After a long year of hard work, remarkable achievements, and great dedication, employees deserve a rocking company holiday party.
Actually, a company party has great benefits of increasing employees’ loyalty, bringing everyone together and establishing a strong rapport. The staff will feel appreciated and motivated to keep up the hard work.
But as it’s an end-of-the-year party, the company’s finances might not be at their best, and planning a company holiday party might break the budget.
However, you’re not letting your employees down. So, if the budget is the problem, never mind and start sending company holiday party invites, as the Regency team has gathered the top six tips and company holiday party ideas to plan the best party without exceeding the budget.
Create an event budget checklist
Since you’re planning a low-cost company holiday party, the budget should be set carefully. And you really have to take your time on this step because if you do it right, the party won’t seem cheap, nor will you break the bank.
As a first step, sort out your finances and figure out how much your company can afford to pay for a party. Set the maximum amount and start the process of prioritizing.
The company holiday party’s venue, catering, and entertainment are the most expensive elements that blow the budget. So, figure out what your employees like the most, and give it your attention and focus. Maybe what makes them happy is diverse and delicious catering. Maybe they’re lively and would enjoy some entertaining games or activities. Or they prefer to feel the VIPs’ vibe and be invited to an elegant venue, so they change their practical work outfit and start thinking about what to wear to a company holiday party.
Figure that out and draw up your event budget accordingly. However, you can conduct a poll if you don’t know your employees’ preferences. Keep in mind that these basics aren’t all your company holiday party will need. A lot of unplanned expenses might surprise you. So, make sure the budget allocated covers any secondary supplies.
Use existing resources
Making use of any existing resources is a brilliant company holiday party idea that might cut the budget dramatically. For example, you can save on the venue by using the office’s foyer or cafeteria. A little decoration and imaginative furniture arrangements might turn the space into a great company holiday party venue.
You can also save on the catering by inviting the employees to bring their favorite homemade dish to share with all the office staff and have a family-style catering. You can cater for the drinks and some desserts, and it wouldn’t cost an arm and leg like any other catering style.
Photo booth fun
The truth is, the company holiday party venue’s decoration will be a little costly. You will need to figure out a theme, decorate the site accordingly, set a menu that matches the theme vibes, and decide on a company holiday party dress code. At the same time, having an empty venue is not the best idea. You need to spice things a bit, make the site as welcoming as possible, and simultaneously adhere to a limited budget.
The best way to add a special character to the company holiday party venue is by using a photo booth. It will set the part’s theme and be a unique background for some memorable photographs for the company’s staff. Including this item in your venue will be a great company holiday party idea, it’s a wonderful addition to the site and is easily affordable, and you can DIY effortlessly.
Here’re our favorite two:
Office-inspired photo booth
Since it’s a company holiday party, setting up an office-inspired photo booth is a very smart idea. You can hang the office’s staplers, paperclips, calendars, papers using colorful straps, and the company’s logo. Formal could be the dress code, and staff could take pictures in front of the booth, share them on social media, and raise the company’s brand awareness simultaneously!
Christmas photo booth
Since the company holiday party will probably take place before Christmas, celebrating this festival with the office group needs some Christmas vibes. Use the indoor Christmas lights as a backdrop and prepare some photo booth props that match the theme; Santa’s beard, hat, and glasses are the greatest choices. To make the best of this idea, ensure everyone in the company holiday party dresses according to the Christmas theme.
Festive treats
Since it’s Christmas time and everyone expects some desserts, staff should be given what they want. But because desserts could be a big budget, there should be a delicious alternative. No, you’re not giving up the dessert part; your dear employees will take the lead.
Announce a dessert competition and make the prize worth it. For example, the winner could have two days off. By applying this company holiday party idea, employees will enjoy a diversity of sweet baked desserts, they will have fun, and you will slash the budget!
Karaoke cool
Looking for the most fun, interactive, and reasonable activity to entertain your employees? Karaoke is the ultimate answer. Everyone loves to sing their heart out and unleash their voices. And a company holiday party is the best time to do so. The karaoke experience would be great if your venue had a dance floor and a professional DJ.
However, if your company holiday party’s venue is the office’s cafeteria, you better make your own unique karaoke spot and dance floor. All you have to do is search online and rent a karaoke machine. The office karaoke experience won’t differ from a bar karaoke as the machine has a microphone, songbooks, and lighting.
Moving on from the karaoke machine, you can build a distinctive dance floor using foam mats; hang some colorful string lights from the ceiling to create a dramatic effect, and your office dance floor is all set. If you want to improve this good idea, popstar could be the company holiday party dress code.
Exchange gifts
Gift exchange is a critical part of any company holiday party. And since you’re the boss, everyone will be waiting to see what you’ve prepared for them.
Don’t sweat it; the Regency has got this also figured out. Why not break the boredom and substitute the traditional secret Santa gifts exchange with a smarter company holiday party game idea?
Mix the games part with the gifts part! You can assign the task of planning some fun company holiday party game ideas to an upbeat employee. Each and every one of the staff should participate in the activities to get their Christmas gift. The winners get to pick a card from the Golden gift box, and the losers choose their gift from the Silver box.
What to put in the Golden box?
- Travel packages
- Electronic gift cards
- Dinner invitations
What to put in the Silver card box?
- Time off
- Tickets to a cinema movie
- Netflix subscription
This is a very practical company holiday party game idea as everyone will be encouraged to participate in the games and get excited to know what their Christmas gift is.
Conclusion
The company holiday party is a great way to show your employees how much you appreciate their efforts. So, don’t let a tight budget stop you from doing so. We hope that the company holiday party ideas we gathered were of help. Time is of the essence, so start preparing your company holiday party invites and let your employees know that you care.