How to Plan Your Office Christmas Party

Christmas is coming up—radios are blasting holiday playlists, malls are stringing up decorations, and everyone’s making plans for the end of the year! In the office, you know what this means: a company-wide Christmas party, before employees can pack up their bags.

Two months is hardly too early to start planning for your Christmas party. With all the variables that you have to consider and inconsistencies like people backing out at the last minute, can get dizzying. But don’t despair—there’s a systematic way to do it, and all the hard work will be worth it in the end.

Find out the budget

Your budget will act as the frame that you’ll design your party around. A lower budget would call for a simpler party, perhaps with more activities squeezed in, while a higher budget allows you to book a swankier venue or invite entertainment from outside. When planning, though, leave aside some part of your budget for emergencies—you don’t want to run out.

Get your expectations right

Talk to your boss or company head about what kind of party they’d want, and ask for the input of the organizer team; you can also have your officemates answer a poll. Will it be set in the daytime or evening? To prevent disastrous changes, the concept should be finalized before execution begins.

Pick the date and venue early

Reserving venues can be highly competitive—some companies start looking six months before! Since office Christmas parties more or less happen at the same time, don’t be surprised if your first choice isn’t available anymore. Picking a venue means setting the date, too. Because your coworkers might be buying vacation tickets already, get the date out as soon as possible so they can mark it on their calendars.

Make it fun

Once you have the venue settled, you can think about what’s actually going to be in the party. Food, definitely—don’t underestimate how much food can affect people’s moods! Consider if you have coworkers with specific diets or allergies, and plan accordingly. If you have leftover budget, you can add office party games, music, entertainment (even performers!), freebies, or cocktails.

Have a Plan B and a Plan C

Never assume that everything will go perfectly. There are hundreds of things that can go wrong: the caterer might be late, it might rain hard, more people might show up than RSVP-ed. To save yourself from the stress, expect it already—have alternatives at hand. It helps, too, to schedule early and double-check by asking for confirmation.

Consider making it more than a Christmas party

For one, there’s the tricky aspect of religious and cultural difference—not everyone celebrates Christmas. Another point is that it takes place at the end of the year, and can double as a recognition event. Aside from gift-giving and having a good time together, you can repurpose the Christmas party to be about company bonding: awarding certificates to employees who did well, recounting your milestones for the year, and so on.

Ask for feedback

Beyond asking your employees directly (and looking out for hearsay), a more accurate way of getting feedback would be sending out online forms after the event. Aside from ratings, include space for them to write down their opinions. This will let you see what worked and what didn’t. Even if you won’t be planning the party next year, you can pass on what you’ve learned so the team for next year can do even better.

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