Christmas Parties

TYPES OF CHRISTMAS PARTIES

The term ‘Christmas party’ covers a wide range of celebrations, shindigs and dos, and we’ve organised our fair share of them all. The following functions are all types of Christmas parties…

1. Corporate Christmas parties - these are usually organised by companies for their employees as a way to celebrate the end of the year and staff members’ hard work. Corporate Christmas parties can take many forms, including awards dinners, discos, and more. 

2. Charity events and fundraisers - not-for-profit organisations host Christmas gala dinners, auctions and raffles, to raise money and awareness for the cause they support. 

3. Themed Christmas parties - the festive period offers a range of themes to choose from, like winter wonderland and Christmas jumper parties. 

Whatever the theme or function of your Christmas party, the festive season is for celebrating and there’s a party to suit your needs - regardless of who it’s for it and what it’s in aid of.  

How to organise a Christmas party 

To make sure your Christmas party is a triumph, there are several things you need to do. A lot of planning goes into making something a lot of fun - here is a checklist for organising a Christmas party to remember… 

Christmas party checklist

1. Choose a theme

Hosting a themed Christmas party is not a new idea, but it can be easy to play it safe. If you want to give your festive function a theme, think big and think outside of the box. 

The theme of your Christmas party could be something festive, something grandiose or something completely different. You may not even choose to have a theme at all. 

Some Christmas party planners drop the theme in favour of a dress code, which may encourage people to get suited and booted for the big day or night. 

When we plan Christmas parties, we love the opportunity to go big and be creative. A Christmas party that stands out in its theme, design and decoration will stand out in the memory long after the event is over. 

2. Venue selection

Venue selection is an important part of planning a Christmas party to remember. So if you can be more adventurous, go for it. 

The big factors to consider when you’re at the venue selection stage of planning a Christmas party are capacity, facilities and accessibility. 

The venue you choose needs to be big enough to accommodate all of the guests, but not so big that people feel too spread out or far away from their friends and colleagues. 

The selected venue should offer quality amenities too, such as catering and a bar. Similarly, the venue must be accessible to those with disabilities to ensure everyone can attend and enjoy the Christmas party. 

When you’re searching for an appropriate venue for your Christmas, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Is the venue big enough? 

• Is the venue accessible to everyone? 

• Are there catering and bar amenities on site? 

• Is there ample parking? 

• Will transportation to the venue need to be arranged? 

• What insurance is required?

• Is the venue suitable for a DJ and disco? 

• Is the venue within budget? 

• Is the venue available on the dates needed? 

3. Catering and menu selection

While it’s likely that the venue you choose will offer a package that includes catering and menu selection, it’s not a given. 

If this is the case, you may have to consider hiring external caterers. When doing this, you first need to ensure you’re working within your budget and, secondly, the food choices need to align with any themes. If you’re planning a grandiose, suit and tie event a multiple-course meal would be the obvious choice. Likewise, if you’re less formal evening, e.g. a disco, a buffet or finger food would be more appropriate. 

Another consideration is dietary requirements, survey your workforce or planned list of attendees to see which provisions you’ll need to make. In the event someone has a serious allergy, you must pass this information to the venue or caterer so they can ensure any potential risks can be mitigated.

4. Design and decoration

Decorating the venue in line with a Christmas party’s theme is imperative, even if there’s no theme you can literally deck the halls with boughs of holly in honour of the festive period. 

The overall experience will be enhanced by going that extra mile, so decorating the venue will help to embellish the occasion.

5. Entertainment and activities

A Christmas party to remember has more than just a nice venue, after all it’s an opportunity for people to let their hair down and celebrate their achievements over the last year. 

If the Christmas party has a theme, you may choose to incorporate this into the entertainment and activities. For instance you could feature a roulette wheel at a ‘night at the casino’ themed party. 

There’s plenty of fun to be had if you’re not thinking of having a themed Christmas party too. Music is a must, whether it’s a DJ, live band or even karaoke, people love to have a dance, especially after the bar has been open for a while. Additionally, a photographer or photo booth can really help to capture the evening.