How to Plan a Christmas Party: 9 Step Guide

It’s that time of the year again! The people are waiting to welcome the new year, goals, and milestones to be achieved. While other people are excited and enthusiastic to welcome the new year, as an event organizer, you might be worried about how to plan your Christmas party so that it becomes one of the best parties and talk of the town.

There’s so much that needs to be done to ensure a memorable Christmas party, like venue, theme, dates, times, budget, entertainment activities, preparing and inviting a list of guests, choosing catering and food, and the list goes on! 

If you are not prepared well enough, your Christmas party can become a miserable event that disappoints your guests.

But you no longer have to get stressed over your Christmas party planning, as this guide will work as your savior! 

We have curated all the steps that you, can check off to make your events a grand success and get more business next year.

So, let’s get started.

 9 Actionable Steps to Plan a Perfect Christmas Party

 

 

Go through these nine steps of Christmas party event planning to ensure smooth execution. And save this as your guide, so you can take a look every year. 

1. Analyze Your Past Event Data 

The first thing you need to do while planning a Christmas party is go back to all the events you have organized and recollect your learnings. 

• Make a list of successful themes, activities, and overall atmosphere.

• Recognize any challenges or issues faced during past parties.

• Evaluate both positive and constructive comments to improve future events.

• Identify areas where costs could be optimized without compromising the experience.

• Determine if there were any scheduling conflicts in your previous party flow.

• Identify reliable partners and areas for improvement in collaboration.

• Consider if some new technologies or apps can enhance the party experience, such as AllEvents event manager app to scan your guest entry.

• Consider the dietary restrictions and preferences of the guests.

• Identify areas where better contingency planning could be implemented.

• Explore ways to make the Christmas party more sustainable.

If you haven’t organized any events yet, and this is your first event, you can think about other events you have attended and answer the questions below:

Ask yourself these questions:

• What were the events (or aspects of the events) that you managed amazingly? 

• Where did you miss the chance to make your events better? 

• What were the moments where you could have negotiated better? 

• What were the complementary things that could have made your events more successful?

• Were your events technically equipped with the right audio-visual equipment? 

• What were the responses of attendees during the events? 

• How was the response to your marketing efforts? What better or different you could have done? 

• What was the feedback from clients – what they liked the most and where they wanted you to improve? 

Pondering these questions will help you get a lot of insights that can help you plan your this and future events effectively and get you the desired results. 

2. Set an Objective for More Clarity

Once you have answered the questions mentioned in the above section, it will become easier for you to set an objective for the event.

Consider a few key questions:

• What’s the Purpose?
• Who’s on the Guest List?
• What’s the Desired Atmosphere?
• What Outcomes Do You Seek?

Here are some ideas to spark your imagination:

1. Community Engagement

Objective: Foster a sense of community by encouraging interaction among attendees and promoting local collaboration.

2. Brand Promotion

Objective: Increase brand visibility by incorporating branding elements and creating shareable moments for attendees.

3. Fundraising

Objective: Raise funds for a charitable cause through event activities and donations.

Your objective will decide the next action steps and how you execute your event. 

3. Deciding Your Party Budget

 

 

When planning a Christmas party, deciding your budget budgeting plays a major role. It will eventually select options you can have for your Christmas party event. 

When planning your budget, consider the following factors: 

• Size and scope of the party, 
• Venue 
• Decoration
• Food and beverages
• Entertainment activities
• Gifts/Favors/Prizes – if applicable 
• Audio-visual equipment (DJ, Lighting)
• Staffing
• Logistics and packing (If applicable)
• Permits and licenses (If applicable)
• Emergency fund
• Post-event expenses (like cleaning and related things)

Calculate how much each of these would cost and decide the prices of event tickets accordingly. If you are planning a large-scale event, you can have different ticket plans for different tires and packages that offer different options.

Moreover, as an event organizer, you can leverage your network and negotiation skills to secure favorable deals and have more margins. 

 

4. Selecting Time and Date To Organize Party 

 

The dates and times of your events play a major role in the show-up ratio of your target audience. If you are targeting adults, you can have late-night parties, but if you are targeting families – it’s important to have dates and times that match their schedules.

If you are targeting working professionals, weekends and evenings will be the most suitable for them. But if you are organizing an event for home-makers or morning-shift students, afternoon times would be the best for them.

