Office holiday parties NYC

I’ve been in the live events business for over 10 years now, during which time I’ve planned & produced all sorts of experiences for all types of people: concerts, lectures, classes, tastings, outings, singles events – and of course, corporate entertainment & team building events in NYC and elsewhere. Since starting my own professional trivia company in 2009, every year around this time I’m also up to my eyeballs in office holiday party planning, New York City style (aka: high stress, but also high fun).

In all of my professional experience, one immutable truth holds firm across all event types and sizes: no matter how hard you try, it is simply, absolutely, positively impossible to please everyone.

This can be a frustrating pill to swallow, especially for holiday party planning committees who have worked tirelessly since the fall to pull something together. No matter how much time, effort or money is put into the event – finding & securing the venue, lining up entertainment, arranging food/beverage and obtaining all of the necessary approvals, there are always those who are going to be disappointed.

Especially with a holiday party, it’s so hard to meet everybody’s expectations; does staff want something boisterous, or low-key? Do we want to allow significant others, or keep it employees only? Did we like what we did last year, or do we want to go in another direction? Invariably, a portion of your attendees are simply not going to be happy.

My advice? Accept that fact – then, move right along with your planning.

Everybody’s a Monday morning quarterback when it comes to staff entertainment events, and even with an end-of-year party which is solely designed to boost the morale of hard-working employees, there will always be those Grinches for whom nothing is good enough.

Screw those people.

As an office holiday party planner, you’ve either volunteered for or been assigned the task of planning a party, on top of your regular workload. You’ve got limited time, energy and resources to devote, and there’s only so much you can do. So long as you do your level best to produce a fun & memorable event for your colleagues, one which recognizes and motivates and energizes rewards, then nobody has a right to complain about it – especially those who played no part in the planning themselves.

Bottom line, if you want to throw a successful office holiday party in NYC or anywhere else, just remember this: you can’t please everyone.

Further reading: When it Comes to Holiday Party Entertainment, NYC is Tops