formal occasions, such as luncheons, email invites work well.
8. Choose an Entertainment Subject
At their Christmas gatherings, several businesses entertain. Even while providing entertainment at workplace holiday parties is by no means standard practice, it may help make the event more entertaining for all of your attendees. Your event may become distinctive and memorable by using party themes. You can also make sure to rent or buy a mirror photo booth for sale so that your employees are able to take pictures to remember this wonderful event.
9. Make an Agenda
To ensure that the Christmas party works successfully, create a plan. The arrival, cocktail/appetizer, dinner/lunch, discussion points, entertainment, employee recognition, gift-giving, and closure times should all be listed on the schedule.
10. Dole Out a Present
Holiday parties are the perfect opportunity to give your workers a gift. More than half of the businesses we polled want to offer staff presents. Gift cards are often the most popular present.
11. Include Attribution
Holiday parties are more often than not employee recognition occasions, so it’s critical to acknowledge the accomplishments of your workforce and express your gratitude for their efforts and contributions every year. Some businesses include yearly employee or team recognition and prizes in their holiday gatherings.
Bottom Line
Whether your holiday party budget is large or little hardly matters. The significance of your company’s holiday party determines its quality. This includes how valued staff understands after the event, whether it nurtures a sense of pride in the company’s successes during the year, how unforgettable the event was, and whether or not employees can spend time with one another.
