Why is spring the ideal time to start planning a corporate holiday party? Event coordinators suggest getting started now for optimal venue and entertainment availability. Planning should begin anywhere from three to six months out; and, truthfully, one year out is not too soon to start either.

With nearly 90 percent of companies planning holiday parties this year, you don’t want your employees viewing you as some kind of Grinch. So how will you create a holiday event people will rave about for months and years to come?

Company parties are designed to be fun, build team spirit, and congratulate employees on a job well done. Being the early bird in the corporate event planning arena can insure your holiday party falls on a day that works best for your team. At 583 Park Avenue, our event coordinators will work with you to deliver robust packages where the end result will astound attendees.

Timing: Selecting the Date

Finding a calendar date that works well for everyone—attendees, planning committee, the venue, caterer and entertainment—is arduous. By starting the planning early, you are already ahead of the rest of the 90 percent.

Most annual events take place at the same time every year. Determine whether a weekday or weekend better suit your audience. Weekends are generally more popular days of the week to host events – early planning helps you book the date that is ideal for your attendees.

Things to consider: check event calendars for possible competing events, public and private school schedules, religious holidays and cultural events such as major community holiday festivities.

Sensory Stimulation: Creating the ‘Wow’ Factor

Whether your company culture is conservative or edgy, 583 Park Avenue can accommodate. Two main ingredients in creating a ‘wow’ factor at your party are Audio and Visual (AV) and catering.

Let’s start with AV: Different light color schemes can cause significant effects on individuals’ moods. Research shows the amount of lighting in a room affects the regulation of emotions – bright light heightens emotional responses and alertness, soft light diffuses emotional responses and induces relaxation.

583 Park Avenue works exclusively with Gala Productions to produce awe-inspiring lighting and design presentations. View photo galleries here. By giving yourself more time to plan, the more creativity can be incorporated. Want to produce something no one has ever seen before? The extra months planning will facilitate such arrangements.

Elegant Catering: Lifting Moods with Food and Libations

Now onto catering: Be it hors d’oeuvres of baby lamb chops with rosemary au jus and miniature panzanella salad or entrees of maple braised beef short ribs and Scottish organic salmon, we can help you determine what will work best for your guests.

We also offer a wide selection of champagne, beer, wine and liquor for every event that desires alcohol. You will not find conventional, pedestrian selections here. By and large, subtlety is lost at large events – highly recognizable names will entice guests to participate in spirited drinking and heighten the mood of the event.

Regarding service, 583 Park Avenue prides itself on offering one of the highest staff-to-guest ratios found in New York City to insure your guests are properly taken care of. Let our maitre d’hotel assemble a team of highly trained captains, waiters and bartenders to anchor one of the most important parts of your event, food and libations.

Entertainment: What Gets People Talking

Entertainment is another paramount, yet complex, factor in planning the most memorable holiday party ever. Here is what we know: every company culture is different. Sitting down with our expert coordinators will help you decide what is appropriate for your event.

Party elements that have often spurred recognition and success are providing room to mingle, keeping speeches short, and having great music and time to dance. Other party-planning suggestions that won’t go unnoticed are inviting plus ones, giving door prizes and providing taxi service to anyone who needs it.

From offering a chance to pose, a la prom, for a professional picture or caricaturist and then giving a free print to your guests to playing creative white elephant games to hiring a dance instructor to teach your crew some new dance moves, entertainment will get, and keep, attendees talking about your holiday party. The possibilities are endless when there is enough time to brainstorm and organize quality entertainment for the event.
People enjoy special occasions and mingling with coworkers outside of their everyday work space. Showing employees your appreciation by creating an event that stands out from the rest will generate lasting, rewarding memories that will carry on past the holidays and into the new year.