Planning a Holiday Party? Read on to discover the best holiday party planning tips your mother never told you! It’s that time of year, again! Time for tinsel-laden trees and fake snow sprayed in the windows and green and red ever-y-thing. Whether you’re planning a corporate event or just a fun holiday gathering for family and friends, there’s a fine line between what’s a classic and what’s simply cliché. Sure, Mom’s advice is the gold standard when it comes to making soufflé, sewing on a button, or dressing for funerals. But her ideas may lack a little when it comes to planning a successful party for the younger generations. Here’s what Dear Mother didn’t tell you about planning a modern holiday party.
1. Steer Clear of Tired, Overused Venues
Good ol’ mom loves tradition, but tradition eventually becomes overused, trite, and flat out of style. Whether you’re gathering a small collection of close family and friends or assembling a corporate holiday gala for 1,200, you need to think out of the box. Stay away from overused NYC venues like hotels, restaurants, and pubs. Instead, look for something fresh and spirited, like a charter yacht on New York Harbor. There are some bonus benefits to renting a party yacht, too, such as being out on the water where guests can’t duck out early.
2. Look for the Ideal Time & Date for Your Crowd
Holiday party planning has more challenges today than ever, particularly because there are so many other things competing with your event. Other holiday parties, combined with amazing theater productions, exciting movies at the box office, and simply the lure of an evening by the fire in a fuzzy robe and slippers … all these and more are vying for the time and attention of your intended guests. Before booking your party yacht or other NYC event venue, check the local social calendars, sports schedules, etc. to make sure your holiday party isn’t going head-to-head with your potential guests’ favorite activities.
3. Splurge on the Invitations
When you go all out on the holiday party menu, floral arrangements, and entertainment, it’s tempting to want to cut corners elsewhere. However, the one place you don’t want to cut corners is your invitations. Think about it this way: your invitation is like a sneak peek at your upcoming holiday party. If it looks cheap and hokey, those on your invite list won’t be intrigued enough to bypass whatever else might be on the agenda that night. But if your invitation comes promising amazing things (did we recommend a party yacht?), they’ll be excited enough to forgo other options. Send them an invitation that looks like it belongs to the can’t-miss-event-of-the-season.
4. Provide Options for Guests with Children
If you simply ignore the kid-factor, you will confuse your guests (at best) and drive them away (at worst). Clearly specify on the invitations if your holiday party is adults-only or if children are welcome. If you do open your event to kids, consider providing a play place, close enough to the adults to be comfortable but not close enough that some shrills of excitement will torment those who aren’t so adoring. Doctors’ offices rock the play place concept — a little table with some activities and a toy box is perfect. Consider hiring a local teen or college student to oversee the children’s area so that kids are safe and parents can relax and have a good time. Charter yachts are roomy enough to have a small kids corner in eyeshot of the adults, while keeping them from being underfoot.
5. Know When to Turn to the Professionals
Mom rocks the DIY, and that’s cool. But many of the younger generations produce homemade centerpieces that look exactly that — homemade. By a 3-year-old. Mom’s frugal ideals are excellent for organizing the home, purchasing multitask kitchen tools, and making weekday dinners affordable. But you need to ditch the cheapskate ideas when planning your holiday party. Unless you’re a serious and talented DIY-er, leave the floral arrangements, dinner menu, theme and decorations to the professionals.
Our party planning staff at Yachts for All Seasons has a full selection of themes and holiday party decorations, as well as connections with some of NYC’s best florists, to give your yacht party the air of professionalism it needs to succeed in the Big City. We also provide a full selection of holiday party menus, including simple cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and a complete buffet with an entree selection to impress. Visit our website to see everything we can offer to make your holiday yacht party an overwhelming success!
Have Questions? Simply submit a FREE QUOTE REQUEST and one of our senior party planners will follow up to provide additional holiday party planning tips and a complimentary consultation.
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