3 Christmas Party Tips to Help You Throw the Best One Yet
3 Christmas Party Tips to Help You Throw the Best One Yet
As the frost rolls in and the air becomes crisper, it’s safe to say that the holiday season is right around the corner. I know that for most of us, the holiday season is one of the busiest times of all between your work and personal life, which can lead to extra stress. So whether you are getting your plans together for a corporate or family event, I have some great tips to share with you to help ensure that your Christmas party is a hit for each and every one of your guests.
Plan Ahead
As the holiday season can become hectic quickly with numerous events, buying presents for family and friends, and much more, planning ahead will save you a considerable amount of stress. First, pick a date and stick to it. The sooner you let your guests know about your fabulous Christmas event, the sooner they can pencil it into their calendar before other invites arrive.
Once you’ve set a date, create a checklist for yourself. Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Check out the Planit Events Inc. starter checklist to get you started. What kinds of things should you include on your checklist? Consider the following when making your unique checklist:
- Where will the event be held?
- How many people will be on the guest list?
- Will the event be held at a restaurant, or do you need to start looking for a catering company?
- Will there be a bar?
- Will there be a gift exchange or prizes given away?
- What will be the entertainment?
Download the checklist here: Christmas Checklist
If you want to check out some more great tips on planning, visit my blog!
Décor
It’s not a Christmas party unless there is holiday décor! With lots of advance planning, give yourself a chance to think of a theme or, better yet, start a Pinterest board of all your favorite décor ideas, and from there, you can narrow it down. Think about who your guests are? Do you want to go for a more elegant look, or do you want a more fun, spunky vibe?
Need some help putting your décor together? Look no further! Planit Events Inc. launched a new product earlier this year, Décor Crate! Décor crate makes decorating for your event simple! So how does it work? You will receive your custom curated Décor Crate, which has all your decoration needs, as well as a small box with items that you will keep and do not have to be returned. Don’t worry; a handy guide will be in the crate! Once you are done with your event, simply package all the items that are to be returned back into the crate.
Once we have the crates back, we will sanitize and clean all the decorations and have them ready to go for the next event!
Entertainment
It’s important to choose entertainment that everyone will enjoy! But where do you start? Again, think about who your guests are and what they enjoy. What have you done in past years that people liked or disliked? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Photo Booth
- Guests tend to let loose a bit during holiday parties, and it’s great to capture these happy moments with a photo booth! Christmas props like antlers and Santa hats can make them even more fun!
- Live Music
- Music is a great way to get people up out of their chairs to dance and sing along! Remember, if you’re going to have live music, ensure you secure a band or DJ that will play the right genre of music for your audience.
- Games and Giveaways
- Games and giveaways are a great way to get people excited and involved in the party. Perhaps a gift exchange or raffle! There are lots of ways you can go about this. Remember, if you’re going to incorporate a gift exchange, set a minimum and maximum spending limit.
Now, remember, the holiday season is supposed to be fun and full of appreciation for one another. Planning ahead and sticking to your checklist will help you plan a great party that not only your guests will enjoy, but you too! Planit Events Inc. is always here to help, especially when you have too much on your plate. So let us take the stress away so that you can sit back and enjoy the holiday season with your colleagues, friends, and family! Reach out to us to see how we can help you plan the most fabulous holiday party that people will be raving about years from now!
3 Ways to Increase Engagement During Online Events
3 Ways to Increase Engagement During Online Events
The past two years have completely changed how events are run. Countless trade shows, awards nights, and corporate events have switched from in-person events to either online or hybrid-type events. That being said, event planners have been faced with new challenges, one of which is engagement. I have learned many engagement tactics over my years of experience for in-person events; however, I was posed with the new challenge of engaging guests during online events. I wanted to share a few of the valuable tactics I have learned over the last bit that have helped me improve engagement through the online or hybrid events I have been involved in. Remember, an online or hybrid event can be just as effective as an in-person event if you roll up your sleeves and get creative!
Compelling Content
I can’t stress this enough, but compelling content for your event is key to attendance and engagement. Focus on your target audience, research, and use past event surveys to determine what type of content your audience wants to see. Ensuring that the appropriate content is presented is the first step in the engagement process. Better yet, provide recommended content to each guest based on their interests or reason for attending the event! This can be done by asking each attendee to pick topics of interest during the registration process. Once you have compiled your compelling content, you can move on to the next step, which is encouraging networking.
Encourage Networking
Networking can be complex during online events, so guests need to be encouraged. But how do you do that? We sometimes forget that guests attend many events not just for the keynote speakers or to generate new leads, but many attend to broaden their network and create new connections! Online events can be a bit more tricky as it’s not as simple as going up to a new person and introducing yourself. As an event planner, finding the right way to encourage your guests to network is one of the keys to a successful event.
