How to organize company celebrations and work parties

Below you will find several key points that should be taken into consideration when planning a company celebration. We have also prepared a PDF with a timeline that you can print out. We wish you every success with the planning of your celebration and would be delighted to help if you require any assistance.

General

To start with, it’s worth evaluating your past events: What did you do? What did the guests think of it? Did you stay within the budget? What is the current budget?

Type and size of the event

What type of event are you planning: a summer party or a Chrismas party? Does the event have a particular goal? Formulating goals will help you define a common thread for the planning activities and make it possible to measure the success of the event afterwards.

Entertainment program

What type of entertainment would you like to have at the event? Would you like to incorporate performers, casino gaming tables or perhaps host a quiz? Should your guests take on an active role or be entertained by musicians and other artists? Which aspects of the evening’s program absolutely have to take place (e. g. a speech)?

Event date

It’s important to check whether your planned date coincides with other special events (such as holidays, trade fairs or conferences) that would mean that some employees would not be able to attend. If you choose a mid-week date for the event, is it possible for employees to start work later the following day? It’s also important to choose the starting time well in advance. In summer it gets dark later - event lighting might be an important factor for creating a party atmosphere.

Location

First of all you need to select the town or city where the event will take place. This will depend on whether several branch offices will be celebrating together and what travel options are available. You could celebrate at a hotel in your chosen location where the employees could also stay overnight.

If you opt for a restaurant, you should clarify whether you can book the entire restaurant privately (i.e. reserve it exclusively for you and your guests) or only part of it. Of course, you could also turn an unusual location such as a warehouse, an empty swimming pool or a barn into an event venue. However, this usually involves renting all the necessary infrastructure (bar, furniture, catering, backstage rooms, heating, etc.).

Catering

• Set menu: In general, there are three ways to feed your guests. There’s the set menu, whereby several courses are served and the guests usually sit at long banquet tables. This approach is easier to schedule in the evening program. The service personnel will need to be told which guests require special meals (vegetarian, vegan, kosher, etc.). Guests are often assigned to their tables using name cards.
• Buffet: This style of catering is more dynamic than a set menu. Depending on the number of guests and the size of the venue, it might be worth setting up several buffet stations. This will help to avoid queues forming. A buffet can also have several courses. For instance, the entrées can be served first at the buffet stations, then successively replaced by the main courses and the desserts. Alternative dishes (vegetarian, vegan, etc.) are clearly marked with small signs.
• Canapés: This is a special form of buffet that involves the service personnel serving a variety of small, bite-sized food items, so that a wide variety of food can be offered. Canapés are particularly well suited to venues that don’t have much space. This dynamic option usually involves bar tables, so guests can freely mingle and will find it easier to strike up conversations.

Drinks

You could organize a flat rate for the drinks that will cover the planned duration of the event. This makes it possible to precisely plan the cost of the drinks in your budget. You will only incur further costs once the specified duration (e. g. six hours) of the flat-rate drinks package has ended.

Alternatively, drinks can be charged according to consumption. In this case, the only way you can control the amount you spend is by setting a certain limit in advance. Once this has been reached, you can either increase the limit or inform your guests that have to pay for their drinks from that point on.

The range of drinks on offer (sparkling wine, beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, cocktails, etc.) should be defined in advance and also communicated to the guests, for example by means of drinks menus or in the event invitation.

Invitation management

As soon as you have selected the date for the event, you should inform your guests - ideally with a “save-the-date” e-mail. This way, the invited guests will know about the event well in advance and can mark it in their calendars.

Invitations should be sent out approximately eight weeks before the event and recipients should be required to RSVP by a certain date and specify their choice of food (if they will be attending). Keep track of the responses and follow-up with anyone who does not RSVP by the required date. The more accurate your list of confirmed guests, the better you can plan the food and drinks.

Administrative aspects

Evaluate the different reservation options offered by the service providers. What are the deadlines for making decisions about the location, catering and entertainment? It is also necessary to check the general terms and conditions, as well as the cancellation periods: try to compare the conditions offered by different companies.

Draw up a timetable for your event and for your suppliers. Everyone involved must know who has to be where and when, and what has to be ready by what time. This will also ensure that the various suppliers do not obstruct each other during the set up and dismantling of the event infrastructure. Clarify when you can enter the venue and when it has to be handed over again. You might face additional charges if the handover is delayed.

Last but not least

With regard to payroll tax exemption limits for company celebrations, you should take note of the following: Company events organized by the employer are only tax exempt if the exemption limit of €110 per participant and event is not exceeded, there are a maximum of two events per year and all employees are allowed to participate. Further information is available here.

Download a PDF of our event guidelines, checklist and timeline for organizing a company celebration.