Most companies show their employees appreciation and celebrate the holiday season each year by hosting a corporate holiday party. While you may think it’s early to start thinking of the holidays, it’s never too early to begin planning for your company’s holiday event.
Whether you’re planning your first corporate holiday party or you’re working with aseasoned event planning team, here are a few quick tips to keep in mind for planning a successful corporate holiday party this year.
1. Choose a Date That Works for Your Employees
Once you decide to throw a corporate holiday party, the next step will be determining the date. This may be pre-determined by the availability of your chosen venue, but you want to keep in mind what will work well for your employees.
Many employees would rather not give up their family time for work events, so Saturday nights, although popular, might not necessarily be the best choice. It could also be hard for your employees to get a babysitter if your event is held too close to Christmas, so keep this in mind when selecting the optimum party date. Remember dates fill quickly around the holidays, so early planning is essential.
2. Choose a Convenient Venue
When selecting the right venue for your corporate holiday party, you’ll want to keepthe location and ease of access in mind to make it as convenient as possible for your guests.
Choosing somewhere that’s transit friendly is a big plus in the GTA and will also help get your guests to and from your event with ease. Your guests may be coming from various regions, but choosing a venue that’s located close to your regular workplace means that they won’t have to go out of the way to make it to your holiday party.
3. Don’t Serve Dinner Too Late
One of the biggest concerns we’ve heard from these types of events is about the running time and having a late dinner. Not everyone is able to stay out late, especially if they have small kids at home who are being looked after by a sitter.
For this reason, it’s important to work with your caterer or venue coordinator and ensure that dinner will be served at a timely hour. This way, those guests who have a specific curfew don’t have to leave before even getting to see dessert. Try food stations, buffets, or tapas style events if a multi course meal will take too long for your guests.
4. State Your Alcohol Policy Ahead of Time
This is an important tip, especially when dealing with a subject that has potential liability concerns. It’s always important to update or remind employees about your company’s alcohol and social events policies before the actual event occurs.
Serving alcohol can be handled many different ways; some companies will provide employees with the first couple of drinks on the house, and then switch to a cash bar. Others sometime choose to provide an open bar, and while this is great for your guests, make sure you do some research into liability and take steps to minimize the risk, such as providing taxi vouchers for rides home.
5. Allow Your Employees to Bring a Guest
The size of your company is going to dictate a lot of the planning for your corporate holiday party, so it’s important to know the size of your guest list well ahead of time. Whenever possible, it’s nice to allow your employees to bring a guest to your event, as this allows them to introduce their spouse or friend to their colleagues and helps your employees get to know each other on a more personal level.
