What's the best way to arrange a work Xmas do?

AnneMary

Accept you are not going to please everyone.
If individuals are paying, budgets will mean that you are definately not going to please everyone.

We (Office of 12 paying ourselves) do something similar to Double Mummy - the first reponse. Last year it was £20 lunchtime - the year before an amazing Frankie and Benny's deal subsidised by a lottery win which meant we paid £5 and the year before that we went greyhound racing.

We also do a Secret Santa from the 99p shop - lucky dip so no allocated names which most people love and the two who moan get outvoted on.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!

alan.n

Just had the same situation. Unfortunately you will find that people have their own opinion. The ones with the strongest are usually the most critical and will not lift a finger to assist. Make the decision for them, because if you don't you will find yourself with a huge headache and nobody will be happy. Keep it simple, not too expensive, and not too noisy, since people like to chat at such events and no have to shout to be heard. Good Luck.

enabledebra

I'm easy to please. Just plan it well in advance so I can book annual leave and give my apologies.

gloriouslyhappy

Before I retired, I had to organise two office parties, for around 30 people. For the first one, the boss agreed to close the office at 4pm, and I asked everyone to bring afternoon tea items in, eg scones, sandwiches, cakes. I used the smallish party budget to buy bottles of champagne and posh non-alco sparkling drinks (Highgrove, Belvoir Press!s), and we had a very pleasant Bubbly Tea which lasted until 7pm when the cleaners came in. As we did every year, we had a £3 lucky dip Secret Santa, and the shrieks, groans and giggles as the lurid and unlikely gifts were opened added to the fun. No partners were invited, and by 630pm people started leaving with the last gone by 7pm. It was voted a ten out of ten by most people.
The other party I organised was in an Indian restaurant which had a £10 buffet and a BYOB policy. We went without partners on a Thursday night right after work for an early evening meal. The party budget allowed me to buy beer and wine and pay half the buffet charge, everyone who wanted to come paid the other £5 each, and we did the lucky dip over dessert. The official end of the party was when the coffee, included in the buffet charge, was served at about 9pm, and anyone who wanted to stay then paid for their own drinks or went on to a pub while the rest went home.
Simple, and not too much of a hassle to organise or attend. Not the standard office blow-out, but cost less at a time of cut-backs, was more fun being time-limited events and worked for us.

golddustmedia

I work on a business park on the outskirts of Bristol, which is fine for work but not for parties as you can't get home without a car.

The last 4 christmas parties have been held in the basic chain hotel nearby, since it's close to work. However the trouble is there are absolutely no local facilities i.e. public transport once the offices are closed.

While it may suit some of my co-workers who travel a long way and elect to pay for a room at the hotel I live in Bristol and can't really justify a hotel room, especially when the wife & kids are at home!

Not wanting to drive if I've had a drink I looked into booking a taxi home one year.... £50 for a 15 mile journey!!! :rotfl:

So the only christmas party I was able to attend was one in the city centre where I had the choice of taxis, buses and trains to get home!

My tip: Sometimes it's not about the party you book but whether what you book prevents people from going.

Muttleythefrog

Errata wrote: »

I doubt many have noticed the OP works for MSE.
It's quite bizarre that MSE employees are now posting their personal problems on forums and asking for help:think:

Hmm I'm noticed 3 such threads and they look manufactured... sorry Admin. But the questions asked seem odd... and then when advice is given they never seem to return to comment.

Errata

......... or hit the Thanks button!

melbury

Don't bother - they are generally pretty awful and most people only go because they feel obliged to. Thankfully I haven't felt obliged to go for years now.:)

jackyann

If you must go out, there are lots of good ideas above.
In my work years, whether or not we went out (have done a lot of variations on the above) we always had a "bring a contribution" lunch or tea on a set date. Mostly we just settled for that.
Cheap, fairly easy to organise, very little pressure.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

At this time of year anything/anywhere good is already fully booked and has been since May or June.

So simply choose the least worst option from what little is still available.