Planning Successful Year-End Corporate Entertainment in NYC
With fall in full swing it’s time to begin planning those company holiday parties. These may range from cookies and Champagne at the end of the day to a huge, expensive gala. Most companies, however, look for an option somewhere between these two. If you are tasked with planning this year’s corporate entertainment in NYC, here are some ideas that might help you make the event fun and memorable.
Start Early
Don’t wait till the last minute to begin planning the event; this simply increases the pressure and decreases your options. Find out how many employees will attend and determine your budget constraints. If you are uncertain what party ideas will be most attractive to your co-workers, seek their input. Make a list of three or four options and send them out for a vote. Once the date and type of activity has been chosen you’ll need to reserve your venue and entertainment promptly since vendors providing year-end corporate entertainment in NYC book quickly.
Choose a Venue
There are a number of factors which can impact your choice of venue. Some companies have sufficient space to host a party at their own facility. Smaller groups may be interested in using a room at a local pub for a live trivia event. If your company is a patron of the arts you might consider renting space from a local theater, concert hall, museum or studio. This would allow you to provide funding to the arts while offering a unique setting for your corporate holiday party.
Budget Saving Ideas
Is your budget too limited to provide both food and entertainment? You still have several options. One would be to simply have a holiday dinner with homegrown entertainment like a talent contest. Another choice would be to plan an activity during an afternoon or evening time slot when food would not be expected. If you still want to combine both food and fun, see if your employees want to pitch in with a potluck dinner, or the company could provide the main course and employees bring side dishes and dessert. If you’re facing this type of a budget constraint, don’t be afraid to ask co-workers for their preferences.
Combine Giving with Celebration
A number of companies use the holidays as a time to partner with their employees in reaching out to the needy in the community. Obviously, participation should be voluntary, and you can even let the employees provide input on which cause to support. Here are a few ideas to consider.
- An Angel Tree – this is a program which allows people to buy gifts for children whose parent or parents are incarcerated.
- Collect canned goods for a local food bank.
- Set a date for employees to bring in baked goods for a retirement home or shelter.
- Adopt a battered woman’s shelter and provide gifts and holiday baked goods.
- Throw a holiday party for a low-income day care center
Team Building Trivia Parties
Corporate holiday live trivia events have become increasingly popular because they both entertain and provide valuable corporate team building. During the regular work week there is little time to engage in team building, activities but year-end holiday parties offer an excellent opportunity to both entertain and improve employee cohesion by choosing this type of active entertainment option.
TrivWorks, an experiential marketing, corporate team building and entertainment firm devoted solely to trivia, has a proven record of providing professional, customized trivia events for hundreds of businesses in the New York City area. Whether you have 30 employees or 300, they can help you provide a rollicking, professional holiday party. They will customize the games to include business-specific questions, will offer guidance in setting up the venue and prizes, and provide a professional Quiz Master to emcee the evening – all within your budget. With TrivWorks, you can make this year’s corporate holiday party one that will be remembered for a long time.
If you like this, you might enjoy these: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224249?cam=Dev&ctp=Carousel&cdt=13&cdn=224249 and, A Quick Primer on NYC Corporate Event Entertainment Pricing