Usually when a business decides to hold a party, it is held off-site. This can work well: the food will be catered, the set-up before and clean-up after will be done by others, and entertainment can be laid on for you, if desired. However, this can all cost a lot and there are issues with this sort of an event. Here are some corporate entertainment budget tips to help you make the most of your office event, be it a retirement, Christmas or celebration of a work milestone being met.
The Problems with Going Out
The price you will pay for a two-course meal – or even a buffet – will be factored to make profit for the restaurant or venue that you are visiting. This usually means that the company can only afford to pay for their employees, which means that people will sit awkwardly by themselves, or group up into office cliques. Quite often the food is not as good as it should be: cooking for parties bigger than six to eight can mean that some receive their food ages before everyone else, some dishes are dry from being prepped beforehand and there is always one waiting, hungry and empty-plated while everyone else is nearly finished their meal.
Often some staff members have partners and/or children at home, which means that they must rush off quite early, leaving the single people to party on.
The Solution
So how to ensure that every employee has a good time, and can stay for the full duration of your event? If you have a boardroom (or another large area: warehouse, classroom, sports hall etc) and basic facilities, why not host the event at work? There is event planning budget software that can help you with the planning, keeping you on track and ensuring you do not forget anything.
In this way, you can provide food and drink for a fraction of the cost, getting staff members to volunteer to help with the prepping in the hour or two before it begins, and have an informal buffet.
This way the food is all fresh, and you will easily be able to cater to any idiosyncratic dietary requirements, and you can let your staff bring a plus-one. This will break the ice between office groups as partners will chat to everyone, and you and your colleagues can put names to faces from amusing anecdotes. You can even get everyone involved with cocktail hour ideas for party games: cocktail making, charades, and so on. Games like this are much more fun when the general public is not sitting in judgement of your party!
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On
Use whatever is left of your corporate event budget to slot in a live band. Live music really brings any event to life, being able to tailor itself to the mood of the party, ranging from retro to trendy, nostalgic to bouncy. Get a quote today and see how easily you can host an office party in your office!