How to Plan an Office Party

Every once in a while, employees of an organization need to take some time off from their work, and unwind. A great way to do this is to have a good office party. It will help relax and refresh the employees. In addition to that, it is also a perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other a little better, outside of their assignments and projects.

However, planning an office party is not as easy as it seems. It involves some time, a lot of patience, creativity, and also the willingness to be proactive and open to different suggestions. This article on Workspirited will give you the lowdown on planning it, using some very fundamental tips.

The first step towards planning a successful office party is to begin with the pre-planning stage. This stage includes deciding to hold the party and getting the necessary approvals from the upper level management, etc. After getting all necessary approvals, you need to ensure that you have a reasonable number of people attending the party.

For that, pass around a sheet asking people to answer in the affirmative or negative about whether they would like a party or not. Once you get a good number of people, you can get to the planning. Also check whether you need to follow any particular theme beforehand.

After the first step of finding out how many people will be attending the party, you can form a committee that will be in charge of the entire planning. This committee needs to have a meeting to decide the next steps in order.

They will go about checking and re-checking every little detail to ensure that everything is panned in advance, nothing is left for the last minute, and also come up with alternative plans for possible deviations. They are the planners and executors of the entire party plan, from start to finish.

At the meeting, you begin by first laying out options for possible venues where the party can be held. At first, take ideas from everyone present at the party, and then begin shortlisting by keeping the following points in mind:

• The distance that everyone will have to travel to get to the venue, needs to be reasonable. To be on the safer side, have it at a central location or a place close to your office.

• The next thing that you need to keep in mind is the amount of money the place charges. There are generally specified budgets for such events and occasions in an organization. Keep this budget in mind while selecting the venue.

• Once you find two or three suitable options, begin by calling them and asking them about their prices, the services that they offer within the prices, and also about special packages that they might have.

Keep these points in mind and then decide on a venue that is feasible to you.

Venues that offer their premises for office parties generally also provide food and drinks as a part of their package. So, get the menu from them and have a meeting to decide the food for the party. Keep the menu fairly neutral, pick items that you know a majority of people will eat.

Also, keep in mind that some people might be vegetarians, and may have some dietary restrictions. So, decide a separate list of food items for them too. If you're having the party in your office premises itself, then you can order food from a reliable and reputed catering service or have a potluck! It will be safe and you'll get more variety.

After food, the next and quite important aspect of the party that you need to plan out in detail is the entertainment for the party. People expect to have a good time at parties, even if they are office parties. So, don't take even a single minute for granted. Check out these games for office parties and pick the ones you like.

Apart from games, you can also plan a dance party and ask everyone to shake a leg. It will be fun and you might just spot some hidden talent in your employees. Another thing that you can do at a party is screen a movie for the entire organization. Serve popcorn and drinks, movie theater style, and darken the entire room while you'll watch the movie.

Make sure that the venue you select has the necessary audio-visual equipment for any entertainment idea for a party that you plan.

Minute details are bound to vary from organization to organization. So, adjust and tailor-fit the planning according to the requirements and the budget. Now, the only thing left to do is simply enjoy your time!