First, it’s essential to host your event on a platform that allows one-on-one conversations between attendees. These one-on-one conversations can be encouraged by creating “hot” topics that the target audience would be interested in discussing. Perhaps invite subject matter experts to attend your event to entice other guests to join conversations to learn and collaborate.
Another networking method is creating topic-assigned groups, where attendees can join a group topic they are interested in and discuss it among other guests, exhibitors, and sponsors (and trust me, the exhibitors and sponsors will love this too). These discussions create new relationships, opportunities, and connections!
Include Incentive
Online events can seem less attractive to guests, and they may be less enticed to participate, so how do you give them the little extra push they may need? Provide incentive. There are plenty of ways to go about this, so I thought I would give an example of two ideas you can implement into your next event:
- Assign points to guests participating in certain activities. At the end of the event, you can give away prizes provided by the event host or sponsors. These activities can consist of:
- Visiting an exhibitor/sponsor booth
- Joining a group discussion
- Booking a one-on-one meeting with another attendee, exhibitor, or speaker
- Joining a live keynote speaker session
- Encourage exhibitors and sponsors of the event to do a give-away of their own to entice attendees to visit and interact with their booths. These giveaways will allow your exhibitors and sponsors to collect basic information (name, company, and email) about potentially interested guests, which can turn into leads in the future.
Online and hybrid engagement is different for every event. Contact Planit Events Inc. to discuss ways to improve your next event to ensure your audience, sponsors, and exhibitors experience strong engagement, in turn creating a successful event!
Copyright Lauren Voisin Photography. All Rights Reserved 2016.
4 Tips for Planning a Spooktacular Halloween Event
Planit Events Inc. shares 4 tips on planning your upcoming Spooktacular Halloween event!
3 Tips on Choosing Your Perfect Venue
3 Tips on Choosing Your Perfect Venue
When you envision your event, whether it’s a birthday party, tradeshow, or corporate event, you have an image of where the event will take place. The venue plays a key role in how your event will play out and the experience your guests will have, but finding the perfect venue for your event is easier said than done. After many years working in the events industry, in today’s blog, I will share some great tips to help you choose the most suitable venue for your special event (I’ll even share some of my favorites). Later in the blog, I will also share a great checklist to help you ensure you have all your boxes checked off to secure your venue.
The Budget
I know I’ve mentioned the budget many times already in previous blogs, but it is one of the key factors in determining your event venue. I’ve discussed putting an event budget together in more detail in a previous blog, 5 Planning Tips for a Successful Event, so I won’t go into specifics here. Once you’ve determined your budget and allocated a specific amount to your venue, it’s time to start the search! I’m sure many of you, just like myself, might already have a particular location in mind, so this can be a great starting point. On the other hand, if you aren’t sure exactly what type of venue you are looking for yet, skip down to the following tips to consider and then revisit the budget.
In many cases, during peak event season times, venues become more expensive. However, if you are absolutely heart set on having a specific venue, there are a few things you can try to make it work:
- Can you cut back on other parts of your budget that are less important to you to allocate more towards your venue budget?
- Are you able to move your event date out of peak season for a reduced cost?
- Are you able to book far enough advance that you are offered a discount?
- Are you planning a recurring event where you can lock into x number of years with a specific venue in trade for a discount?
Logistics
We’ve all heard the word logistics, but what exactly does that entail? In terms of your venue, logistics consist of the venue location, venue accessibility, services required (catering, valet parking, etc.), space required, transportation, safety, and much more! I’m going to keep it plain and straightforward here in terms of picking your venue. Use the checklist below to help you determine if the venue you have in mind can accommodate all of the logistical requirements that you have. The key determinants are space, location, and services. It is key that the venue you choose can comfortably accommodate the number of guests you will be hosting. Location is also essential as this may be a determining factor for guests if they choose to attend or not. Services are also key. Speak to the venue to determine which services are provided and which you will have to outsource. Does the venue have any guidelines for outsourcing vendors? Any question that you come up with along the course of planning is an important question to ask the vendor!
Your Audience
Last but not least, your audience. Your event audience is key to the success of your event. Therefore, it’s important to ask yourself these questions before determining your event venue:
- What are my guests expecting to see when they walk into the event?
- What kind of emotion or feeling do I want the guests to have during the event?
- What kind of services will my guests expect from the event (i.e., catered meal)?
- What kind of accessibility does the venue need to have to accommodate all of my guests?
Once you have the answers to these questions, you will have a better idea of what type of venue your event requires, and you can narrow down your options. Need some inspiration? Check out this great list of offsite venues.
Choosing an event venue can be difficult when all of the factors are involved. Planit Events Inc. has been choosing fantastic venues for clients for years, and we would be happy to share our expertise with you to ensure you find the venue of your dreams. Whether it is for your wedding, a tradeshow, or even a corporate Christmas party, we are here to help. Contact us to learn more about our services.
