Throwing a Jolly Christmas Party

Throwing a Christmas party seems always like it's going to be a fun affair, yet, when it comes to the organisation it can be hard to know where to start.

When organising a Christmas party, first of all you must know where it is to be hosted. So decide if you're going to hire out a venue, have it at the office or at home. If hiring, check out costs for the night and ask how many people the venue can cope with. If you decide to have it in the office, check out any health and safety regulations and leave a room free for the party. If a home party sounds the best option, decide upon what space is going to be used by your guests.

Next, decide upon who you are going to invite. This could be from work colleagues and partners, business associates, clients, family and friends. Make sure you don't invite too many people as otherwise your venue will be too full. Now that you've decided who to invite, it's time you created those invitations and send them out. It's always best to send invitations out quite early, so as to inform them as early as possible. Also add an RSVP section, so that they can reply to you and keep a list of who is attending and who is not.

It's vital that you give your guests at least something to nibble on, so decide upon a menu. Make sure you have a few different options as you might have to cater for vegetarians, glucose intolerants, vegans and halal meat eaters. Simply check with all the guests beforehand if they need any specialist foods. You will also need to decide upon how the food is to be served. Is it going to be a three course sit down meal? Or a buffet?

So venue and the food are sorted. Next is the evening's entertainment. Decide upon appropriate entertainers or games. Entertainers are the best for those who just want to sit and relax, whilst games are more appropriate for the more active guest. Remember to have a good amount of entertainment planned for the night, but not too much or too little. Too much will cause your guests not to interact as much and too little may leave them feeling bored and restless.

You will need to also plan the beverages and organise any staff, music, awards and so on. A lot of organisation goes into a Christmas party, so if you don't have the time or energy to organise a Christmas party then hire a Christmas party organiser or attend a shared Christmas party.