If you’ve been on your fair share of company event committees, you’ve probably experienced the stress and (let’s be honest) pure agony of a last-minute scramble to throw a semi-decent year-end office party. You know the kind: the Very Meh-rry Christmas Party, the Substandard Staff Dinner, the Totally Terrible Team Function…
We know how it is this time of year. Everyone feels frantic, frazzled, overworked and over it. It’s no wonder the added responsibility of putting together and hosting a year end staff party can feel like just another thing you have to do and endure.
But here’s the good news! Planning a year end function for your company doesn’t have to be a drag. In fact, with the right tips, tricks and tools, it can actually be fun, super organised – and (oh, yes) a roaring success.
Your company Christmas party is sure to be a hit thanks to these ideas:
Pick your team
A truly successful year-end party requires an eventing A-Team, so choose your committee wisely. You don’t really want Slapdash Sally, Last-Minute Larry or Negative Nancy on board for this one. Approach people who have proven to be organised, efficient and, of course, creative. Pick enthusiastic people who are solutions-driven team players.
Choose a theme
Sit down with your committee and hash out ideas for a Christmas party theme. Will you host a leisurely brunch or a sit-down dinner? A swanky cocktail party or a full-on year-end bash? What about dress codes and colour themes? Whatever you decide, choose a theme that the rest of the team can buy into without them needing to sell an organ or cross the country to find an outfit. When in doubt, keep it simple.
Delegate
Remember those dreaded school group projects where one person always ended up doing most of the work? It was you, wasn’t it? Well, not this year! Teamwork makes the dream work, and everyone needs to come to the party – not just the one you’re planning.
Delegate tasks and responsibilities according to each committee member’s strengths, abilities, talents and capacity. For example, one staff member could be naturally thrifty and great with numbers – why not ask them to handle the event budget and make creative suggestions to keep costs down?
Depending on how many people make up your team, let each person run with a certain facet of the event, such as:
- Decor
- Administration and time management
- Budgeting and spending
- Food and drinks
- Entertainment
- Hosting and speeches, etc.
Brainstorm
Time for your first big event meeting – let the brainstorming begin! This is normally the time consuming part of the planning process, as you all wade through the sea of awesome ideas you come up with.
Brainstorm everything relevant to your event, things like the venue, accommodation, transport, catering, dates, times, invites, communication, decor, entertainment, timelines, the event agenda, etc. Get everything down on paper, assign responsibilities and pencil in dates and deadlines.
Go digital
We know how stressful the end of the year can be for most businesses. There’s so much to do before you close for the holidays, in addition to planning a successful year end lunch or dinner party. So it doesn’t make sense for you to waste time having unnecessary in-person feedback meetings when you can do things digitally.
The solution? Getting on the same page. Having all event-related information available at the click of a button will be a game-changer for you as the head of the event planning committee – and everyone involved.
With the right event planning tool like Flock’s Mobile Event App you can:
- Design personalised, professional event invites
- Create beautifully designed event mailers
- Plan, organise, and manage all your event content, including presentations, media files, location maps, and more
- Make real-time planning updates as your team gives feedback and makes progress
With these great tips and tools, it really couldn’t be simpler to set yourself up for event planning success. Even Negative Nancy will have a hard time finding something to complain about… 😉
Want to plan a memorable office party this year? Let’s talk!
If you’re looking for a simple, stress-free event planning tool to make your year end bash a roaring success, we would love to get in touch. Book a demo here.