Staff Christmas Party Planning Essentials
Set up a Christmas Party Committee. Give them a realistic budget and a clear brief. Decide if the event is going to be staff only, staff and their partners, or families. If your party is staff only, what’s the average age? What are their hobbies and interests? If you’re catering to staff and their partners, do any of their partners have special needs or disabilities?
If it’s a family party will there be presents for the children? If so double count the kids expected to attend and make sure Santa has a spare present or two on hand. There is nothing sadder than one kid missing out. Make sure you have age appropriate entertainment for the children you expect to attend. Have a clear policy about alcohol consumption, this is a good idea for all staff parties, but it’s particularly important if some of your staff have young families and others don’t.
If you are inviting customers to your Christmas party you should think about have a separate staff only party where your team can relax and let off some steam without embarrassing themselves or damaging the company reputation in the eyes of an important client. Some larger organisations have both a staff & family Christmas party and an adult only Christmas party.
Do you want a simple meal and a few drinks or do you want a party with a theme or an activity? Will it have a teambuilding element?
Once you have established a clear brief get the Christmas committee together and tell them the budget and talk them through the brief then have each committee member report back in a week with three ideas for the party. Think about themes, venues, activities and entertainment. Make sure they know the budget and keep their ideas within it.
At the second meeting discuss the Christmas party ideas and try and whittle it down to two or three favourites. How do they stack up against the brief? Are they achievable within the budget? Have you done any of them before? Your staff will appreciate you making an effort. This could be either something new or an old favourite. Staff don’t appreciate the same old thing every year, especially if wasn’t popular the first time around.
Once you have found a couple of options then make some enquires about dates. The sooner you do this the more options you will have available. If you leave it to late, you may struggle to book the venue you want on your preferred date and time. Once you have booked a venue let your staff know the date. The sooner you give them a clear date the better the attendance will be.
Develop a policy around alcohol and make sure it is clearly communicated to the whole team. Let them know what is acceptable within your company culture. If you plan to let people cut loose then make sure you provide adequate food and transport home.
When choosing a Christmas Party Venue you should be looking to tick off a couple of boxes.
Firstly, people expect great food and drink and plenty of it.
It’s no good finding a fun venue if the dinner isn’t up to scratch. You want time and space to relax together as a team over a meal not be rushed out of a restaurant so the next group can be squeezed through. Make sure you cater everyone’s dietary requirements and have vegetarian options available as well as the traditional ham and turkey. If you greet people on the way in with a glass of bubbles or a beer make sure you have a non-alcoholic option available as well. Secondly you need a theme, an activity or some entertainment to make your office Christmas Party memorabile.
Snowplanet have a fantastic restaurant and bar that looks out onto our indoor ski slope. During Christmas party season it beautifully decorated with a White Christmas theme. We have a range of dining options including a Christmas buffet or a three course set menu. We can also provide a range of activities on the snow including Skiing and Snowboarding, with or without instructors. Snow tubing, snow games, or a mixture of any of these activities that suits your team. We have equipment and clothing available for rental as well. All this located ½ an hour from downtown Auckland with plenty of parking for cars and buses.
Check out our Christmas function menu options
Comments & feedback.
We would like your constructive feedback on this Christmas function so that we can make any changes that we see fit.
