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Every year in October I would start to think about ideas for my work Christmas parties. I’ve only ever worked in an office with a small amount of staff, so there was no need to book a venue to cater for a large amount of people.
Organising the staff Christmas party when I worked in transport would give me a headache every year because it was all about budget and finding a place locally that was BYO drinks or alcohol friendly. I found it difficult to keep everyone happy.
When I started working for my dad in our plumbing business, I took over the job of booking our annual Christmas party at the Breakfast Creek Hotel. Steak and beer would keep our plumbers happy. It was the easiest Christmas party to organise because it was the same venue every year and a small table to seat 20 plumbers. I would often hold our Christmas party on a week night as opposed to a weekend mainly so we could get a table and to avoid our plumbers hitting the grog too hard as usually they would have to show up to work the next day.
Since the GFC, a number of companies haven’t allowed for a Christmas party in their budget but there are some low cost ways of holding an end of year celebration without it costing a fortune.
Here are Five Low Budget Work Christmas Party Ideas
- Organise a Christmas picnic. Find a centrally located park for all to attend and get everyone to bring a salad or dessert to share. Get the company or social club to provide the meat.
- Buy a BBQ from Barbeques Galore and hold an in house BBQ Christmas party. The BBQ is a good investment for future functions at the office as well.
- Dinners can be expensive, so why not hold the Christmas party at breakfast or lunch?
- Hold the Christmas Party at a staff member’s home. Jacob’s work party was held in a staff member’s backyard last year and when I worked in transport, the staff Christmas party was held at my manager’s house one year.
- Rather than book a high end restaurant or bar, support a local restaurant. Local restaurants can create a menu that caters for your budget and they would appreciate the business.
This year I have no Christmas Party to organise. Instead I will just attend my husband’s work Christmas Party. I’ve found the most relaxing parties have been the most fun to attend. At the end of the day, it’s just a celebration of another year and a great way to acknowledge the hard work staff have put in throughout the year.
Have you ever had to organise a work Christmas party? What was the best Christmas Party you’ve ever been to?
This is post has been written in accordance to my disclosure policy.
