For companies and their employees, the annual office holiday party presents many, many opportunities for things going wrong.
From providing bad food to employees providing themselves too much alcohol, all the clichés about office holiday party are clichés for a reason. They tend to happen a lot.
Office Holiday Party Planning Tips
One sure way to make the party better is to provide entertainment from a rental company such as Fun Crew USA. The variety of items available, along with the professional help the Fun Crew USA team provides, speaks for itself.
Fun Crew USA is experienced in handling large corporate parties that people will always remember – for the right reasons.
That said, there are some mistakes that companies should simply avoid for the annual holiday bash. Here are six of them.
Not Enough Planning
Throwing together a Christmas party at the last minute is an invitation to throwing a party that is not all that great. Bad, even. And it sends a message to employees that the higher-ups didn’t really put too much thought or effort into making this a special event for employees. Also, there’s the practical issue that if you wait to book a venue, another company will get it before you do.
Holding Party At The Office
It’s difficult for employees to unwind and enjoy themselves if surrounded by the very things they look at all day while working. You can throw up all the holiday decorations you want, but tinsel and Christmas lights don’t change the fact that the office is still the office.
Not Providing Enough Entertainment
This goes back to the issue of renting from companies like Fun Crew. If employees have a cool obstacle course to navigate, rock wall to climb or Ferris Wheel to ride, they won’t exactly be sitting around yammering about work, now will they? And that’s one of the keys to throwing a good party. Not having enough to do leads to reverting to water cooler talk.
Not Providing Enough (Good) Food
A few chicken wings and some chips aren’t going to cut it. You want to either provide a nice meal or have a layout that includes a number of different options for eating. For one thing, you want to show employees that you respect and appreciate them. For another, you want people to have something to eat before or while they are drinking. Which brings us to the next point.
Not Catering To Non-Drinkers
There is no bigger cliché than the guy wearing the Christmas hat, drink in hand, head on a desk. If you want to serve alcohol at your party – and most do – think about limiting it to beer and wine. And make sure you have plenty of non-alcoholic drinks on hand. People today know enough about the cliché to want to avoid repeating it. Plus, someone has to drive.
Not Providing Music
People love to dance. Well, most people, anyway. And even those that don’t might be persuaded to get on the dance floor when encouraged by co-workers. Consider hiring a live band or a DJ. Again, it’s all about promoting fun between co-workers and giving them something to do other than sit around and talk about the new software for generating monthly financial reports everyone is so excited about.
Keep these ideas in mind. They are mistakes you don’t want to make. Give your employees something to do and let them know the company appreciates all the hard work they do. After all, isn’t that what the holidays are all about?
