How to throw a smashing office party this holiday season
The holiday season is officially here. This is the time when companies host their annual office parties to celebrate last year’s successes and thank their employees for their hard work and commitment towards work. Interestingly, office parties can be an exciting event that can boost employees morale, foster stronger relationships and let them know that they are appreciated for who they are and what they do for the organization. All in all, office parties contribute largely in establishing great company culture.
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This being said, employees also dread office parties for a myriad of ‘understandable’ reasons. Sometimes the party is ill-organized and at times, not enough thought and money are spent on it. Due to which employees might feel ignored and less-appreciated. However, not every ‘office holiday party’ falls into this category. There are numerous office parties that leave employees with a good time, smiles meeting ear to ear and memories to be cherished forever.
If you think it’s necessary to spend a bomb on lavish office parties. It’s not true. After all, the price tag on a party is now what employees will remember. What’s more important is to make them feel appreciated and valued and give them a ‘work-free’ day. So, if you are planning to throw a party for your employees in the year-end, here are our tips to throw a smashing party your employees can’t get enough of.
Pick a convenient party date
The holiday season is the busiest time for many employees — endless events, family visits, parties and what not. To ensure your company party is a pleasant affair, it’s important to be considerate enough to give them an advance notice about the event and request them to save the date.
Be mindful to not schedule the party in weekdays and then expect them to report at sharp 9 on a Wednesday morning. It’s best to host the party during office hours (probably on Fridays) so that you won’t be competing with their prior commitments or other obligations they have.
Choose a convenient location
If you want to express your gratitude towards your team members and host a party to appreciate their hard work, then do them a favor by making it easy for them to get to the party venue without much hassles. For this, try zero in a location which is easily accessible to all, such as a nearby restaurant or a bar or a place everyone is familiar with. You can also consider organizing the ball at someone’s place as well.
If you are throwing the party inside your office premises, please make sure to clear away all the office stuff beforehand. Because if the party room looks like a meeting room, it will kill the party vibe even before the party starts. As no one would like to celebrate at a place that reminds them of their office cubicle.
Go all out with the decorations
When you are organizing an office party, make sure you don’t skimp on the decorations. Party decorations and interior can take your party to another level. Set the right tone with the right decorations. As it will be cold in most countries, you can host the party at a place which has cozy and warm ambience. However, if you are in Australia or other countries where Christmas falls in summers, how about creating a snowy indoors?
Be sure that as soon as your tribe enters the room, the atmosphere says “party”. You can get endless options for inexpensive decorations that can add color to the room. This holiday-party is a once-a-year affair, make it special for your employees by throwing a party that stands apart.
Plan some good and clean fun
Office parties are most enjoyed with they have an element of fun in them. While organizing them make sure you get inputs from every employee to make the event more fun and enjoyable. Instead of a conventional party, you can also go for a hike or a picnic if employees vote for that. If majority of employees are teetotalers or doesn’t enjoy drinking, you can go ‘No-alcohol’ party as well. Before doing this, we would suggest you to involve employees so that they can share their opinions as well. At the end of the day the party is for them, if things are as per their taste, they would thank you for all the efforts and arrangements.
Tip: Save the heavy drinking for the after party
If you intend to serve alcohol at the party, make it a point that it is served once the games are performed and the food is served. This way employees who need to get home early or who doesn’t drink can participate in the festivities.
Don’t forget to give back to the society
Any time is the best time to do your bit for the society. But something is special about the last month of the year. This year encourage employees and make an effort to volunteer than just paying lip-service to it. It makes the event special as you are putting time and effort to actually give back to the society instead of gossiping who’s wearing what with a glass of champagne in their hands.
There are so many ways you can choose to volunteer. For instance, you can organize a fundraiser for charity, join a food drive for not-so-fortunate or volunteer at a homeless shelter. Winston Churchill shared these beautiful words a long ago, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Say ‘Thank you’ personally
A party at a fancy restaurant with lavish decorations is all well and good but the main motive is to thank and appreciate employees. Besides the party, it makes sense to walk up employees to personally express gratitude for their contribution at work. You can see this as an opportunity to talk about what’s going on in their lives. If someone is going through a bad time, proactively ask them if they need any help from the company’s side or not.
You can present them gift cards, flowers, cash bonus, or personalized gifts depending upon your budget to show why you value them. Do you know that 74% of US employees want their bosses to appreciate them for who they are and what they do? It is a good way to let your employees know that you care for them.
Don’t force it
As it is a busy time of the year, not everyone will be able to make it to the party. Some might have prior commitments, some can’t get a babysitter or some aren’t just party people. If they RSVP no, simply wish them happy holidays by placing a card or a small gift on their desk in advance. There’s no need to take it personally or make another opinion about it.
Ending the year with a bang can boost their morale, help them to know each other better, and foster great work culture in your organization. Not only this, ending the year on a high note can empower employees to ring the new year with optimism and enthusiasm.
If you consider giving a twist to year-end party, here are some office party or event ideas that employees will enjoy:
- Go for a movie with your team
- Volunteer at a local charity
- Go bowling or ice skating
- Trek a mountain
- Indoor games such as Dumb charades, Blind drawing etc
- Potluck
- Go to a soccer match
- Attend a stand-up comedy show
- Go for a group cooking class
Now that you’ve decided to host the party, don’t forget to check all the points mentioned-above to throw a smashing party for your employees this holiday season. And, if you have ideas to make it even more interesting, don’t forget to drop a comment below.
“Gift yourself a solution for all your work troubles. Start using ProofHub.”
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Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder of ProofHub — a leading project management and collaboration software. A passionate leader, Sandeep is always on the lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams and companies. He is also a featured writer on LinkedIn and a contributing author at YourStory. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Also follow our company page @ProofHub to get the recent updates about our tool, published articles, motivational quotes & presentations.
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