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Christmas Party

Christmas Party — the checklist

The first case comes off the truck at seven, four hours before anyone arrives. The venue is cold, the tables are stacked against one wall, and the crew has a running order, a floor plan, and a list of power points that may or may not match what is actually in the room.

This is the checklist for the bit that happens before that: the decisions that determine whether the evening works or falls apart in front of everyone you work with.

Before you book anything

  • Have you fixed the date — and checked it against the last working day, the board meeting schedule, and the dates every other company in town is also trying to book?
  • Do you know the guest count within twenty people?
  • Have you written down what the evening actually is: dinner and speeches, or dinner and dancing, or both?
  • Is there a budget figure you can say out loud to a venue or a supplier?
  • Have you asked who ran it last year and whether anything went wrong?

The venue

  • Does the room fit the number seated, with space left over for a bar, a band, and people standing?
  • Is the venue available on your date, or are you now moving the date?
  • Can the kitchen handle a plated dinner for your count, or only a buffet?
  • Is there load-in access for a truck, or does everything come up a narrow staircase?
  • Have you visited the venue in the evening, with people in it, to hear what the room actually sounds like?
  • Who holds the keys on the day, and who has their number?
  • Is there a noise curfew, and who speaks to the venue if you run past it?
  • Where does the crew eat?

The programme

  • Have you written a running order on paper: doors, dinner, speeches, music starts, music ends?
  • Does everyone who is speaking know they are speaking, and for how long?
  • If there are awards, do you have the names on paper, spelled correctly, in the order they are called?
  • Is there a gap between the last speech and the first song, or does the band start the moment the MC puts the microphone down?
  • Have you told the band or the DJ what time they start and what time they finish, and whether there is a break?
  • Who holds the running order on the night — one person, with a copy, who can make a call if something runs late?

The technical side

  • Have you confirmed the venue has power where the band or the DJ will set up, or are you hiring a generator?
  • Does the room need a sound system for the speeches, and if so, is it built into the venue or are you bringing it in?
  • If there is a projector, have you tested it with the laptop that will actually be used on the night?
  • Is there front light on the MC, or are they speaking into the dark?
  • If the evening is outdoors or in a marquee, what happens if it rains, or if it is colder than forecast?
  • Who rigs the equipment, and are they the same people who run it during the evening?

Food and drink

  • Is it a plated dinner or a buffet, and have you told the kitchen the count and the timing?
  • Does the bar stay open all night, or close at a set time?
  • Is there a welcome drink, and who pours it?
  • Have you listed dietary restrictions and sent them to the venue?
  • Is there food for the crew, or are they buying their own?

Guests and transport

  • Have you sent the invitations with the date, the address, and the start time?
  • Does the venue have parking, and if not, have you told people?
  • If people are travelling in from another city, is there a bus or a list of taxi numbers?
  • Have you arranged transport home for people who should not be driving at midnight?

The last week

  • Have you confirmed the final guest count with the venue and the caterer?
  • Have you sent the running order to everyone who needs it: the MC, the band, the venue manager?
  • Does someone have the supplier phone numbers in their phone, not just in an email?
  • Have you checked the weather forecast if any part of the evening is outside?
  • Is there a printed copy of the seating plan, the speeches, and the running order?

The day

  • Is someone on site when the crew arrives, with keys and access to power?
  • Have you walked the room before doors and checked that the sound works and the lights are on?
  • Does the MC have a microphone that has been tested, and a spare?
  • Is there a person — one person — who handles problems during the evening, so the crew is not taking instructions from four different people?
  • Have you agreed with the band or the DJ what time the music stops, and stuck to it?

After

  • Who is the last to leave, and do they have the venue manager's number to confirm lockup?
  • Is the crew coming back in the morning to pack out, or is it happening the same night?
  • Have you kept the supplier invoices and the running order for whoever organises it next year?

There are two kinds of event company. One takes a brief, adds a margin to every line, and forwards it to subcontractors they may never have worked with. The other quotes, builds and runs the night with the same people who wrote the quote. After 5 Events is the second kind — the crew writing this is the crew in the room.

The decision now is whether you are running this yourself or handing the technical build and the evening to people who do it as their job. If you are handing it over, settle the date, the guest count and the rough shape of the evening before you call anyone. Everything else follows from those three.

Who is writing this

A crew, not a middleman

These guides are written by After 5 Events — the team that grew out of the After 5 band and DJ roster and has stood on the stage itself. We are not an agency that forwards your brief to subcontractors and takes a commission on every line: the people who plan your evening build the stage, run the sound and light, and are in the room when the doors open.

When you get to booking

The pages this guide has probably made you want to ask about.

The same reader, other occasions
The same occasion, another topic
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