The work Christmas party: it’s a special moment for every person’s calendar. However, it undoubtedly involves many hours of planning, preparation and headaches for whoever has to organise it. There are many things to think about in organising the yuletide office do: venues, decorations, food, drink, entertainment, security and funding. If you’re organising for a large company there will undoubtedly be some office politics thrown in as well to contend with.
The best piece of advice for anyone organising the Christmas work do is to start early. Again, this is particularly true of large organisations needing a large venue, as these get booked up very quickly. Many professional Christmas party organisers start taking bookings in the spring time, just as the last party is fading from your memory.
If you won’t be needing to hire out your local hippodrome or corn exchange, you can afford to wait a little later in the year, however, it is still highly advisable to start planning early. Most restaurants, pubs and clubs start taking Christmas bookings in late Autumn and if you want to get the one you want, you’ll need to get straight in there; so make sure you know which one you want well in advance! Equally, this means you will need to know how many people are likely to come, and quite possibly their menu requirements as well. In order to know how many people are coming, you will have to organise financing. Is the company paying for everything? Or will it have to be self-financed? The latter could dramatically reduce numbers and you could end up out of pocket if you don’t iron out this point before booking.
Again, if you’re organising for a small team or company, it could be that all you need to do now is buy some crackers; although yuletide themed party games often go down well at these events. If you work for a larger company however, then you will need to look at decorations, entertainment, food and drink (alcoholic and soft). This is too much for one person to take on, and you will definitely need a budget before you even start brainstorming.
Organising a Christmas party for work can be an awful lot of trouble. But if you start early enough, you can have plenty of time to get it right; and stay within budget. If it’s your responsibility, best start thinking now!
