Organising your office Christmas party

Follow our tips and make sure everyone has a night to remember

You’ll need to make it at least as good as last year’s, if not better, or you might actually risk your popularity taking a sharp nose-dive at work! If you organise a party to remember on the other hand you’ll really shine in your boss’s eyes, so it’s worth making that extra effort!

Budget

Your party depends, to a great extent, on the budget you're given to play with. Although the size of your budget will limit how you celebrate and where, it doesn't have to have any bearing on the amount of fun everyone has.

Whether you're organising a huge event with clients and staff, a festive meal at a local restaurant or an intimate soiree at the office itself, there are some essentials you'll need to consider:

Agree a date

If you're organising a small party for 20 people or less then it may be possible to ask around until you find a date that will suit everyone. For larger parties you'll need to set a date and inform everyone in good time and just hope that the majority can make it.

Depending on how busy your company gets around Christmas time, it's usually best to set a date as near to Christmas as possible, which means planning ahead, as most good venues will be booked up for Christmas parties by late summer (put a note in your diary for July next year!)

Draw up a guest list

You'll need to decide who is going to be invited before you can book a venue, as you won't know how many people to book for otherwise. It could just be that everyone who works for the company is invited but what if the company is split across different sites -- will the other site be planning their own party or if you're located near enough to each other, then wouldn't it be best to get together for one big party instead?

You might be expected to invite clients and is the party just for staff or are their partners to be invited as well? If your company has a 24-7 shift-working system then this will need to be thought out in advance as well.

Book a venue

Once you know your date and roughly how many people you'll be inviting you can decide on a venue. Larger companies will be able to hire out a hotel banqueting room or take over a whole restaurant. You should check out the menu (including the wine menu) and whether you can get everything you'd like within budget, whether you'd like a dance floor, if you can bring in a band or a DJ and what time you'd be asked to call it a night.

It's also good to consider a local venue as many of your work colleagues are likely to live in opposite directions and you want as many people to come as possible.

Search our suppliers directory for venues to suit all occasions.