booking the perfect Christmas Party…

Are you one of those lovely souls that take on the “sometimes thankless” task of booking the company Christmas party?

It’s a minefield of trying to provide the perfect fun night; the right location, food that everyone will like, enough drink to have fun, but not too much that it gets too messy, music they will all dance to and all at a budget that your company have allocated! (Invariably never quite enough!)

I have been that person so many times over the years and now as one of the director/owners of my own venue, felt some of the best tips are worth a share:

• Go for a show round of the venue with some of your team and discuss the details not only with the sales person but ALSO the person who will look after your event on the night
• If you are flexible on dates ask for any discounts on “less popular evenings” also discuss any early booking/ prepayment discounts
• If you know from experience you will have a guaranteed bar spend talk to the venue, as they may offer better rates knowing they will have a good bar spend
• Ask to meet the chef and discuss any personal tweaks you would like to add to the menu to make it bespoke to your event, arrange a tasting session with some of your colleagues
• Describe to the venue team what you want to achieve from your event and ask them to give you their ideas of what could wow your guests
• Check and agree in advance the bar tariff for the night and request special offers if you know what your team are likely to want to drink
• Add some unique cocktails as a welcome drink or throughout the evening – branded to your own business
• As the venue what is the best party they have ever organised and why – would any of these ideas work for your event?
• Pick a venue that is a central location for public transport and easy access to late night cabs
• If picking an out of town remote venue, organise transport or let people know in advance how to make arrangements
• Ensure the venue is the right size to give flexibility on numbers as invariably your numbers will go up and down
• Ensure entertainment or a prize draw is made late into the evening so you don’t lose atmosphere or party goers to other venues / pubs and clubs
• And most importantly be confident that the venue team are as enthused about your event as you are!

Now of course there are loads of fab venues about, but if we can help you achieve all of the above please do not hesitate to talk to us at studio venues, this year we are offering Christmas YOUR way, a traditional package, which you can tailor to make bespoke to your company, or SPICE it up… a colourful and vibrant Bollywood themed package. We have 2 great venues in central Birmingham and central Manchester and if that’s not your location or we are not the right venue for you,  we work with a fantastic events management company who can source locations and run events all over the UK

So, Happy Christmas 2012 and I hope your teams and colleagues appreciate your hard work and efforts into organising their event