10 Steps to Planning a Successful Office Holiday Party

The holidays are right around the corner, and we all know what that means: time to start planning your upcoming company holiday party!

There’s a lot to consider – from budget and venues to timing and entertainment. So figuring out how to plan an office holiday party can be a tricky one. If just thinking about it gets you feeling Claus-trophobic, we’re here to tell you that it’s easier than you think!

Follow this 10-step guide on how to plan an office holiday party that will have your staff shmoozing about it for months to come.

Let’s get right to it!

10 Steps to Organizing Your Next Company Holiday Party

Start by setting the date of the party as soon as you can. Your employees are probably already juggling a busy social schedule or planning to travel around the holidays, so the earlier they can put your party on their calendar, the better! Early December or mid-January are typically the safest bets to avoid travel conflicts.

Next, determine the time of your party; will it take place during or after working hours? We advise having a few different times to have options when you contact your venue.

How exciting! You can get step one down on the Connecteam app by setting up the time and date on your event page. Once you’ve published your event, your invitees will be able to click on this info and save the event to their personal calendars.

There are a ton of directions you can go with your office holiday party, and having a theme is a great way to make everything look cohesive. So as you plan, think of what vibe you want the party to have. Is it a formal, suit-and-ties kind of night, a casual get-together, or a kitschy ugly sweater party? Whatever you choose to go with, select invitations and decor to match.

On the Connecteam app, you can fully customize your event page’s layout and content to reflect your theme.

Time to break out the spreadsheet and plan the cost of a venue, food and drinks, entertainment, and decorations to decide on the balance of your final budget for each. Leave 15% of the budget to wiggle room and any last-minute company holiday party ideas.

No sweat if your budget is tighter than your pants after holiday dinner! There are plenty of company holiday party ideas to have a fantastic time. For instance, save money by sticking to the office, hosting a potluck, playing music on some speakers, and creating some company holiday party games. 

The next step of how to plan an office holiday party is selecting the venue to host your office holiday party. There are quite a few factors to bear in mind. These include your budget, party size, entertainment, and the venue’s availability. Do note that venues suitable for office holiday parties fill up fast, so try to get it booked at least two months in advance.

Once you’ve entered the address to your event page on the Connecteam app, invitees can open it on their phone’s Google or Apple maps to easily navigate their way over. 

Time for invitations! Let your employees know of the awesome event and company holiday party ideas you have been cooking up for them!

Ensure you’ve included all essential details, such as the date and time, location, event description, dress code, and whether they can bring a plus-one. Then, simply choose who to invite – individuals, a department, or the entire company. Your invitees will be instantly notified through the Connecteam app and can confirm attendance wherever they are. 

You can set the last registration time or follow-up reminders to make sure everyone RSVPs with enough time for you to give the venue a final headcount and make the proper arrangements. You’ll have a complete overview of employee attendance from your admin dashboard. 

Also, your employees can see who else is attending and – according to your preferred settings – add comments and reactions to share their excitement, influencing other invitees’ decisions. Users can also easily ask questions about the event with a quick shortcut to the chat feature.

Food is usually the “main event” of a good office holiday party. So once you have an idea of how many people will attend, start planning a menu. Decide if you will provide hors d’oeuvres to munch on, go buffet style, or serve a formal sit-down dinner. This is also the time to plan for drinks. 

Whatever culinary format you choose for your party, make sure you’re mindful of any dietary restrictions or preferences your employees might have to ensure everyone has something they can eat!

You can easily stay on top of any food allergies or other dietary restrictions your employees may have. Just include a shortcut to a custom digital form on your event page for your employees to fill out in the Connecteam app.

The key to a successful company holiday party is keeping your guests entertained. 

Planning entertainment can be as easy as organizing some company holiday party games, such as bag toss, darts, and yard games. If you have it in your budget to book a DJ or band – go for it. If playing music from your office speakers is more within your budget, get your guests involved by using live polling apps to find out their favorite tunes or any other company holiday party ideas right from your event page on the Connecteam app. 

Your event is also the ideal stage for speeches from leadership to express appreciation and put outstanding team and individual achievements in the spotlight.

This is the part where you get to turn up the excitement! 

Get your employees fired up about your upcoming company holiday party and ensure it’s the talk of the block by regularly posting engaging content, such as sneak peeks, to your company’s social feed right in the Connecteam app. Employees can react, comment, and join in on the excitement, even while on the go.

After all that planning, the time is finally here to get the party started – so have a blast! It’s always best to approach the event with genuine warmth and excitement and let loose! Seize the opportunity to connect with your employees on an eye-to-eye level and express how appreciated they are. 

“Throw a successful company holiday party”: CHECK!

Be sure to post lots of photos of the event on your company newsfeed to maintain the buzz in the days following your office holiday party. Let your employees react and comment on your posts to boost engagement.

Share a survey on the event with its attendees right in the app to ensure you capture all the ins and outs of how they experienced the party and gather any company holiday party ideas and suggestions. This feedback will allow you to know what great parts to keep and which areas could use improvement for when your next office holiday party comes around.

The Bottom Line On How to Plan an Office Holiday Party

While organizing one might seem overwhelming at first, you now know how to plan an office holiday party in just 10 steps! Here to back you up, Connecteam’s event feature gives you all the tools you need to create, customize, manage, and create a buzz around your event most easily and intuitively, right at your fingertips.

Now geared up with fresh company holiday party ideas, you’re all set to create a holly and jolly holiday party that will have your employees talking for months to come.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s start planning!