Office holiday party entertainment ideas

It may only be the fall, but at companies large and small, planning committees have already begun looking for holiday party entertainment ideas in NYC and elsewhere (as you can probably imagine, planning last-minute company holiday parties stinks).

Among the most common questions being thrown around at this early stage include:

• Will it be onsite, or offsite? If the later, where will it be held?

• What is our overall party budget?

• What date will the party be held on?

• Should we serve alcohol, and will there be food? If so, a full meal – or just appetizers?

But perhaps the biggest question is: What are we going to DO?

Bosses, HR professionals and office managers like you know well that we’re still very much mired in the aftermath of a financial crisis, and despite people working harder than ever, belts remain tightened. Because financial compensation is such a challenging option for many a New York City company, holiday parties have emerged as an ideal opportunity to recognize and reward staff for their efforts.

Because the office Christmas party entertainment is ultimately about staff, why not let staff have a direct say in the activity? Just because they responded well to last year’s festivities doesn’t mean they will do so again this year; conversely, there may be things about previous holiday parties which they really enjoy, and don’t want to see changed or eliminated. Giving employees a say will also make the event as meaningful to them as possible.

As the person charged with planning the annual office party, take the burden of coming up with the perfect entertainment idea off of yourself, and put it out to the participants – your hard-working colleagues – to see what they want to do.

You’ll be glad you did – and so will they!