Moreover, if you are active on social media, you can ask your audience what times and days they will prefer by creating a poll. 

Avoid clashing your time and dates with any other big events, as it may hamper your Christmas Party’s success.

It’s best to refer to your old events and see what times and days worked best for what kind of events and target audience. Based on the insights you get, you can choose your date and time accordingly. 

 

5. Choosing a Venue As Fast As You Can!

 

As Christmas approaches, you must find perfect venue that suits your requirements because many other Christmas party organizers would also be doing the same.

To avoid the last-minute conflicts and heavy charges of the location, it’s recommended to start looking for options early on.

Consider the size of your Christmas event party to select the best venue for your event. 

Ask yourself the questions below to get more clarity about what will be the ideal venue for your event: 

• Does the event require an open space or a closed space with a DJ? 

• Is the venue size enough based on the guest list? 

• What is the advance/deposit you need to pay to confirm the bookings? 

• Is the venue in the city center or the outskirts? Would that be convenient for the attendees? 

• Is the venue available for the date and time you want? 

• Is the location disabled-friendly? 

• Are food and catering options available, or do they need to be arranged separately? 

• Is there enough space for guest parking? 

• How much would that cost you per head? And what are the other options that you can get in the same range? 

Having clarity on these questions will help you filter the venues that are perfect for your requirements. 

Additionally, based on your unique experience, you can have an unconventional and creative venue that wins the hearts of your guests. 

 

6. Deciding Your Christmas Party Theme and Decorations

 

 

Once you have decided on the venue, dates, and times, the next is to decide the Christmas party theme and decorations. Having a theme for your Christmas party helps your guests and event attendees decide on dressing and accessories for them. Not only that but having a theme also helps your marketing team to attract a relevant kind of audience.

The best way to decide the theme for your Christmas party is by looking at your past successful events and mixing it with the current trends. Some of the evergreen themes for your Christmas party are:

• Traditional Christmas
• Winter Wonderland
• Becoming a Favorite Christmas Character
• Red and Gold Party
• Christmas Jumper and PJs Party
• Cookies and Cocoa Party
• Plaid Party

Invite your attendees to dress up with your chosen theme to make the event more happening and lively. You can also think of out-of-the-box themes and decoration ideas, as you may have witnessed a lot of events so far. 

 

7. Plan Christmas Activities and Host for Your Event 

 

As an event organizer, you would definitely know the importance of highly engaging and entertaining activities that keep your audience engaged throughout the event and make your event more successful and happening.

Depending on your Christmas party event’s scale, size, and type, you can vet the activities. 

Here are some options and ideas you can take inspiration from: 

• Musical chairs and statues 
• Charades 
• Christmas Pictionary
• Treasure Hunt 
• Bingo 
• Christmas special photo booth 
• Stand-up comedy 
• DJ and Live band 
• Kids’ Corner with Santa 
• Gingerbread House Decorating Contest
• Ugly Sweater Fashion Show
• Christmas Karaoke
• Reindeer Games
• Christmas Movie Screening
• Secret Santa Gift Exchange
• Christmas Trivia Challenge
• Holiday Scavenger Hunt

These are only a few ideas for your inspiration, but if you have a network of vendors and creative folks, you can collaborate with renowned personalities, performers, and entertainers to attract more crowds to your event.

Consider inviting local or regional influencers or multinational celebrities as a host to spark your event and make it go viral! It is recommended to check the availability of these folks well in advance as their schedule gets filled quickly during the festive season. 

8. Choosing the Caterer and Deciding Food Menu 

 

 

Your Christmas party preparations can’t be fully completed without planning a perfect meal for your guests. Every Christmas party’s success depends on the quality and variety of foods and drinks it offers.

Ensure you have arranged a wide range of options and there’s something for everyone, including sweet tooths to savory tingles. Plus, based on your events experience, you can work closely with caterers to design unique and diverse menus that cater to wide tastes and preferences.

Here are some food items to take inspiration from: 

• Classic Roast Turkey with Gravy
• Honey Glazed Ham
• Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Cranberry Sauce
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Cheese and Charcuterie Board
• Mini Meatballs
• Caprese Skewers
• Assorted Finger Sandwiches
• Spinach and Artichoke Dip
• Mini Quiches
• Fruit Salad
• Assorted Mini Desserts (e.g., Mini Cheesecakes, Brownie Bites, Fruit Tarts)

It’s also recommended to have an interactive food station or themed dining experience to “wow” the audience. 
Remember, a well-fed guest is a happy and satisfied guest – indicating the success of your event.

