The clocks have gone back, the days are shorter, the nights are longer and Halloween has come and spooked us for another year. You have made it to November, you can officially stop debating if it’s acceptable to turn the heating on yet and dust off the thermostat.
‘Remember, remember the 5th November’ – the last of the autumn milestones, Bonfire Night just a one more sleep away. After the last firework has fizzled there are no more excuses……Christmas is coming!
The shops are already full of glitter, sparkle, mince pies and wrapping paper (and have been since September). Diaries are frantically being coordinated for the month of December – nativity plays, Christmas shopping, grotto visits, drinks with friends, lunch with the girls, a little work too and of course, the work Christmas ‘do’. The iconic, annual, shameless, embarrassing, sometimes political but always memorable, Office Christmas Party. It is a staple of the workplace, be it a team lunch or a full workplace get together with food, drink and seeing Jeremy from finance throw shapes on the dancefloor that really should never be seen in public.
Have you got the date in for yours yet? Some would say, every good Christmas party is planned by summer – venues book out fast and if you’re only thinking about it now, you won’t find anything. We at Lemon Lane disagree! It’s never too late for Christmas and to help you out, here are our top tips for last minute Christmas party planning:
SAVE THE DATE!
Get your date in with the team now – forget venues and finding available space on any date they have – people make the party, you want as many of your colleagues and team members as possible to be present. Oxford Street has switched on its lights so really, any date from today will work! Christmas parties are not just for December.
DON’T TRY AND COMPETE
Whether that’s with the tech start up on the fifth floor, with what your BFF’s firm is doing or with a past work do – just do you. Christmas parties are about togetherness – celebrating another year done with the people we spend most of our time with. It doesn’t have to be extravagant; it just needs to be a time to come together without emails and deadlines, and something that shows a little appreciation.
ANYTHING GOES
Remember, togetherness! Anything counts as a Christmas party these days – replace the word ‘party’ with ‘get-together’ and you open up so many more options. Some of our favourite festive (and non-festive) suggestions are:
- Poll your teams favourite Christmas film and hire your own cinema with festive snacks – whether it’s Home Alone, ELF or, even Die Hard, who doesn’t love a movie night?
- Christmas markets – bring it back to basics and arrange a gathering at one of your city’s beautiful Christmas markets. Mulled wine, German sausages, stollen and live music – just remember to wrap up snug and warm!
- Pampering and afternoon tea at a beautiful spa. The country manor style, out of town properties with spas are usually decorated beautifully for Christmas and will leave you feeling super relaxed and festive! Who doesn’t love a little pampering?
- Whether you’re ‘Dancing on Ice’ or more Bambi on ice, ice-skating is a fun seasonal activity – the laughs to be had watching colleagues stumble and tumble, with hot chocolate and mince-pies. Save the Baileys and hot apple cider until afterwards though!
GIVE BACK
Don’t underestimate the feel good factor at this time of year. When it comes to charity be more Nephew Fred than Uncle Scrooge – maybe swap out a formal Christmas do and use what you might have spent on fancy food and drink and donate this instead to a local food bank. In return for their selflessness give your staff the gift of time – everyone appreciates an extra half day or early finish in December for festive frolicking!
OWN IT
If you are stuck and can’t get any dates together or find anything to do as a company, it might be worth fessing up and promising to be more organized next year. Don’t forget January is still a great post-Christmas option. Yes it lacks all tinsel and trimmings, but it doesn’t have to be all Joe Wicks and slimming; instead, kick off 2023 with a promise of a great year, use the time to motivate and inspire. Besides, good company and a few laughs will soften this cold and miserable month.
You can still be festive as a company in the lead up – the Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day is on Thursday 8th December this year; encourage your staff to come dressed in their finest festive knitwear, raise some money for a great cause and splash out on some M&S Christmas treats instead. Winner winner, turkey dinner.
If you want any help with the Christmas party planning, the elves at Lemon Lane are ready to save the sleigh – drop us a message at hello@thelemonlane.co.uk
