The most magical time of the year is right around the corner. And while there’s plenty to be excited about (mulled wine! Christmas lights! Cosiness!), you may also be thinking about your upcoming Christmas party. After all, it’s not going to plan itself.
In many ways, planning a Christmas party is much like planning any sort of shindig. You’ve got to think about your budget, guest list, food and drink, as well the schedule of activities.
We throw an excellent party here at Kindred—and are here to help you plan yours.
Here’s our complete guide to planning a Christmas party to remember.
Contents
How to plan a work Christmas party
How to plan a virtual Christmas party
How to plan a Christmas dinner party
Tips for Christmas party planning
Christmas party planning checklist
How to plan a work Christmas party
Company Christmas parties tend to take a bit more planning than those for family and friends. Often, they’re much bigger affairs that involve many more moving parts, such as different vendors.
Here’s the basic steps you might follow.
Set your budget
You may or may not have any input into this. But you first need to know what you’re working with before you can make decisions on the venue, food, drinks, and entertainment.
The below will all factor into your budget:
- Head count
- Food and drink
- Venue hire
- AV
- Entertainment
- Decorations
Many venues will offer food and drinks packages, and often won’t allow external catering. Make sure to factor this in when estimating your costs, as prices can vary between providers.
Good to know: to qualify for tax relief on your Christmas party, the event needs to be:
- Accessible to everyone in the company
- An annual event
- Cost less than £150 per head
Lock in your date and venue
Many folks start planning around 4-6 months in advance to make sure they can secure their venue and lock in a date. December is a super busy time for everyone, so you want your guests to pop your party in their calendars as soon as possible.
As a general rule of thumb: the larger the party, the sooner you should start planning.
When looking for the perfect venue, consider:
- Space. Will your guests fit comfortably inside the venue?
- Accessibility. Will all of your guests be able to enjoy the venue? For example, Kindred is fully accessible: we have an elevator, ground-floor access, and accessible bathrooms
- Vibe. Does the feel of the venue match the vibe of the party you want to throw?
- Catering. Does the venue offer in-house catering or require you to bring another vendor in?
- Drinks. Does the venue offer fixed packages or more flexibility?
- AV requirements. Will the venue be able to host the entertainment you had in mind? At Kindred, we have a top-of-the-range sound system and are perfectly equipped to host live music and DJs
And in terms of dates, early December is a popular choice for company Christmas parties.
Plan the schedule
Now it’s time to decide how the event will run. Will there be a company-wide presentation first, followed by a meal and then drinks? Are you planning to round out the evening with a dance party?
A common structure is to have a standing reception (drinks and canapés) followed by a meal and then a good-old knees up. Some companies choose to have speeches during the meal or a brief presentation just before.
Decide on the menu
You might be offered different set packages to choose from or have menus that guests can pre-order from. Be sure to sort this at least a few months in advance.
Sort the drinks
Each venue will have their own way of doing this. With Kindred, you can pre-order: for example, if you want to have different drinks served as the evening progresses (i.e. fizz on arrival, wine with dinner followed by cocktails). Or you can simply have a bar tab. It’s totally up to you.
Some common choices are:
- Provide drinks before and during dinner, but have guests pay for their own as the evening party kicks off
- Open bar throughout, but only beer and wine
- Open bar with a tab, with guests paying for their own drinks once it runs out
- Open bar for beer and wine plus a limited cocktail menu
Lock in the entertainment
What sort of entertainment do you want to have at your party? A live band and/or DJ are definitely the most popular options.
Consider what sort of vibe you want the event to have. In our experience, bands that play floor-filling tunes that everyone knows are a winning choice.
Choose your theme
Everyone loves Christmas here in the UK: the cosy fairy lights, the pine wreaths, the lovely dangling baubles. Consider whether you want to add in some decorations to bring the festive theme to life.
A caveat: your venue may have some restrictions on what you can and can’t bring in. And often, they will have their own Christmas decorations. We consider requests like this on a case-by-case basis here at Kindred—but we will try our best to bring your vision to life.
Arrange any finishing touches
This could include gift bags for your guests or extra elements like photobooths. For what it’s worth: we’ve seen photobooths go down an absolute treat.
At this stage, we would recommend connecting with your venue to confirm the event schedule and that everything is in place.
Enjoy!
That’s it, you’re all sorted! It’s time to enjoy the party with your colleagues.
How to plan a virtual Christmas party
You might not have to hire a venue, but there’s still plenty to think about when throwing a virtual Christmas party. Because your guests will be connecting through screens (which is famously much harder to do than IRL), we recommend coming up with some great activities you could all do together.
Here’s how your planning process might look:
Pick a date and time
Virtual parties are much shorter than IRL ones, for the simple reason that it’s not as pleasant to look at a screen for hours on end. A few hours is perfectly suitable.
Decide on the event schedule and activities
You might decide to start with a (brief) company presentation before leading into the fun bit. Here’s some ideas:
- Mailing your guests a selection of drinks or food, and hiring someone to lead them through a tasting
- Virtual cocktail making class. Your guests are mailed the ingredients and equipment, and an instructor walks them through the class virtually. You can find vendors for this online
- Company quiz. Who doesn’t love a good quiz?
