Oh corporate holiday parties. If you work in an office environment, you know that a holiday party is both expected and dreaded. Holiday parties are the ultimate team building exercise, but when you invite your employees to celebrate with you after working hours, you need to make it fun to avoid grumbling around the water cooler.
But with proper planning, corporate holiday parties create fun, lasting memories. Here are three tips to help make your event awesome.
Review past parties
Chances are, your company has thrown a few parties in the past. Take some time to talk to employees and managers about what they liked and didn’t like about these parties. This gives you a good basis of what was successful – whether it was the venue, food, music or entertainment.
Once you have a list of things that captured your employees attention, then you can plan to create a similar experience. You can start with booking a similar venue, entertainers, bands and/or caterers.
Consider your audience
Who’s coming to this party? Obviously your employees. While everyone is different, what common factors do they have in common? For example, if most of your employees have families and small children, a party during working hours may be easier because they don’t have to hire sitters.
If you have a very youthful corporate culture, a high-energy band or DJ may bring the party to life better than stringed instruments and a sit-down dinner. You may also want to consider entertainers beyond musicians to wow your guests.
Book your venue and musicians early for your holiday party
The holidays are busy, which means entertainers are in high demand. Popular musicians and entertainers will get fully booked throughout the holiday season so we recommend booking your holiday party entertainers no later than the beginning of November.
We know that the concept of corporate holiday parties is enough to cause eye rolls and the question, “why bother? Most people don’t want to come.” And it’s true that it’s tough to make plans around the holidays. While most companies still plan holiday parties, there’s a growing trend of organizations who don’t.
But when you take a step back, corporate holiday parties are absolutely worth the investment. With a well-planned event that’s catered to your employees, you help build a strong rapport across teams and managerial levels. This not only helps with retention, but also with recruitment.
Here are some reasons why you should still plan a corporate holiday party:
Corporate holiday parties give employees face-time with upper-level management
Throughout the year, your employees dedicate at least 40 hours (plus whatever commute they may 
have) to building, maintaining and running your business. This gives them valuable insight on your customers’ experience, your processes and your organizational structure.
What these employees may not have is regular access to upper-level management. Now, put this in context of your holiday party. If your upper-level management and your employees have the opportunity to mingle, there are a couple great benefits to this. Your employees leave feeling valued and important by management and management gleanS valuable information that can help shape business strategies for the next quarter.
Corporate holiday parties build and reinforce culture
There’s no denying that corporate culture is even more important now than it ever has been. Holiday parties are a great way of reinforcing that culture.
How do you reinforce culture with a holiday party? It’s all in the entertainment! After all, music is the soul of any good party.
Tony Robbins puts it best. “A great holiday party should contain atmosphere, decor and refreshments (food, beverage) — without trying to cut corners. No matter how large or how small your holiday party is, if it contains those three characteristics — and is done in the spirit of giving — it is bound to be a great night that your employees will appreciate.”
When you book your entertainers and/or musicians, you should carefully consider how they reflect your corporate culture so that there’s a fun, upbeat vibe throughout your event.
Corporate holiday parties are good for moral
Think about it… nothing helps people blow off steam like a good party. When you take the time to invest in a good holiday party, your employees will notice. They’ll post pictures of themselves having a great time on their social media and they’ll tell their friends and families how their company knows how to party. People like to have a good time and they like feeling appreciated. A good holiday party accomplishes both of these feelings. And happy employees makes productive employees.
Ready to plan your corporate holiday party? If you are just getting started and need some entertainment ideas, we’re here to help. We have many entertainment options, from live bands to interactive performers.
So you’re planning your wedding, scouring Pinterest and considering venues. But all these traditions are starting to feel.. well… ho-hum. The processional, the cocktail hour, the reception. All these “top 100 songs to play” playlists are all starting to sound the same and none of it feels like you.
So how do you break out of the box and plan a wedding to remember for decades? The easiest way is to mix up your wedding entertainers.
Here are a few ideas on how to make the most of your wedding entertainment – no matter how big or small your guest list is:
Complement your music with entertainers
You already know you are going to have music for your cocktail hour and reception. But there are so many different types of entertainers that can add an extra “wow” factor, like professional dancers or fire performers. You could also hire champagne servers to greet your guests so they can mingle, rather than lining up at the bar.
Create an interactive experience
If you want to get people on the floor, there’s no better way than with interactive entertainers. If you have a Latin band playing, also consider salsa dancers. After a quick performance, they can open up the dance floor by engaging your guests with mini dance classes. Good entertainers will be able to pull people onto the floor without making them uncomfortable.
Honor your heritage with your wedding entertainers
We have a strong Latino community here in South Florida, and we find that many people want to honor their heritage beyond just music.
For example, you could hire a Cuban band with salsa dancers and a cigar roller. Or maybe you want to surprise your guests with an Hora Loca show or Venezuelan tambores.
Bottom line
Between music, dancers and entertainers, there are many different ways to spice up your wedding reception. If you’re looking for more unique, fun ideas to create an extra “wow” factor during your wedding, Al-Vento is here to help!