You’ve been waiting all year for your office party and it has to be good. There’s nothing worse than a boring office party and this year you want to let your hair down and enjoy a well-deserved work party. If you are in charge of organising an office party it can be a little stressful. Making sure that everyone is happy, and catering to the various needs of your colleagues is a lot to keep up with. If you have decided to take charge of organising an office party then you need to have a number of fail-safe ideas that people will be on-board with.
Just how wild the office party gets is up to you (and HR), but feel free to make it as creative and fun as you like or think appropriate. Working all year long means that when Christmas arrives, or whenever you have your office party, you want to feel appreciated and rewarded with a night to remember.
Budget
Of course, a party will be limited by budget. So the first thing you need to do is to get a budget together and see what your budget stretched to. Even with a small budget you can still cut costs with location, or catering with some innovative and creative saving techniques. If you have a broader budget, then there really is no limit. Whatever your budget, you can still set-up an excellent party if you go into it with a positive attitude.
For smaller budgets, consider using your office space instead of going out. This means that you can place some of your budget into the food, drinks, and entertainment rather than spending it on a venue. With the money that you save on a venue you can splash out on transforming the office space into an entirely new environment.
If you are lucky enough to have a large budget then use it carefully. It can be easy to go overboard when budget isn’t an issue- however people often prefer intimate events where they can get to know each other outside of the office environment. Intimate doesn’t have to mean small, however. And you can organise an event to remember either yourself, or through an event production company.
Themes
Choosing a theme that is fun and still corporate-appropriate is difficult. Instead of spending hours racking your brains for the right idea, consider the following themes.
Roaring 20’s: Everyone loves the vintage glamour of the 20’s, and it gives people the opportunity to dress in their fanciest clothes and live the carefree existence of the flappers of the 1920s.
Casino: In a similar way to the roaring 20’s theme, the casino theme offers people to dress up in their finest suits and cocktail dresses. This also sorts out the problem of entertainment as you can set up a mini-casino with machines, card tables, and croupiers. It is up to your company whether they choose to use alternatives to money- perhaps a raffle, or money going to charity as it is most likely not company policy to endorse gambling!
Masked Ball: Allowing people to live out their childhood fantasies by dressing up as Cinderella, or prince charming will get people’s fun side out. The mystery element to the ball will allow people to get to know each other better as well.
