6 Tips For Hosting The Best Office Party This Summer
When you work in event planning, you work long hours to execute an event just how you envision it, and after, it’s time for a drink. Whether you want to congratulate employees on a job well-done or invite clients to celebrate a successful event, we think throwing the best office party is an important skill set to have. So, you may be asking, how do you host an office party? Let us dive in.
How do you host the best office party?
1. Casual Invites
Make it easy and fun to invite people so that it doesn’t seem like a boring, stuffy office party. Sending invites out over social or email can be a good way for people to pass the invite to others. You can also track guest RSVPs and easily send out mass party updates. We like this better than a formal invite.
2. Stock Up on Food, Drinks, and Supplies
People always remember when a party runs out of food or alcohol, so make sure you are well-stocked when it comes to food, drinks, and supplies. This will keep your guests happy and focused on how much fun they are having, rather than something you ran out of. Don’t forget the supplies for serving people too. Drinks can’t do much good if they can’t be sipped out of a cup.
3. Make People Feel at Home
Providing a comfortable setup where people can hang out and stay awhile will ensure your party is a success. People like to have places to lounge or little tables to gather around so they can have a place to rest their drinks and mingle with other guests. It creates a sense of togetherness and makes people feel welcome to stay longer.
4. Create a Specialty Drink
Having a drink that you created makes for a fun conversation starter throughout the night. People will ask each other if they have tried it and what they thought about it. If this is something you host every year, you can start doing fun variations so it’s familiar but different every year.
5. Make it a Celebration
This should be about celebrating the business and meeting new friends and colleagues. You want people to feel like they are celebrating a job well done and to stay awhile. Having music, fun lighting, and so forth, can add to the ambiance of celebration.
6. Group Activities
Finally, in order to foster introductions and mingling, we always think it’s a good idea to have group activities for people to participate in. Whether it’s a game or a photobooth, things that bring people together and foster conversation will only make your party that much better.
What are some of the benefits of hosting an office party?
Improving company culture and encouraging face-to-face interactions. Hosting an office party allows people to loosen their collars and enjoy hanging out with their friends and colleagues. It’s a great way to improve company culture and make employees feel like they are a part of something bigger. Working remotely these days also encourages face-to-face interactions in a time when feeling isolated is all too familiar for people. Employees will love a reason to kick back and take a breather from work.
What are the best venues for an office party?
We believe the best office party venues are the spaces that can appropriately accommodate your guests and have the built-in framework for hosting, such as on-site staff and all the tech equipment and furniture needed. Whether you’re looking at indoor event spaces or outdoor party venues, making sure the space is intimate enough for a smaller group or large enough for a bigger group, will ensure your guests are comfortable as they mingle throughout the night. Having an on-site staff will help your event run smoothly throughout the night, and tech and furniture just ensure everything is already set up or available as you need it.
At Ovation, we try to make the venue booking as easy as possible. Being a top event space rental in the larger Los Angeles area, we have a dedicated event planning team to help you with all of your needs. We hope these tips were helpful as you begin planning your next office party event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. If I don’t know the type of activities I want, can you help me plan this?
A. Yes! We can help you plan throughout the entire event and would be more than happy to help with the group activity portion.
Q. If we do run out of supplies, what do you recommend?
A. We recommend having a dedicated person who is keeping an eye on supplies all night long. If things start to run low, they should already know ahead of time the store that they will run to in order to re-stock.
Q. Does Ovation have a good tech system?
A. Yes we do. With a state-of-the-art sound system, LED screen, and a concert-ready stage and lighting, you will be all set to host your office party.