The short answer to this question is no… If you start planning your Christmas party now, you will have a better choice of both dates and venues, more time to gather guest numbers (and menu pre-orders if those are required), plus more time allows you to better coordinate diaries and book any required entertainment. The more you do now, the less pressure it will be closer to December – and we all want that, don’t we!
What type of party is right for our company?
The first thing you need to decide is what type of Christmas party is going to be right for your company. Typically, you’ll have the choice of either a shared party night or a private party night. If you’re not sure what the difference is or which one is right for you, read one of our previous blog posts here where we get into the details. The third option could be a festive lunch, where you hold a daytime event with no party/evening entertainment if that would suit your company better.
Budget
The next thing on your list to sort out is your budget. Your company may already have a designated amount of money set aside for your Christmas party in which case you need to find out what that is, alternatively you might need to enquire round a couple of venues first to get an idea of what your higher management are going to sign off on.
If you’re opting for a shared party night then typically you will be given a package that includes everything you need such as food, drink and entertainment so you will have a per person price, however if you are organising a private party for your company there is a little more to think about as you will have the option of upgrading your drinks, choosing different menus and even arranging your own entertainment if you’d like something more than a standard DJ and disco.
Date
Once you know how much you have to spend, you need to coordinate everyone’s diaries and fix a date. This could also be dependent on what the venue can offer you, for example some venues have set dates that they are holding shared party nights, so you will need to choose one of those. If you are hosting a private party, you may still be restricted by the venue if they require a certain minimum number. Once a date has been chosen, why not send out a RSVP to gauge how many of your employees will be able to attend / make the date. If you can, why not share a couple of dates with them and book the most popular?
Guest Numbers
This leads us nicely into the next consideration; the number of guests. This one will be easier for smaller companies but much harder for those with multiple offices and departments – especially if they are located around the UK. If you are a particularly large company, you will have to choose a venue with a big enough capacity to accommodate all your employees. Don’t forget to think about whether you are going to allow plus one’s to attend too!
Food & Drink
Everyone’s favourite topic when it comes to the Christmas party – the food and drink! If you are booking a private party, the venue will likely offer you a standard package that includes food and some drinks, however if you wish to upgrade they will gladly show you the other options. It may be that a set menu is included in your package, but you would like to give your guests the choice from a menu, or you might change it entirely to a buffet. For drinks, you may wish to set up a bar tab, operate pre-paid wristbands or even pre-order wines/beer buckets/soft drinks for the tables. We advise speaking to your venue for these upgrade options as they will be best placed to make suggestions that will work not only for your party but for their venue too.
Entertainment
As mentioned previously, whichever party night you choose, it’s pretty standard that a DJ and disco will be included – unless you’ve purposely booked a tribute night, or perhaps musical bingo with us, in which case your entertainment varies. For those private party night organisers, it’s likely that your venue will include a DJ and disco for you, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t add-on to this.
For musical options, you could search for your own tribute artist (if that’s what you’d like), or book a band. We have plenty of recommendations that we can make if you need any help. In addition to this entertainment, you could also think about casino tables, photobooths, magicians and caricaturists all to add a bit more excitement and fun to your party night.
Accommodation
Lastly, if you know you’re going to need accommodation for your guests, then we advise booking a venue that has some! We are very fortunate that we are located right next door to voco, Reading who offer our guests a special discounted bedroom rate, however some venues do not have accommodation and if that’s going to be a pain for your guests, and even lead to people not coming, then we’d advise re-thinking your venue.
If you love the venue but it doesn’t have accommodation, could you find a nearby hotel and put on shuttles? If you have enough guests needing bedrooms, usually hotels are happy to offer you a discounted rate if you contract to a certain number of bedrooms.
