10 Steps To An Unforgettable Year-End Bash
The year is coming to an end, and in the workplace that can only mean one thing: office party!
Office parties boost morale and give coworkers an opportunity to interact outside of work and have fun together. Some companies throw a big holiday party that covers Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve and other festivities, while others host separate celebrations. The New Year’s Eve party tends to be the loudest and wildest of them all.
If you’re lucky enough to work for a company that celebrates New Year’s Eve with a banging party, and you’ve been tasked with organizing it, you know it’s not easy to come up with something other than the same old year-end office party.
Here are 10 party ideas to help you throw a memorable New Year’s Eve bash for your company.
1. Poll Your Team
Involving other employees in the party planning process can provide ingenious New Year’s Eve party ideas. There are various ways you can do this. Your company’s email platform may have a survey feature; if not, send a regular email with a few questions (about party themes, venue, food, games) for employees to answer. You can also create a survey on Google Surveys or Facebook. Just keep it simple.
2. Throw a Theme Party
Themes and costumes never fail to entertain. Pick an exciting decade, such as the roaring 20s, disco 70s, retro 80s; or a popular movie or TV show, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter or Game of Thrones; or a cartoon, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Flintstones or the Looney Tunes. How would these people or characters celebrate New Year’s Eve? Offer a prize for the best costume.
3. Choose a Cool Venue
Sure, you could hold the party at the office or nearby restaurant, but there are many other interesting options: an elegant hotel ballroom, a local museum or art gallery, a party cruise boat or yacht, a beautifully landscaped backyard, a beach house, a penthouse apartment with awesome views, etc.
4. Decorate Away
Christmas may be over, but you can still deck the halls. The decorations should match your theme. Shop around for lights, posters, flatware, signs, balloons, hats, greenery, cocktail napkins, centerpieces and anything else that will enhance the theme. Don’t forget to incorporate New Year’s Eve into the decorations.
5. Get Creative with the Food
Whether you serve appetizers or a full meal, try to include foods that match your theme. Make sure you have enough food for everyone and an adequate number of servers taking care of the food and guests. For an affordable alternative, ask each department to bring a different type of food. For example, IT could bring appetizers, accounting could be in charge of salads, marketing could bring dessert.
Consider featuring foods associated with New Year’s Eve traditions from different countries. Check out our blog post: New Year’s Eve Food Traditions From All Over the World.
6. Hire a DJ or Live Band
Your coworkers probably have hundreds of party tunes and playlists in their smartphones, but live music is always better. If the budget allows, hire a DJ or band for your New Year’s Eve bash. Ask around for recommendations. Consider renting a karaoke machine and holding a singing contest.
7. Make It a Game Night
Organize casino games—blackjack, slots, roulette—or other crowd favorites such as bingo, dominoes, darts and cue sports.
8. Collect Photographs
Ask guests to take posed and candid photos of each other throughout the night, or hire a photographer. Consider renting a photo booth. Have everyone send you the photos they took, and make a photo album, post them on the company’s website and/or share them on social media.
9. Toast the New Year with Champagne
Don’t forget the champagne! Make sure you have enough for everyone to toast the New Year at midnight. To avoid drunk drivers, set a drink limit per person for the evening, and help those who are too drunk to drive find a safe ride home.
10. Do Something Fun for the Countdown
Digitally project the time on a wall or hang a bunch of clocks on one or more walls for the countdown to midnight. Do a balloon and/or confetti drop. Hand out sparkles and noisemakers. Add New Year’s Eve traditions from other countries. Check out our blog post: 12 Weird New Year’s Eve Traditions From Around the World.