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Planning
05/23/2011
04/27/2011
11/06/2009
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
