How to Organize An Office Christmas Party

It is Christmastime again and Christmas is in the air.Organizing office Christmas party is fun. People from all walks of life are preparing for the holidays. You can sniff it at the malls, when you talk to your friends, visit houses or just driving around. It has been said that Christmas has been too commercialized and that we are veering away from the true essence of it which are sharing, giving and joys to everyone specially the children.

At work, people are just excited as anybody else. Every year when I was working we always have Christmas party. The essence of office holiday party is togetherness and having fun at the same time, to talk about things and enjoy while not thinking of the work.

l used to be the one in charge of organizing the Christmas party, and being a single mother I have more time to spare. They really think that a partner demands more time. I just love doing it anyway so there’s no problem about doing the organizing.

Whether you are organizing for a big group or a lesser group, it is good to know the steps for organizing the party.

I will share to you the steps necessary to organize a party.

Always keep in mind that a party need not to be lavish for people to be happy, simple parties are nice.

Understand that there are people who don’t believe in Christmas because it is not part of their traditions. Ask them politely and gracefully if what is their take on this whether they would like to participate or not. If they would like to participate be sure to know what are their expectations.

Schedule the party one month in advance. Know the time schedule of work, usually after office work hours is ok, check if they can use the building after.

Be sure to know how many will attend the party so that you can plan for the venue and food. Email or post a note at the bulletin board all the names of the employee it they can attend or not. Create a checklist and the names of the people and opposite their names if they are available or will attend.

Always use email or post announcements at the bulletin board so that people are all informed about the party. It is nice to know the feelings of different people in the organization. Collaborate with big bosses about the mechanics and the preparation just for them to be informed also. Who knows they might contribute or bring extra gifts. Let the people know if they are willing to share expenses for contribution and how much are they willing to shell out. Know how much the people are willing to share for food, or if potluck is good.

• First, the budget - Ask the management if they can shoulder some expenses or what is the amount of money people are willing to contribute. Work on the money you will have, Make it simple.
• It is always good to include everybody in the organizing, like someone should be in charge of food, venue, exchange gift, games and the program if you decide to have one. The lead should be the one to manage the overall organizing and the people who are in charge of specific tasks should report to the lead.
• Decide whether you need to decorate the venue taking in to consideration how much you will spend and the theme.
• In terms of the food, check about peoples preferences, allergies, drinks,spirits or, whether it would be light or a heavy meal.
• If you decide to have a program, everybody should be informed of the part in the program. Usually, I will also emcee the program, if nobody likes to do it. I am the sponge or shock absorber of everything. It is okay, I am just happy to make people happy.
• Decide on a theme, like say Santa theme or if there is a need to wear costumes at all.
• If you decide to have games, bingo is a nice Christmas party game but five bingo rounds is recommended so that people will not get bored, stop dance, pass the flower, and music and chairs. A prize should be ready for the winners of the games. Try to solicit prizes from the bosses.
• Exchange gift is fun, so ask people how much is the minimum amount to give or if they are willing to participate. I always let them pick the name of the person in advance say two weeks before the party so that they will know what to buy for that particular person.
• Ask anybody if they would like to give a performance or if they would like to sing or have group singing Christmas songs.

Now, after all these considerations, you are sure to have a very merry Christmas party, one that you will enjoy and hopefully will build camaraderie among the people in the group.