Organizing a successful Christmas party
Various aspects ensure that the Christmas atmosphere radiates from your Christmas drinks. We want to inspire you with creative ideas and activities to make your Christmas drinks attractive and memorable, regardless of your budget. Read on to start the festive season with a wonderful feeling!
The Importance of a Christmas Drink for Team Spirit and Appreciation
A Christmas drink can contribute enormously to team spirit. It is a pleasant meeting where everyone can be more themselves and do not have to adopt the serious attitude of a colleague. You have a good time together and can let go of all your work for a while, allowing you to see each other differently. This way you can draw closer to each other and this can have a positive influence on further work. You can show appreciation to the employees by providing them with a pleasant afternoon and/or evening as a thank you for their efforts over the past period. The intention is for the Christmas drinks to be in a relaxed setting where everyone goes home with a good feeling.
Tip 1: Start organizing your Christmas drinks on time
Everyone is usually extremely busy around the holidays. It is therefore best to organize a Christmas party well in advance, so that it is possible for everyone to keep the chosen date free. Determining the duration of the Christmas party and the number of people is also important to confirm in time so that other matters such as drinks, food and location can be arranged. Many locations fill up very quickly around the holidays! The most suitable location for a Christmas party is of course one that is easily accessible to everyone; with your own transport or public transport. It is best to organize a non-work event at a different location. The workplace is automatically linked to the work. You walk past the same coffee machines, your desk is very close, and realize that you actually still had a few emails in your inbox to respond to. This is not what you want to stir up on such a festive evening. It is also nice to see colleagues less than just colleagues, and do this in a completely different setting. Ask in advance if there are a number of colleagues who would like to help you clean up afterwards so that you are not alone.
Tip 2: Determine your budget for the Christmas party
Determine a suitable budget for the Christmas party in advance so that you know where you stand and can determine expectations. You base the budget on a number of things that you can make as crazy as you want: location, drinks, snacks and entertainment. Even with a lower budget you can create something fantastic! If it is not possible to organize the Christmas drinks at another location, this is absolutely possible at the work location itself. What still awaits you is transforming the space with Christmas decorations so that it no longer looks like the normal office. Don't forget to provide crockery and tables; you can also rent this. What should of course not be missing is a decorated Christmas tree. It can be a giant pine tree or a small, fake tree for ambiance. The most important thing is that you show that effort has been put into it, that is what your colleagues can appreciate.
Tip 3: Theme and Decor: Creating Atmosphere with Style
To turn your drink into a Christmas drink, it must really radiate Christmas. The entire room should be filled with Christmas decorations: streamers, balls, balloons, everything! The “feel” of the room must be Christmas! Leave the high lights off and put on some mood lighting for a cozier feeling. To make it even more pleasant on the eyes, you can choose a dress code. You can then also reflect this in the decoration of the room. You can make anything from this: choose a classy theme such as black & white or make it more Christmasy by making a small addition with dark green and burgundy red: “classy with a touch of Christmas”. You can also give it a funny twist by having everyone come in an ugly Christmas sweater. You can also make a winter addition by purchasing snow decorations or incorporating them into the dress code. You can clearly demonstrate the appearance of the Christmas party in the invitation or email that everyone receives. Add an appropriate image or use the colors of the dress code in the text so that everyone clearly understands what is meant. It is also nice for everyone to immediately get into the right atmosphere upon entering.
Tip 4: Entertainment and Music: What should you consider for a Christmas party?
What really belongs to Christmas? Christmas music! Of course, this does not have to be all evening long, but a few classic songs such as “Jingle Bell Rock” are indispensable during the Christmas drinks. You could hire a DJ, rent a music system or even bring your own speaker, depending on your own preferences and options. The Christmas drinks can turn into a dance party or the music can be a little softer in the background. Conviviality is company!
If you rent a music system or bring your own speaker, it is useful to make a playlist in advance and/or download a number of existing ones so that you don't have to think about it on the day itself. Make sure you have enough hours of playlists so that you don't suddenly come to a standstill or have to hear the same songs over and over again. You can also ask for input from your colleagues and create a joint playlist, where everyone can include a few of their favorite songs. This is also a fun way to get people excited for when their number comes out. Music connects!
Other things you can add to the Christmas party are short activities or entertainment. The classic: a photo booth! You can easily make this yourself with a tripod, a telephone and a self-timer function. You set aside a small corner where people can take photos and you can put out nice (Christmas) props for some craziness. If possible, you can also hire a photographer for these photos or rent a real photo booth with all the trimmings. Everyone likes to be able to look at photos and videos of a successful evening afterwards. Depending on the type and amount of people coming, you can also create a few opportunities to play games. This can be anything: card games, board games or drinking games. Maybe a dance workshop or even karaoke!
Tip 5: Catering and drinks: Do's don'ts
Catering and drinks are essential for a successful Christmas party. You can hire companies for this or have it arranged by the staff at the location you are visiting. You can also arrange your own shopping if the drinks are at your own location. Then have it delivered so you don't have to carry everything yourself. The Christmas drinks can include a (fancy) lunch or dinner where you can also have wonderful conversations at the table. You can also keep the atmosphere a bit freer by placing snacks on standing tables, so that everyone can go where they want. If you want a more personal touch, you can also ask if there are volunteers among the employees who would like to make snacks and/or drinks. There are also other ways to reduce costs. For example: a Christmas drink “drinks & bites”. You can start this drink later so that everyone has already eaten beforehand and you only have to arrange standard small things. You can make this extra fun by placing Christmas-related snacks such as Christmas tree cookies and candy canes. Make sure there is enough to eat and drink, especially if this drink will last several hours. Of course you don't want people to go home because their stomachs are rumbling. Also take everyone's allergens with you and make sure there is enough alcohol and soft drinks for non-drinkers.
Tip 6: The end of the Christmas drinks
Give a short but powerful speech at the beginning, halfway or at the end of the Christmas drinks. Thank everyone for coming, give everyone some courage for the coming period and wish them happy holidays. This certainly does not have to be an extensive story, but it is a personal moment between you and the rest of the employees. Then everyone can continue partying.
To make everyone feel seen, it is nice to arrange a little something for the employees that they can take from a table or be handed out. This can be a single Christmas bauble with a small (handwritten, personal) card, an item related to your company or a complete goodie bag to give a reminder of this meeting.
