There’s a lot to get excited about when it comes to the holidays; cozy fireplaces, sweet treats, time with family, making snow men… the list goes on and on. It’s also the time of year when many companies celebrate the seasonand their employees with a corporate holiday party.
Harness the excitement of the holidays and make your corporate party a show-stopper with these five unique catering ideas for company holiday parties:
1. Dessert Cocktails
The holidays are all about sweets, treats, and indulgence, so what better way to bring this theme to your holiday parties than with a sinful selection of dessert themed cocktails?
Consider serving a menu of tempting dessert flavoured cocktails, either as a welcome reception for your party, or allow your guests to enjoy their dessert in liquid form after dinner. Candy cane martinis, gingerbread bourbon cocktails, and shortbread martinisgarnished with a sweet treatwill have your guests swooning and getting into the spirit of the holidays at your holiday party. Make sure you have a non-alcoholic mocktail for the designated drivers or non- drinkers.
2. Food and Alcohol Pairing Menus
When paired with specific foods, the right alcohol or drinks can make a huge difference in how the food tastes. Setting up a food and alcohol pairing menu can be an enriching addition to your company holiday party and can get your guests talking.
With the rise of craft breweries and wineries in recent years, food and alcohol pairings have been getting more attention. Consider partnering with a local Ontario winery or brewery to create a special menu that reflects the art of food pairings. The food options can include hors d’oeuvres or desserts, and when paired with the right type of alcohol, the flavours of both can miraculously improve.
3. Live Cooking Stations
Gone are the days when the chefs had to remain behind the scenes at big catered events. These days, guests at any event love to see a chef in action. Chefs are the new celebrities, and this is why one great catering idea for holiday parties is to feature interactive chef stations as part of your dinner service.
People love to see food being prepared (just look at YouTubeand numerous culinary shows on television), so give them a meal and a show by having trained chefs preparing foods right before their eyes. An experienced catering company will be able to suggest what types of food work best with this presentation option.
4. Have a Tapas-Style Dinner
One of the best parts of going to any kind of catered event is getting to sample all the appetizers and nibbles that are usually served at the beginning.It’s an opportunity to mingle and try all of the small bites that the catering team has to offer.Since this is such a popular part of the evening, why not make it the format for your dinner service?
No one says you have to serve a big seated or buffet-style dinner. More and more events are breaking away from the same old options, and there are plenty of other ways to ensure your guests fill up on a good meal. Tapas means small plates in Spanish, and this style of eating has been popular there for centuries. Guests get to pick and choose from many small portions of delicious dishes, and in the end, you’re just as full (if not more so) than you would have been from having a traditional format dinner.This style can also encourage guests to socialize and keep your party from becoming static and overly fussy.
5. Plan a Food-Themed Activity
Some groups can use a little coaxing before they start to break the ice, let loose, and have a good time at their corporate holiday parties. If this sounds familiar, consider planning a fun food-themed activity for early on in your party.
One great idea is to have your guests form teams and compete in one of the greatest architectural feats of the holiday season; building a gingerbread house! Talk to your catering company about supplying the pre-cut gingerbread pieces along with all the decorations needed and let everyone go wild. You can even have a prize for the best decorated house of the night—and who doesn’t love bragging rights in the office?
