A theme that’s hard to dress up for. A theme makes decorating the venue easier, and perhaps can guide you when it comes to the food that you’ll be serving, but it might give the majority of your employees a hard time coming up with something to wear for the party. A good way to figure out if it’s a doable theme is if you yourself can come up with something to wear from what you already own, without having to rush out to the mall to buy something new, or take the time out to make something.
6 Things Employees Hate About Christmas Parties
Long speeches. When there are speeches done during an event, that’s not a party—it’s a seminar. Nothing says, “super serious” than the higher ups giving their opening remarks during a party. Think about giving a quick acknowledgement of the VIPs, and ditch the long speeches.
Waiting too long for the food. Waiting for the food to be served in order to keep the crowd’s attention will work against you. They’ll be too “hangry” (hungry and angry!) to pay attention to whatever is happening. Serve finger foods or pica pica for your guests to munch on, plus one round of drinks, to keep them busy and happy.
Nothing to keep them busy. Yes, they’re not children who need to be entertained 24/7, but they’re restless adults who just want to have fun, so they might start acting just like children! When they’re all gathered up for the party, keep them preoccupied with something to do. Maybe serve some appetizers, open the photo booth, turn up the videoke machine, or open up the dance floor.
No room to let loose. How do you drink and be merry when the boss is around? The short answer—you can’t. You can think that your boss is not a “regular boss” that he’s a “cool boss”, but it will stop people from having fun, or it gives employees a lot of time to make a fool of themselves in front of their superiors. Each employee is responsible for their own actions, but it’s probably better for everyone involved if there’s not so much drinking that will get people drunk enough to get embarrassed.
Having to go back to work the next day. Partying on any workday besides the last day of the workweek means you’ll have employees who will be too partied out to go to work the next day, or at the very best, would be too lazy to get any work done, even if they are at work. Holiday parties usually signal the end of work and the start of Christmas vacation for some employees. Schedule the party during the last workday of the week, so that your employees can stay up all night partying, and sleep through the next day.
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