The holiday season is looming on the horizon. Like many people, you may be feeling like it sneaked up on you this year. Normally, you’re on top of things, but you have only a few short weeks to plan the corporate party.
You need to make up for lost time. How can you successfully plan the party on such a short turnaround?
These tips will walk you through the accelerated planning process. With them in hand, you’ll be able to pull everything off without a hitch.
Set the Budget for the Corporate Party
The first thing you need to do is shore up the budget for the corporate party. You may already have a few rough figures and estimates. You might also have last year’s budget available to you.
If you have the information available, use either last year’s final figures or the current budget. This will help you as you plan.
Book the Venue (and Plan a Back Up)
Rather than spending time doing research, you’ll want to book a venue fairly quickly. It isn’t necessarily a good idea to book the first venue that comes up, but you will want to book something soon.
If you’ve had past editions of the corporate party in particular venues, get in touch with them now to see if they’re available. Be flexible on your dates as much as possible. It’s a good idea to book a venue quickly, but keep a couple of venues as back-up plans should planning go amiss.
Revamp Last Year’s Holiday Menu
If you had the holiday party catered last year and you were happy with the fare, get in touch with the caterer and see if they’re available. Make sure their availability aligns with the venue you’ve booked. If not, ask them for recommendations.
If you were happy with last year’s menu, then offer it to your caterer instead of starting from scratch. You can revamp last year’s menu, keeping the all-stars and hit dishes, and replacing some of the less stunning entries with new options.
Reuse Decorations (or Let the Event Coordinator Handle Them)
If you have any decorations from years past kicking around the office, haul them out now. You may be surprised by how easily you can recycle some of them.
If you don’t have decorations, you might want to talk to the event coordinator at your venue. They can help you pull together the decorations quickly and easily.
Don’t Be Afraid to Scale Back
You’re short on time. Instead of stretching yourself thin and trying to plan a huge corporate gala, why not consider scaling back a bit?
Your employees don’t need you to host a fancy corporate dinner in order to have fun. Think about hosting an afternoon office get-together, taking people out for a fun afternoon, volunteering, or even hosting a holiday happy hour at your venue.
By narrowing the scope of the party, you can focus in on the details. As a result, you’ll be able to focus on doing everything well.
Ask for Help When You Need It
With only a few short weeks until the party and so much to do, you may find you need a helping hand. Don’t be afraid to ask for it. Event coordinators, caterers, and other professionals are more than happy to assist.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s easy to turn food over to the experts, just as it’s easy to turn the decoration choices over to your event coordinator.
You can also ask for help from your employees as well. You don’t need to handle everything by yourself. Many hands make short work of even the largest tasks, including planning a corporate party.
