Do you think planning a corporate party is tough? Well, we don’t. Planning a corporate party just involves a bit of focus and hard work to pull it off successfully. If you can take the planning one item at a time and just try to get that done. Here’s our personal list of tips and tricks to help you plan that party. We’ve assembled for you the ultimate checklist for you to use! Read on to find out more!

Get Started Early

The first thing you need to do is get started. We’re not talking tomorrow, we’re talking now. Get started early and you’ve got a shot at having everything go smoothly, even with accidents happening and blocks in the timeline. You’ve got to be able to get responses and confirmation from those who are invited as well as lock down a venue as well as a date and time for the party. That being said, let’s move on to your Master List.

Make a Master List

Break down everything that you have to do into tasks. Put them together onto paper, and you’ve got your Master List. You can also do this on a phone but let’s face it, unless you have your info backed up, your entire party planning idea is at risk of going out the window the second that phone meets a puddle or a public toilet. Have two master lists if it makes you feel better, just have a list. It gives you the visual understanding of what you have to do– and it’s fun to cross things off it.

Create Deadlines for each Task & Gather Support

Deadlines help you make sure that you get things done and stay focused and on point. If you can get some support or other people to help you when it comes to the planning process, that can really help more than you would think. The more people that are helping out, the quicker that the work gets done!

Plan a Budget

Figuring out the money that you have for the budget is important! You’ll need to know exactly what you have to work with so that you don’t overspend. You need to stay on target and make sure that the venue, food, invitations, beverages, or even favors are included in the budget. Don’t fall behind; make sure that you have a budget that has a firm monetary limit, otherwise things are going to get murky and murky is never good.

Pick a Date

This may be decided by your company and it may not be. Either way, picking a date for the event is important no matter who is doing it. It allows you to plan pretty much everything about the party, so be sure to know it.

Decide on the Type of Party

Whether it’s dancing or primarily with a meal, in the day or the night, package or what, figure out the mood and the type of party that is being thrown. Then simply create the party around it. Be sure to figure out if there are plus ones invited or not!

Pick the Venue

Find the venue and then book it, and put down a deposit. You might have to go to a few venues in order to see what they’re like, but that’s all in a day’s work. See what the venue is like but also check out what the price will be, what they offer, what capacity they have and where it’s located. See if they will be able to cater to your needs as well and if they’re flexible– that can be important.
Make sure that you get a full-service event and party venue as well.

Send Out Invitations

Whether digital by email or a physical invitation, invitations must go out! That’s how people know to show up to the party and how to RSVP– not to mention save the date. Put the RSVP information date on the invite as well as the time and place.

Decorations, Entertainment, Food, and Beverages

You’ll also need to set up the decorations and get the food and beverages ready for everyone. You can either have an open bar, have bottles at the table, have tickets, or have staff serve drink. Any way you do it will likely be fine. Don’t forget about party entertainment either! Make sure the decorations are occasion appropriate and make sure that the caterer/food is all set up weeks in advance. Also have some gluten free or allergen free options if needed for people with special requirements.

Speeches, Awards, Presentations

Don’t forget to schedule in a little bit of time for speeches, awards, and presentations if your company is doing that type of thing this year.

Relax

Once you’re done, don’t forget to relax. Congrats– you’ve done an amazing job!