Planning a Successful Office Holiday Party

Make no mistake, planning a holiday party can be a lot of work, cause needless additional stress, and seem like it’s more of a hassle than it’s worth. But it isn’t. A party at the holidays is an absolutely essential commitment between the employer and employees and should not be frowned upon, complained about, or ruined by a poor attitude. While it may seem like a bit of a chore getting all of the moving pieces together in one place and coordinating the logistics of the celebration, never forget, a party is supposed to be fun and offers a tremendous opportunity to unwind with coworkers and friends outside of a professional work environment. This camaraderie is a great way to casually recap the year and set the tone for the next year. The Venue One of the most important decisions that you can make is about where to hold your celebration. Many companies elect to hold the party in their office after hours, if space allows. This can be beneficial in that it saves money and can make a place that is normally associated with professionalism and hard work be looked at in a new, more comfortable and casual light. The problem with throwing a party in an office, however, is that some people have difficulty letting their guard down in their place of employment, many people don’t enjoy returning to the office after the day has ended, and you always have to worry about the party having an impact on your office space. As in, someone could always accidentally make a mess of the work space. Plus, having a party at your office brings up questions of logistics, as in who will set everything up and then clean when the event is over? A more popular option may be to either rent event space or hold your party at a local restaurant or bar. More often than not these venues offer deals for events and can make the entire event much less stressful on the office manager or person tasked with organizing the event. Ideally, you’ll want to make sure that the place that you’re all meeting is centrally located because you want it to be convenient for everyone to attend. Picking a Date One of the difficult parts of planning any event is choosing a date for the party. During the holiday season, nearly everyone is busy with countless special events so you have to understand that there likely won’t be a date on the calendar where everyone will be able to make it. You just want to find a day that is the most sensible and will offer the best chance of a decent turnout. There is also some debate as to what time of the day is best for the party. Some companies elect to close up shop early on a Friday and have the party during what would be regular working hours. The benefit to this is that you’re able to better guarantee a great turnout for the event, but the problem, obviously, is that it doesn’t allow the employees to bring their loved ones and it may not feel like as much of a special occasion when you’re gathering at 2 o’clock on a weekday afternoon. Alternatively, throwing a holiday party at night isn’t always ideal because some people may choose to skip the event in lieu of other commitments. It’s about striking a balance. Food and Drinks Making the determination about what sort of food and drinks to provide can be the difference between a memorable event and a dud. Some companies enjoy having a formal sit-down dinner, while others elect to set up a buffet and let everyone eat when they choose. Each approach has its own benefits and limitations and often also depends on the budget and size of the company. A staff of 10 may enjoy sitting down to a fancy meal, for example. A decision also needs to be made about drinks. Some companies don’t feel comfortable providing alcohol to their employees, while others will spring for an open bar. It really depends on your staff and the culture you’ve developed at work. Usually, a compromise of a couple of drink tickets is an appropriate concession, and the employees can always buy additional drinks later on if they’re so inclined.