Too soon to start planning for your holiday office party? Absolutely not! Hopefully you’ve already booked a venue and decided on entertainment. If not, it’s important to get this taken care of as soon as possible. The best venues and top entertainers get booked months in advance.
Once you have a venue booked, you may want to send out a ‘Save The Date’ announcement to your guest list; especially significant if key clients or important potential customers are attending. Also, it’s time to decide what kind of activities you want. This decision includes entertainment options. You want to make sure your activities and any musical entertainment or performances fit the theme of the party. Speaking of which, deciding on a theme helps all the pieces fall into place, from décor to menu. Bright Ideas Event Coordinators can help you brainstorm some fun themes to celebrate the season.
As well as choosing your venue, food, and entertainment, here are two other things to consider:
Do you want to ‘celebrate sustainably’? Bright Ideas is committed to ensuring our special events embrace sustainable principles. We will help you choose environmentally-friendly options such as locally sourced gourmet delicacies, rented and re-usable décor, environmentally-friendly door prizes and goodie bags and ways you might incorporate taxi vouchers, car-pooling or limo charters, to reduce the number of cars travelling to the venue.
What about your guests’ backgrounds? In our diverse country, not everybody thinks the old-fashioned Christmas is a big deal. Depending on who will be attending your event, don’t rule out scheduling your party to coincide with some of the other traditional celebrations that occur throughout the holiday season, such as Hanukkah or Lunar New Year. If you’re sticking with a December event, you can encourage guests to suggest ideas and traditions from their culture and set up stations around the room to showcase the parts of the world they call home, or offer a selection of international cuisine, as a welcome break from the ubiquitous turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
Contact Bright Ideas today to request a quote for your best holiday office party ever!
Sitting Down With Santa
You might think Santa spends the off-season sipping umbrella drinks on a tropical beach, but he’s just like an event planner looking ahead and getting ready for his annual big event. We asked Saint Nick to take a few moments from his busy schedule to answer some questions about his work. Here’s our interview with the beloved Kris Kringle.
How is Santa preparing for Christmas right now?
Ho ho ho, well Santa is at the North Pole, organizing the Elves and Helpers, making toys and suggesting different healthy recipes with all sorts of vegetables for Mrs. Claus to cook, because he needs lots of energy for the end of the year.
What toys are always a hit with kids?
Well, Santa is always keeping track of the latest trends. Right now it seems like iPhones, stuffed animals, Lego, Barbie dolls, jewelry, nail polish and traditional games will be filling a lot of stockings this December.
How have Christmas events changed over the years?
Oh dear. Santa is sad to say some children are more demanding than they were many years ago when he first started sharing the joy of Christmas. A lot of children ask for pets, and expect pure-bred puppies and kittens, but Mrs. Claus and I would ask them and their Moms and Dads to consider rescuing an animal from the SPCA instead.
What does Santa like best about today’s children?
Santa is always happy when children remember to let him know what their brothers and sisters might want at Christmas time, especially the little ones who get tongue-tied when they meet me for the first time. Some children ask for Peace on Earth too, and I think that’s a gift we could all enjoy!
Does Santa get a holiday in the summer?
Santa takes a little break right after his big trip on Christmas Eve, but just like my good friend Sharon, I’m pretty busy in the summer. I’ll soon be trimming my beard, dressing in regular clothes, and traveling the world – updating my naughty and nice list; checking to make sure all the boys and girls are behaving properly, doing their chores, and listening to their parents and teachers. Have a great summer holiday children. I’ll see you all in December!
Ask An Event Planner
Planning a holiday party may seem straightforward. But there’s more to it than renting a venue and handing out Christmas carol lyric sheets. Here are some common problems I often see when organizations decide not to hire a professional event planner:
Choosing the Room – Too small a space makes for a crowded, uncomfortable event. Go too big however, and the room feels empty. Make sure you know roughly how many guests will attend the event so you can book the appropriately sized venue.
Music Matters – Unless your entertainment is the centerpiece of the evening, music is best as a background to the fun and conversation. Make sure your entertainers aren’t so loud that people can’t enjoy each others’ company.
Age Appropriate – Age appropriate activities and entertainment are always important, but especially so during the winter holiday season. Make sure there are things for children to enjoy, so parents aren’t stressed out by bored kids, but ensure there’s a bit of grown-up fun beyond just a buffet and a bar.
Leave ’em satisfied – Nothing leaves a worse impression than running out of food and drink. Of all the event details, this can be the toughest one for the lay person to figure out. It’s easy to under-estimate the requirements and a terrible waste of food and money to throw away large quantities of prepared items. Call Bright Ideas to help you do it right!
Top Three Christmas Themes
Winter Wonderland
Transport your guests to Jack Frost’s winter palace with white flocked live Christmas trees, icicles, snow drifts, falling snow, frosty drinks, ice bar, and transparent furniture.
The Magic of Christmas
There’s no trick to this theme. Illusion shows, roving magicians, magic classes, magical parting gifts, intriguing décor with lots of curtains and shimmery fabrics combine the holiday season with the mystery of magic
Christmas around the World
Many cultures have embraced the Christmas spirit. Show off the holiday traditions of faraway places with a variety of décor, music, food, signature drink, arts and entertainment from our global village.
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