9. Extend Your Invitations with Joy!

Last but not least is the list of guests. Guests are the heart of your Christmas party event. As soon as you finish your event preparations, it’s time to design an invite card for them, decide the prices of your event ticket, and send them an invitation.

It’s a good idea to include influential industry figures, key stakeholders, or big companies to create buzz about your event and generate more revenue.

Inviting guests includes a lot of work, but when you list your event on AllEvents, these all become super easy and save you a lot of time. 

With AllEvents, you can create a beautiful invitation card with a readymade template library or design your own if you wish. Once the list is ready, you can send them auto-reminders via email and messages to increase the show-up ratio. 

Moreover, you can generate QR codes for your tickets with AllEvents and share them on multiple platforms to maximize marketing efforts. What’s more? You can track ticket sales from these QR codes to measure the ROI of your events. 

Want more people to show up at your Christmas party? List your party on AllEvents where people are eagerly waiting to attend it! 

 

 

Pre-Party Week: Essential Tasks and Checkpoints

 

Though the above-mentioned nine steps are enough to prepare for your Christmas party event, these additional steps one week before ensure you are on the right track.

Go through this checklist: 

• Confirm final headcount. 

• Double-check the contract with all the vendors, including venue, caterer, DJ and Live band, decorations, and after-party cleaning staff. 

• Reminding all the guests again for the party with key event details.

• Checking the availability and functionality of audio-lighting equipment (Lightings & DJ)

• Checking the availability of props and required equipment for games and other activities
• Calling VIP guests personally and confirming their presence at the event 

 

Last Moment Christmas Party Preparations 

 

When the Christmas party is just about to start, here’s what you need to do a day before your event: 

• Visit the venue and check if the setup is done properly – including seating arrangement, lighting, decorations, catering setup, and parking arrangements. 

• Send one last reminder to all the event attendees about the event and if there are any changes in the plan. 

• Have a stand-up meeting with your event team to brief them about their tasks.

Lastly, cheer yourself and the staff to put in effort to prepare for the Christmas party event so far! 

 

Things to do After the Christmas Party

 

Well, you have done it all amazingly to make the Christmas party happening and engaging, but it doesn’t end there. Once all the attendees leave, you need to stay back and look after post-event activities.

Before finally calling it a day, ensure you have made all the cleaning arrangements (either through vendors or by your staff), and all the equipment and props you had brought are still well-in-place and not broken from anywhere.

Moreover, check if you have paid all your vendors and collected feedback from all the attendees to know their reviews about the event.

And lastly, don’t forget to share the amazing moments of the Christmas party by sharing its photos and videos on social media platforms. It urges the audience who may have missed the event this time and creates a desire in them to attend your next events. 

 

How Do You Measure the Success of Your Event?

 

Let’s talk about the business now. As an event organizer, you can’t miss to measure the success of your events. The best way to effectively measure the success of your Christmas party events is by seeing if you have met your event objectives (remember, we talked about this in the first para?), comparing the results and responses of the past events with this one, calculating ROI, looking at the attendees’ feedback form, reviewing the ticket sales and tracking attendee retention.

You can check the sales of your ticket revenue and collect attendees’ feedback through the AllEvent platform with just one click.

However, if you decide to calculate ROI by yourself, you can use the below formula:

ROI (%) = [(Event Revenue – Event Costs) / Event Costs] x 100

 

Get the Maximum Exposure to Your Events with AllEvents

 

Organizing a Christmas event party is not an easy task. There’s a lot more that you need to do to make it a smooth experience for event attendees. Nonetheless, following the above-mentioned steps will make your event organizing much easier and smoother.

When you list your Christmas party event on AllEvents, you can easily make it visible on search engines, promote it to the huge audience base (we have more than 14,000 active email subscribers), design visually appealing invitation cards, send automated reminder emails and check the performance of your event on an interactive dashboard!

You can also track the performance of your multiple events at the same time and leverage our paid promotion plans to reach an even bigger audience.

List and market your event on AllEvents today and get all the latest features you need to generate more revenue for your business. 

 

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