The Classic Office Holiday Party - Make Sure it's Fun!

You’ve worked hard all year and deserve a fun event to kick back and party with your professional team! Office holiday parties have become a year-end celebration to look forward to in all types of industries and for both large and small companies.

To take the guesswork out of planning a corporate event, here are some office holiday party planning tips from the party pros at POTLUCK™!

 

Office Holiday Party Checklist

1.    Choose a Date and Location

2.    Arrange for Food and Drinks

3.    Consider a Gift Exchange

4.    Decorate the Space

5.    Plan Some Entertainment

6.    Celebrate Professional Successes

 

Choose a Date and Location

Planning parties during holiday season is always tricky because everyone is so busy and traveling. To get the best turnout, start the office holiday planning process as early as possible and pick a date in early to mid-December to avoid scheduling conflicts. (Better yet, push the party to January, call it a “Winter Party” and you’ll save on the cost as well!)

Arrange for Food and Drinks

Save those complicated spreadsheets for your job and simplify party planning with Potluck. This all-in-one resource makes it easy to coordinate who’s bringing what so that the food and drink tables are filled with delicious goodies. Also, understand what your company’s alcohol policy and corporate culture are to determine how much (if any) booze will be part of the event.

 

Office Party Tip #1: To make food and drinks even easier, host your company holiday party at a restaurant or hire a catering service to set up a buffet.

Consider Gift Exchange Options 

Many companies do a “Secret Santa” or “White Elephant” gift exchange so that everyone receives something and has just one gift to purchase. Set a price limit on gifts (around $10 to $25 max) to make the exchange affordable for everyone.

 

Office Party Tip #2: Don’t forget about your remote workers! If work-at-home employees aren’t able to travel to the party, offer a video conferencing option so they can virtually participate.

Decorate the Space 

Another to-do on your office holiday party checklist is to set up some festive (and inclusive)decorations to get everyone in the mood to celebrate. A safe bet for diverse workplace parties is to avoid religious decorations and embrace winter themes instead with snowflakes, wreaths, and pine cones. Better yet, you can delegate decorating tasks to a party committee through the Potluck App.

Plan Some Entertainment

Let’s face it…holiday office parties can feel downright awkward if you’re only used to interacting with your coworkers on a professional level and not a personal one. To lighten the mood and make everyone feel more comfortable, build some entertainment into your office holiday party plans. This could be anything from booking a DJ to setting up a karaoke machine, renting bean bag toss games, or going bar-hopping after dinner.

 

Office Party Tip #3: If your company has a philanthropic side, consider volunteering your time together as an office group at a homeless shelter, food bank, or local school.

Celebrate Professional Successes

Office holiday parties are a wonderful opportunity to recognize employees for doing a great job and company-wide successes that the whole team can be proud of. Company leaders will often make speeches and present awards at year-end office parties.This is also a perfect time to hand out bonus checks or party favors to make each employee feel appreciated.

 

Looking to impress your bosses and “wow” your coworkers with the best holiday party ever? Try our party planning app to pull together all the details!