It’s never too early to put on your Santa Claus hat and start planning a corporate holiday party. Getting a headstart means avoiding the stress of last-minute preparations.
In the three to four months leading up to your office holiday party, you’ll need to:
Get into the festive spirit early and start holiday party planning!
Would everyone enjoy drinking and dancing at the office holiday party? Or would they prefer interactive games with prizes? By asking them for their corporate Christmas party ideas, you’ll head into your event planning process feeling more confident.
Use online poll apps to collect responses. Encouraging attendees to share their holiday party ideas will help everyone settle on something they’re excited about. Trust us: reading their wish lists is an annual company holiday party best practice!
Once you’ve settled on the basics of your office holiday party, the next step in the event planning process is to pick a date. The perfect company holiday party should probably be on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night in the early weeks of December—you don’t want to be a Grinch and interfere with people’s personal plans!
Make sure to send a casual save-the-date as soon as you finalize it so they can block it on their calendars.
Every company holiday party needs a great venue. Start exploring your options and visiting potential venues ahead of the holiday season to help you get a feel of the place and how you can spruce it up to deck the halls.
Holiday parties need an appropriate budget. So, how much of a budget should you allocate per person? Meet with key decision-makers in your company three months before the event to set and confirm your budget.
Venues get booked quickly during the holiday season, so make sure to decide on a venue ASAP and commit to it. Booking an event space at least three months in advance is key to securing your ideal location for your holiday party.
When planning company holiday parties, don’t be afraid to go all out with festive games and activities! Will there be an ugly sweater competition? What about a gift exchange or Secret Santa?
Office Christmas party ideas should incite festive cheer and encourage everyone to participate. Whether it’s board games, a photo booth, an escape room, or even a dance floor, your party ideas should be the kind of interactive entertainment that sparks friendly competition—just don’t forget to reward the winners!
Research potential caterers and attend food tastings. Remember to look for entertainers, decorators, and other types of vendors you might need.
Caterers get fully booked this time of the year, so it’s time to choose whether you want hors d’oeuvres or prefer to serve a sit-down dinner. Some venues have catering options included, so you might want to consider packages to save money and time.
If you want your guests’ taste buds to be happy, lock in your ultimate caterer of choice right away. After all, what’s a work holiday party with just semi-delicious food?
No holiday party checklist is complete without an invitation!
Spread holiday cheer by being extra with the design! Don’t worry—there are many invitation apps you can choose from to make things simpler. Some even have polished designs with customizable templates.
This is also the best time to contact invitees who haven’t responded yet to your save-the-dates to confirm the final head count.
Are you planning to hand out party favours at your company party? What decorations will you be using to deck the halls at your venue? Create a list of the supplies you’ll need and check them off as they’re completed to keep your stress levels down.
Touch base with your venue, vendors, and suppliers to ask how things are going and if everything is on track for your holiday celebration. Updates like this are important so you can make an alternative plan if something goes wrong.
There’s no doubt about it: you sleighed your role as the planner. The best part about holiday parties is actually having them, so enjoy yourself!
If this isn’t your first time planning a corporate holiday party, then you know it’s far from a relaxing walk in a winter wonderland. Think of all the stress you’ll avoid if you put your trust in the experts to make your company’s holiday party a huge success.
The Loft on King is a unique historical venue in downtown Toronto complete with exclusive catering, bar service, and an events team dedicated to bringing your holiday party ideas to life without a hitch—believe in our holiday magic!
To book your company holiday party with us, contact our team today!