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Planning a holiday party for your office

 

Holiday parties are a great time to recognize employees, reconnect and share in the festive spirit. But for many, planning a holiday part for their office can be intimidating and overwhelming. I'm here to provide some helpful tips I've learned over the years to help take the fear out of planning a party and provide some fun ideas for your office.

1) Form a team or committee - Planning a holiday party is way too much work for one person to tackle by themselves. Form a committee and divide up responsibilities such as food/decor/games/prizes etc. Also include someone from your human resource department to answer questions about company policy on such topics as drinking, prizes, budget, etc. Have one person lead the committee and keep everyone (and the budget) on track.

2) Determine the mood for your party - Casual? Formal? or something in-between? Setting the tone early on will help you make decisions down the road for location, food, etc.

3) Plan early - Whoever coined the phrase 'Christmas in July' was right....you should start planning your holiday party early in the summer months, if not before. If you're planning on booking a location, this holds especially true as many venues book a year in advance (or more). Which brings me to my next tip...

4) Location -The possibilities are endless. Depending on the formality of your event, location ideas include convention centers/banquet halls, restaurants, parks (if you live in a warm region), sporting events or bowling alleys.

5) RSVP indeed - To maximize your budget make sure you have employees (and families if included) RSVP for your party. This is vital for making seating arrangements and catering....why waste money on people that you're unsure are coming?

6) Lastly, there are few rules as to how a holiday party must run. Large or small, employees appreciate the time to be recognized and thanked for all they've done the past year. It may seem like a lot of work to plan a holiday party but it will be well worth it and remembered for months long after the party is over.

Besides the actual party itself, there are many other ways to go above and beyond to celebrate the holidays. Here are some ideas:

-Host an ugly sweater contest

-Feast on a potluck

-Have employees decorate a wreath or design an ornament to later be auctioned off for charity

-Give back: hold a clothing drive or food drive - make an office competition out of it with departments going head to head.

-Test your knowledge with holiday trivia

-Play old holiday movies in the lunchroom over the lunch hour

-Serve hot cocoa and cider in the break rooms

-Have a cookie exchange or bake sale

If you're just starting to plan your holiday party for this year, don't fret...you still have a little time but may need to keep your time constraint in consideration when planning. If your company has any ideas or traditions for your holiday parties we'd love to hear them!

Happy planning and happy holidays!

-Angie

 

Don't get spooked by planning an office halloween party

If your office is anything like ours, the week surrounding Halloween is a time for fun office activities and treats galore. (I think I'm on Reese's peanut butter cup #3 of the day and its only 9 a.m.)

Celebrating Halloween at the office is great for building morale and encouraging teamwork. It also gives your employees a chance to showcase their creativity and talent. Even if your social committee is non-existent, here are some fun ideas for hosting a festive Halloween Party (and with no budget required):

1) Extend the celebration - Why limit the fun to just one day? Turn your festivities into an entire 'Spooktacular week'.

2) Lions and Tigers and Gnomes....oh my! - Have a costume contest....let employees vote on their favorite costume to determine the winner. Consider a prize like a prime front-row parking spot for the winner(s).

Here's one of my co-workers dressed up as the Travelocity gnome a couple years ago:)

3) Ghoulish Goodies - Feast on a festive potluck and converse with fellow colleagues. Prizes can be given for tastiest and/or creepiest creation.

4)  Frightening Decor - Encourage teamwork by having each department decorate their area in Halloween decor. Elect a team from management to judge the work. Create a traveling trophy that the winning can display in their department.

5) Kooky Contests/Games - The possibilities are endless. Pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, scavenger hunts and Halloween-inspired trivia are just a few.

Bottom line, Halloween isn't just for kids anymore. Offices everywhere are using this fun time to boost morale and encourage employee interaction. If you have any fun halloween ideas for the office, we'd love to hear them!

Happy Planning!

Angie

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