If your company is celebrating its Christmas party for the first time or is planning to host a corporate Christmas party for the entire office staff each year, then choosing the correct venue can be quite a challenge.
The secret to success lies in selecting a perfect venue for your event. Many people will tell you that it’s all about location and facilities, but there’s more to it than that. You see, there are various other factors involved that you need to consider before choosing the right place for your next office Christmas party.
Eight Tips For Choosing Your Corporate Christmas Party Venue
The number of guests, theme, spending limit, date and time, location, type of venue, and historical precedent all factor into where you hold your Christmas party.
The number of guests you will have influences your venue.
A Christmas party for 30 employees requires very different venues than an event for 500 employees.
If employees are allowed to bring partners, your numbers will double, increasing costs, but your employees will value the opportunity to meet their coworkers’ partners.
On the other hand, if your business is a boutique type with ten or fewer employees, you have a lot of creative freedom and can host anything from a themed dinner party to a staff outing.
Your company Christmas party will be more fun and exciting with a theme.
Your employees will enjoy dressing up, and costumes always help individuals to be more comfortable mingling with other people, which makes them the perfect setting for business partners to have fun or for employees from various departments to get to know one another.
When choosing your location, consider a surf club for a Hawaiian theme or a glitzy location for a James Bond theme. You won’t need as much decoration if your venue adheres to the theme.
How much are you planning to spend per person for your Christmas party?
This covers everything from invitation design, venue selection, catering, music selection, and decor rental.
Will your employees have to pay to attend the event, will you pay for it out of the social fund, will you spend a predetermined amount that covers all employee costs, or will you do some combination of the above?
Some advertising agencies host legendary Christmas parties, fostering an environment where the yearly festive entertainment becomes one of the eagerly anticipated employee benefits.
Your venue depends on the kind of Christmas party you want to host.
If you’re having a picnic with a family-friendly theme and inviting employees to bring their kids, it should be held during the day if the majority of the kids are under 5, or in the afternoon from 4 to 8 p.m. if the kids of your employees are still in school.
You’ll need a place where kids can run happily, someone to organize games and food tents, and a Santa Claus bringing presents.
For the “boast factor,” your twentysomething employees will want a location that is Instagrammable, challenging to book, and convenient to transportation because they’ll probably go to another party after attending yours.
Your party’s venue is determined by the day and time of the event.
Obviously, Mondays and Tuesdays have the most venue availability because fewer companies book those dates for events, but many venues are closed on Mondays.
Remember that any Christmas party held Monday through Wednesday will cost you up to an entire workday in terms of productivity. In contrast, any party held Sunday through Thursday could result in next-day staff absences (due to hangovers).
Reserve a venue close to your office if you want your staff to walk back to the office after the lunch party. Alternatively, you can hire a bus to transport employees to and from the venue.
Unless the event is held in a particularly unique or special location, you might not get the best staff turnout if it takes place on a Friday or Saturday night because many people might have other commitments.
The location of your business determines the venue of your party.
Try to reserve a place 5 to 10 km from your business location. Your employees won’t appreciate having to pay a high taxi or Uber fare or figure out a difficult public transportation schedule to get home if they have to attend the party without their cars to avoid the risk of driving while intoxicated.
Your venue choice will have an impact on your company’s Christmas party.
The venue you choose indicates the type of Christmas event you intend to hold for your employees.
Compared to a holiday event planned at a popular party spot, a Christmas party held in a law firm’s boardroom is strictly a business event where you must mind your manners.
A pub around the corner indicates that your party is intended to be low-key, low-budget, and casual. Then there’s a five-star hotel ballroom at the other end. Then there are various types of venues in between.
Which message are you trying to convey to your staff? Are you all business? Creative? Budget-conscious? Generous?
Your choice of venue establishes a benchmark for corporate Christmas parties.
Any message you convey to your staff through your venue choice must be consistent because it sets a precedent.
Are you planning to schedule this year’s newest, coolest, and most difficult-to-get-into event? Do you lavishly decorate for Christmas when renting a beautiful space? Did you take a similar approach to the previous year?
Do you typically provide catering for a classy cocktail party, an outing for your staff, or a laid-back family picnic in a nearby park? People appreciate consistency. It does not have to be the same venue, but it must be of the same scale.
They will be curious about company finances if you spend a lot of money one year on the Christmas party and then don’t the next, or if your venue class is radically different, or if you have a fancy dress party one year and then downgrade it to drinks at the local bar the next.
It’s also bad for morale when you put a lot of effort into something one year and then neglect it the next. However, as your company grows, your employees will expect your Christmas party to improve in terms of venue, decor, and catering – as well as any Christmas gifts given.
Takeaway
In the end, people love an experience. And with these venues, you can be sure you’re providing them with an entertaining and memorable night. A party venue is an investment, large or small and choosing wisely always pays off. Need help choosing a venue for your Corporate Christmas Party in Roy, Washington? Our staff at Old General Store Wedding and Event Center would be more than happy to show you around our event center and outdoor courtyard. Call us today at 253-459-2124 for inquiries.