Time to organise your Christmas party!

It will come as a great surprise to exactly nobody that Old Taskmaster appreciates a Christmas Party as much as a good brandy old-fashioned.

Especially if it has a proper open bar – none of this “beer, wine and soft drinks” mumbo jumbo where the bartender refuses to accept the self-evident fact that a brandied wine rightly belongs on the drinks tab.

Which brings us to today’s topic: Christmas parties!

Well, folks, we’re now nearly in the middle of October. After the election, many business owners are feeling more confident – which means they’re more likely to host a Christmas party this year. So if you want to have a good one this year, you better start planning and booking venues now!

One of the key decisions you’ll need to make is how many Christmas parties you will have this year. Sure, there’s the standard staff get together everyone thinks about.

But, especially if you’re in B2B sales, organising a second Christmas party for your best customers is something you really should consider. It can be a valuable part of your sales strategy while keeping your most valuable customers loyal.

Likewise, depending on your business, you might have investors or key suppliers you might also want to think about entertaining. Or, for that matter, other stakeholders you deal with regularly.

The next thing to consider is what you’re going to do for your Christmas party.

A supplier or customer party doesn’t need to be an all-night affair. A lunch for all your customers at your favourite local restaurant will do, and see you back at work after lunch.

Likewise, for your staff party, it doesn’t need to be an all-night booze fest. Organising a river cruise, an afternoon of indoor rock climbing, go-karts or ice skating can be a great team-building alternative if you’re worried about the booze hounds in your office going crazy with an open bar.

Even if you’re on a tight budget, there are some good options you might like to consider. Why not, for example, gather everyone together for an hour or two at a local park for a company barbeque picnic? It’s a fun option that will set you back the cost of a couple of meat trays, a few vegie burgers and a bottle of tomato sauce.

Another low-cost option is a shared lunch in your office, where each staff member brings a plate of food to share with the rest of the team. Or perhaps you could order pizzas for all your staff at work one day as a gesture of your appreciation of them?

Whatever you do, don’t leave it until too late. You don’t want to leave it to mid-December, only to find that function room or paintball centre you were thinking of hiring is all booked out!

Now, over to you. What are you planning for your Christmas party? Will you go more than one or none?

Get it done – today!