PLANNING the annual Christmas party can be a timely and costly exercise for businesses. The pressure to deliver a fun-filled experience can be immense. Whittlebury Hall provides the perfect location for festive celebrations and its sales and marketing development manager Emma Hayes is keen to share her top Christmas party-planning tips.
What are the priorities?
Often, we find everyone wants something bigger and better than last year. Entertainment is key, but we know the majority of guests comment on the food the most which is why, at Whittlebury Hall, we put such a strong focus on delivering exceptional menus.
What are the common mistakes clients make?
The biggest is trying to please everyone – it’s not always possible to make everyone happy so it’s important to focus on what will please the majority of guests.
Often, organisers want to offer a menu choice to their guests, which we are happy to do, but it creates more work for the organisers, as they will need to collect the information about menu choices, produce table plans etc.
The other mistake organisers make is not taking the time to enjoy the party! We always recommend a few hours in the spa before the event for the organisers to allow them to relax.
How do you select a venue?
Start by creating a list of must-haves that the venue has be able to cater for. Then make sure the location and accessibility works for the majority of your guests. If your party is quite far away from where your colleagues live, consider finding a venue with on-site accommodation.
Once you’ve got the basic logistics sorted, think about how the flow of the event spaces will work, the actual style of the venue and whether it will appeal to your guests. Lastly, always make sure you have a clear budget set out to avoid getting carried away.
Whittlebury Hall can cater for up to 3,000 guests for meetings and events and boasts 254 bedrooms. To find out more or to make a booking, visit www.whittleburyhall.co.uk or call 01327 850490.