12/ 13/ 2006
by Kelle Campbell
The office Christmas party can be a wonderful end-of-the-year event, but there are several issues you should consider (or reconsider if this is not your first party) to make sure that it goes off without a hitch.
Alternatives to the traditional party
The traditional end-of-year party holds the danger of certain participants drinking too much alcohol, resulting in inappropriate behavior like drunk driving or sexual harassment. Therefore, several businesses and organizations have turned to alternatives.
Leslie Weekes of D.C.-based Leslie/Manning Events describes some alternative formats that organizations have opted for: "We're doing a game night at Dave and Buster's for one company, and another suggestion was an office mini-golf tournament or even a night of bowling." Cathleen Hanson, a director of the International School of Protocol in Hunt Valley,Md., also suggests brunches, luncheons, rock climbing (weather permitting), team-building activities or family events with entertainment such as ponies, sleigh rides, clowns and so on.
Form/type of party
In addition to the main question of traditional versus alternative formats, your party planners have several secondary questions consider. Hanson suggests a few of them:
- Do we want to hold the event during the day or in the evening?
- Do we want to be more formal or less formal?
- Do we want the celebration to be in-house or off-site?
- Are we inviting spouses, entire families or clients, or do we want only staff?
- If it will be a family event, how will we entertain children?
- Are we going to have games for adults?
"I find that most associations tend to have it in-house because it's for their staff only, and it also helps budget-wise," Weekes says. On the other hand, she finds that corporations tend to want to have the party in a nice place because they want to invite clients as well as employees' spouses and make the event more of a formal, dressy celebration.
"I think one of the key things that people should keep in mind is to be inclusive," Weekes continues. "Offices are filled with people of different ethnicities, religions, cultures and incorporating something for each person is a very nice touch."
Live entertainment: yes or no?
Although live entertainment is fun, experts agree that you can get by without it if there is no room in your budget. Weekes says that the most popular and unique form of entertainment she's encountered was an a cappella group that sang Christmas carols, but also cites classics such as jazz trios or quartets.
The only caveat she gives is against arranging any form of entertainment that requires guests' full attention all the time. "If the party has to stop for a show, then that's a bad idea," she says. "But if it's a band where people can still mingle and talk or choose to listen to the band, that works a lot better."
Considerations for serving alcohol
If you do opt to serve alcohol at your celebration, party-planning experts suggest providing cabs for people who overindulge. This simply involves calling the cab company as the party is drawing to a close and asking for a few cabs to sent your way. As Weekes says, "If anyone needs the cab, they'll jump in, and if no one needs the cab, then they just keep going."
Weekes also suggests two preventative measures: Asking the bartenders to pour less alcohol and having waiters greet the guests as they enter with champagne or wine. "People generally will stick to whatever they take at the beginning. So they drink less champagne or less wine than they would if they were having their cocktail at the bar."
Speakers and masters of ceremoniesBoth Weekes and Hanson agree that a master of ceremonies is only needed for large productions with entertainment, awards and a number of speeches. Otherwise, a quick thank-you from the CEO or a representative for management is sufficient.
If you do need a master of ceremonies, choose someone who can project his or her voice, put the audience at ease and handle any disruptions to the program schedule that may arise. If you have a number of speakers, you may want to restrict them to a few minutes each, especially if you've also had live entertainment. When you're having a speaker as the entertainment, request a 20-minute speech, but don't be surprised or distressed if they go over the limit by about 10 minutes. The master of ceremonies should keep speakers from droning on interminably.
The end-of-year celebration is your way of letting employees know how much you appreciate their efforts for the past 12 months. Addressing the issues above will help assure that you give your employees the best celebration possible.