- Playing a virtual game — though you would likely need a smaller group of people for this to work. Again, you can find vendors and packages for this online
- Sip and paint. Mail your guests some art supplies (and perhaps some drinks or sweet treats) and have them get creative while chatting
Get everyone ready
If any of your activities require you to post things to your guests, be sure to arrange this in good time. Especially if the parcel contains perishable goods: you really need to make sure it’s delivered on the right date.
Log in and enjoy
Nailed it! Log in and enjoy the festivities.
How to plan a Christmas dinner party
If you’re hosting your party at a venue, your planning process might look like:
- Lock in your date and time
- Find the venue
- Decide on your guest list
- Arrange the menu
- Confirm the drinks list
- Send your invitations
- Eat, drink, and be merry!
But if you’re hosting at your home, there may be a few other steps to follow. After you’ve pinned down your date and drawn up your guest list:
Set a budget
Even if you’re hosting at home, it’s a good idea to set a budget. Extra costs can creep up on you otherwise: like that extra wheel of cheese you thought looked delicious, those cute napkins, or those extra bottles of wine.
Have an idea of what you’re happy to spend and allocate it across food, drink, and decorations.
Write your menu
First, consider any dietary requirements your guests have. Then you can get started on your menu.
We would suggest keeping things on the simpler side. Your guests aren’t expecting you to whip out a Michelin-ready, eight-course adventure: they’re happy with anything that’s tasty. Remember that the true prize is the company.
Some crowd-pleasing classics that are relatively straightforward to make are roast turkey (this isn’t actually that difficult to make, it just requires good time planning), sticky red cabbage, roast potatoes and vegetables, and cheeseboards. Plus, if you stick to simpler recipes it means you won’t be in the kitchen all evening—so you can actually enjoy the party, too.
We recommend serving the food family-style. It’s more convivial and also less work for you.
Get your drinks
This sounds straightforward, but it can be a real pain if you leave it too late. Try to sort out your drinks well ahead of time to avoid Christmas queues—and the general chaos of shopping during December.
Create an elegant table setting
It’s an optional step, but a beautiful table setting really brings the “wow” factor.
Here, start with a base and work your way upwards. For example, you could use a runner across the table and then add greenery and candles on top.
Some ideas we personally love are:
- Neutral linens with a touch of Christmas greenery
- Rustic, woodland-style decorations: think wood, pinecones, dried flowers
- Candles of different heights (but not so tall that it impedes your view of the person opposite you)
- A touch of glitter. You could add sparkly baubles or metallic accents onto the table
- Winter-wonderland feel. White dried flowers and foliage, mini Christmas trees
Get the lighting just right
Trust us: this will make a difference. Opt for warmth (candles are ideal) rather than a harsh overhead light. It will create a cosy atmosphere—and have everyone feeling their best.
Tuck in
Welcome your guests into your home and enjoy a wonderful meal together.
Tips for Christmas party planning
Here’s some failsafe advice for ensuring your party goes off without a hitch.
Start early
Being organised never hurt anyone. Christmas party planning can be stressful, especially if you’re catering to a large group. Plus, the sooner you start, the more venues and suppliers you’ll have to choose from.
We recommend that you begin planning a few months before December.
Have some wiggle room
Setting budgets is really important, but more often than not, you end up spending more than you planned to. If you account for a buffer, it makes those extra expenses feel less painful and prevents you from completely overspending.
Send invites on time
Diaries fill up extremely quickly in December—especially here in London. Make sure you send your invitations at least a month in advance. We’ve personally seen companies send them 3+ months ahead of time.
Alternatives aren’t an afterthought
It’s important to cater to guests who have dietary needs or other preferences: for example, if they don’t drink. But these alternative options should be just as delicious and exciting.
If everyone else in the company was drinking top-shelf champagne and you handed your guests who don’t drink a can of Coke, how do you think they would feel? Or if your vegetarian guests were given a sad plate of roast vegetables as everyone else enjoyed a flaky beef wellington?
At Kindred, we have a dedicated menu of non-alcoholic cocktails, mixed expertly with artisan ingredients. Not to mention a wide array of options for guests with dietary requirements.
Atmosphere is everything
That warm, cosy, festive feeling is one of the main things people love about Christmas. If you can evoke that, it’ll make your space feel magical. Lighting, decorations, and even scents (like pine or cinnamon) can help here.
Christmas party planning checklist
Ready to get cracking? Here’s a checklist for your Christmas party planning:
- Did you set a budget?
- Have you locked in a date and time?
- Have you decided on a venue?
- Did you sort out the event schedule?
- Is the menu ready?
- How about the drinks?
- Have you booked the entertainment?
- Did you decide on a theme?
- Do you need to buy any decorations?
- Do you need to add any finishing touches, like a photobooth?
- Have you confirmed that everything is ready to go?
Your Christmas party venue
Christmas is our favourite time of year here at Kindred. We’re a Grade II listed building known for our unique interiors, warm service, and delicious food and drink.
We would be delighted to be your London Christmas party venue. There’s spaces across all three floors of our building to suit any style of celebration: from dance parties of up to 150 people to beautifully intimate private dinners.
Every year, we create a dedicated Christmas menu that celebrates the festive flavours we all know and love—and finesses them with a chef’s touch.
Our well-stocked private bars (there’s one on each floor) will be at your disposal. Think expertly-mixed cocktails, characterful wines, and more.
Have a look through our Christmas brochure to learn more. You are also most welcome to come and see the space for yourself—simply get in touch with our team to arrange it.
