Make your Christmas party go smoothly!
Chris Hogan, 13th November 2015, Events
Many people dread the work Christmas party but there's no reason why it shouldn't be a success as long as you make the right choices and plan accordingly. We'll take you through some hints and tips to help you do just that.
Appoint an organiser
This is critical - you need someone who's good at administration to be given charge of the project. They need to be given the power to control the organisation of the event - finding a venue, getting names of people attending and then sorting out menus.
Start by deciding what sort of 'do' will suit the staff - will they enjoy a sit down, dress up dinner or be more comfortable at a buffet with drinks and dancing? Let's face it, it's not going to be possible to please everyone, but the wrong decision can annoy everyone.
Will it be in the day or the evening? What about doing something that's built around something interesting and useful, like a cookery course, dancing lessons, cocktail making or something else along those lines?
Look for a good venue
Pubs, hotels and restaurants are all options but why not try and find something a bit different? For example, see if you can find a floating restaurant nearby. There are narrowboat-based restaurants in Banbury, Macclesfield and Bath so there are likely to be others dotted around the UK.
In larger towns and cities like London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Northampton there are passenger cruisers kitted out as restaurants. There may also be pleasure cruisers that can be hired for parties and dining.
Ask around
It's worth asking local councils and tourist boards if there are other options too. Many Town Halls and other ornate public buildings have embraced catering for events to help pay the bills, so you might find something that's a little out of the ordinary.
Whatever the location, the organiser should confirm the arrangements in writing. Make sure you see a copy of their event insurance so that you can decide if you need to take out a separate policy to cover you and your attendees.
Food
Unless you opt for the buffet option, most event venues will ask you you to let them know your party's menu choices up front. Make sure the venue can cater for vegetarian options and other specific diets.
This is one of the most important jobs for the organiser - getting people to make choices, recording them and passing them on to the venue. Then (crucially) the list must be taken to the event, because by then most people will have forgotten what they'd ordered!
At this point (if not earlier) you'll need to know whether partners are going to be invited or not. Again this is horses for courses, but whatever you decide make sure it's communicated clearly to staff.
Drinks
There are a number of options for drinks - have an open bar, an open bar up to a set limit, have the arrival drink free, or offer bottles of wine for tables but have other drinks paid for. Again whatever you choose, make sure your staff and the venue are aware of the arrangements.
If you decide to go for an open bar up to a certain financial limit it's a good idea to give staff vouchers to even it out. It will prevent the fast drinkers using it all up before more moderate drinkers have had a fair chance.
How about a theme, or entertainment?
Having a theme brings people together and gives them something to talk about which can help to smooth over the sometimes awkward first moments of a work affair.
Entertainment is a good idea too. As well as the obvious singers or cover bands you can hire close-up magicians to go around the tables, jugglers or perhaps a comedian. How about some games, like fairground and arcade games, casino games, giant jenga or even Scalextric? You'll find local companies offering all these and more.
Transport
At the end, you'll want to get everyone home again. How you do that depends on your location, the transport options around you and the number of people you're catering for.
But consider taxis, a coach or even putting people up in hotel rooms, if they live far away and the public transport options aren't good enough.
Enjoy yourself!
As we said at the outset it's very hard to please everyone but if you enjoy the event yourself that will rub off on other people. Hope you have a great time over Christmas!
