Planning Your Holiday Party
Have you been put in charge of planning the company holiday party this year? Or, is this old hat for you—but you’re looking for fresh ideas?
Over 90% of companies host holiday parties or events during the season, with many of them for employees only—while others include important vendors or clients on the guest list. Holiday parties boost morale and signal a healthy business optimistic about the impending new year. Planning them is often a job in itself—at least if you’d like them done right.
Like any major event, holiday party planning involves making a project plan, managing a guest list, and sticking to a budget. But there are a few more details to consider, too. Follow these tips to put together an event to remember this year.
Identify the ingredients
Every successful holiday party needs to have a date, time, venue, menu, and guest list—those are the basics. Beyond those, you have a blank canvas on which to create a memorable event, from music to décor to awards, gifts, and other personal touches. Think about what it is that makes your company special, or what made this year stand out.
Choose a date and time
There isn’t a hard and fast rule when it comes to scheduling a holiday party. For many companies, a holiday lunch is a festive way to accommodate the event during the workday. In fact, recent research suggests that 40% of holiday parties take place over the lunch hour. If this is your plan, we offer elegant options for hot lunches served at your site. An evening party can also be a popular choice, with Friday often the preferred weekend day. But because Friday can be the most popular night for local restaurants, that makes Friday reservations extra expensive. A catered event at your location, with a self-serve dinner buffet, can be a terrific and cost-effective alternative.
Create a cost-effective holiday party menu
If you’re feeding a crowd, you’ll want to be creative about serving delicious fare at a price that’s within reach. Plated (sometimescalled seated) meals can be the most expensive option, but you don’t have to sacrifice elegance when it comes to cost. Self-serve hot dinner buffets can allow your guests to choose the foods that appeal to them—and take as much or as little as they like. Our menus include a range of cuisine options, from Mexican to Italian to BBQ.
Consider an off-season event
Who says the holiday party has to fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Those weeks can be a busy time for everyone—at both work and home. Creative ideas for celebrations include an off-site catered event in late October, early November, or in January after the crush of the season is over.
Looking for inspiration?
Not every party needs to be at your office. Consider booking an off-site outing, such as a trip to Morton Arboretum’s Illumination or a team-building event. Our off-site catering capabilities mean we can meet you wherever the party is.
In addition, Bloomingdale Golf Club and Medinah Shrine Center both offer flexibility, beautiful surroundings, and our own on-site catering and event expertise. Bloomingdale Golf Club accommodates up to 225 guests, and Medinah Shrine Center can fit up to 600.
Since 1959, Catering with Elegance has combined beautiful venues, mouthwatering food, and top-notch service to transform events into treasured memories. We offer full-service catering and event management at two beautiful west suburban locations as well as off-site service for holiday parties, weddings, celebrations, and corporate events.