How to Plan a Holiday Party like an Event Planner

Holiday parties are a great time to unite teams and celebrate the end of the calendar year. While holiday parties vary according to team size and budget, there are many ways to create a memorable evening for your staff. As an event planner with over 15 years of experience, here are my tips for planning a fantastic holiday party your team won’t forget.

Plan Ahead 

One of the biggest challenges in planning a holiday party is finding a suitable venue for your group size. Since the holiday party season is one of the busiest times of year for venues and restaurants, it’s best to secure your venue well in advance of the event. If you have a team of 10-20, you may be able to hold off booking your venue a little longer, but for any groups larger than 20 people, you should secure your venue with plenty of notice. In some cases, as far as a year in advance is the preference if there’s a venue you love, and you want a specific date range.  

Keep in mind that there are only so many suitable Friday and Saturdays in the holiday season, so the availability books up quickly. Set a reminder in your calendar to book a venue anywhere from a year to 8 months ahead of time to have the best odds of getting the venue you want.  

Set and Track Your Event Budget 

The costs of a holiday party can quickly stack up. Before you book your venue and event partners, set a budget that you are comfortable working within. Focus on the venue, food, drinks and AV first and then explore adding elements. Like planning a wedding, those small items can add up, so tracking your budget will help you ensure you stay on track and on budget.  

Choose the Theme/Tone of the Event 

Once you have the venue confirmed, it’s fun to start thinking about the event's theme or aesthetic. Many like the holiday parties to be more formal; it’s an opportunity for staff to get dressed up. If the attire is formal, it’s nice to plan the rest of the event elements to be in line with the attire. For example, you might not want to take your team for burgers and fries if you’ve asked them to dress up.  

The theme can play out in any decor elements brought in, menu you select and types of drinks you serve. You may want to do a signature company cocktail to greet the guests upon arrival or to be served during a toast by leadership.

Build a Timeline for Your Event 

Having a timeline will ensure you send out, save-the-dates in a timely manner and secure the essential event partners (i.e. entertainment, decor, AV, caterers). Once you have a firm date and venue, it’s best to get your core event partners in place shortly after. This ensures you have all the event elements secured before they get booked up by other party planners. Sometimes, the venue you book will have catering, AV, and decor managed in-house, which can mean you are checking off more boxes when you secure your venue. It’s helpful to ask your venue if they have any preferred event partners or to confirm which elements they can support you with. 

Arrange a Committee 

Planning an event can take a lot of time. Whether arranged by the leadership team or the HR department or tasked to a specific department to help, it can take a lot of time and effort to plan a successful holiday party. Since it’s often something staff are fitting in around their day-to-day tasks, it’s helpful to set up a regular meeting time to check in on progress. If things are left too late, you may waste hours calling to find an event partner who can provide music for your event or cater it.  

Defining roles and keeping each other accountable will ensure the planning stays on track. Another option is to consider bringing on an event planner to help manage the event and take off some of the workload.

Create a Safety Plan 

While holiday parties are a ton of fun, it’s important to remember that as an employer you are responsible for ensuring your team gets home safely. If you serve alcohol, offering taxi chits or selecting a venue near a public transit hub is a good idea. Remind staff that they are to plan a safe ride home. It is good to make this announcement at the event as a reminder to staff to make safe choices. It can also be helpful to offer a set number of drink tickets so if staff choose to overindulge, the decision is their own.  

Secure Event Insurance

You’ll also want to ensure you have insurance in place for your holiday event. It can be as easy as emailing your existing insurance provider with the key details of your event to ensure you have the appropriate insurance in place. Your venue may also require you to add them as additionally insured. The process is straightforward but a critical step you don’t want to miss.

Develop an Engagement Strategy 

Take some time to think about the extra touches you can put into place that will make the event memorable. How can you create memorable experiences for your staff? It could mean having a photo booth to capture the night's fun or having an entertainer on site (I am always a fan of duelling pianos). It could involve a surprise parting gift bag or a silent auction to raise money for a local charity. Adding these extra touches to your event will help it stand out from the other parties they have attended.  

Determine the Event Brand Touch Points

It is a corporate event, so remember to use it as an opportunity to make your team feel proud of where they work. Note where you place brand touch-points. Take the opportunity at the entrance to provide a warm welcome. Perhaps there are screens or projections that could feature the brand or showcase the team’s work. Look for subtle places where the corporate logo can be featured. For example, they could be toppers on a cupcake or dessert. It can be nice to bring the brand to life at these events, and there are always inventive ways to make an impact.  

Wherever you are in your holiday planning journey, remember that these events are meant to be fun! Enjoy the planning process and know that you are going to bring teams together this holiday season. Happy planning. 

About KindCo

KindCo is a Vancouver-based brand engagement consultancy that specializes in employee engagement and corporate events. We bring people together through the art of gathering.

Founder, Nikki Hedstrom, has over 15 years experience as a brand engagement and event specialist.