Planning an Office Holiday Party

Party Planning Checklist from Party411.com

Throwing a holiday office party is not as easy as it used to be. In an era of political correctness and workplace diversity you have to be a little more careful. That’s OK! The party can still be fun and a good way to celebrate a year of hard (and hopefully profitable) work and to share Season’s Greetings with all.

You should ask a couple of basic questions before you get started with your event planning checklist.
Is this going to be about business or a purely social event? We have planned these to be year in review events, awards ceremonies, formal social events or relaxed social mixing. Any approach can work but you have to decide the purpose of the event first.

Will the event be formal or casual? Some of this depends on whether you are inviting clients or not and the kind of industry. I like more informal events myself but it really is up to you.
What is your budget? Will employees kick in to help pay or is the company underwriting the whole event?

Are you going to plan the event yourself or hire a professional? Some of this is dictated by budget and some by how experienced and available your staff is. Don’t expect your office manager to plan a party for the entire company and keep up on their day to day activities. Be realistic about time constraints or you will just cause unnecessary anguish.

Are you serving dinner (buffet or sit-down) or will it be finger foods? You can worry about details later.

Where are you having the holiday party for your office? If you need to find an outside venue you have to do it early because the Christmas season is a very busy time for restaurants and party centers.

When it comes to entertaining, "you can never be TOO organized!" And you can quote me. So here’s a checklist for this and a checklist for that. Print them out. Use them to keep your ducks in a row. Or use them to keep you sane. Whichever works. And if you still can’t find what you need, try our Party Concierge™!

There is a complete event planning checklist from Party 411 here.