hen tasked with organising the Christmas bash, knowing where to start isn’ t always so easy. To get the bauble rolling, CN spoke to some choice professionals. Carrie O’ Donnell, Right Angle Events says the venue is the right place to start. She says,“ The venue is one of the most important aspects to consider as it needs to be somewhere suitable for your activity, and easily accessible for everyone attending. The earlier you book your venue; the better. How important is a personal stamp on the event? O’ Donnell says:“ You want your guests to leave your party thinking it’ s the best one they have ever been to.“ The best way to do this is do something fun, do an activity and make it unusual. Things like personalised invitations with clues as to what might be happening on the

evening, personalised wristbands for the event and even festive treats for guests to take away such as branded cookies Jon Noonan, group sales director at Eventist Group, believes that there are no limits to what makes the perfect Christmas party.“ What doesn’ t go into making the perfect Christmas party?” he says.“ The nature of our business means we have teams specialising in everything from logistics to sound, lighting to food. We use all of them to help us create the best party; expertise is important. Don’ t be afraid to ask questions and bounce ideas and potential obstacles off your peers.“ You need a solid, interactive theme everyone can engage with. We find that themed festivities allow attendees to be more connected with the event rather than just merely drinking and eating. Clients often wonder how best to take the immersive theme across the venue,

incorporating the catering and entertainment as well, so we will advise them on clever but effective time saving solutions, that have the most impact. Noonan adds:“ Another important factor is expert and efficient catering. Take your time choosing the menu, but at the same time, don’ t overthink it, as the quality is the priority.“ Add to those elements the transport and location, and how easy it is going to be to get your guests home, and you have what can seem like too much to consider.”

Under pressure Joanne Whitmore, event manager at the Ricoh Arena, says:“ Booking

a Christmas party can carry great pressure, as the decision-maker has to strike a delicate balance between using their imagination while catering for everybody’ s tastes and needs without breaking their budget.“ The majority of businesses will have employees with a variety of ideas of what a great Christmas party is whether that’ s a nice meal, live entertainment or drinking with friends, so the secret is to bring all of those elements together.“ They will also take into account travel and how easy the venue is to get to, accommodation and post event entertainment.“ We hold our Christmas Parties in the 6,000sqm Ericsson