How to Plan an Epic End of Year Party
Covid-19 lockdown is over!
The end of the year is approaching, and now is a great time to celebrate and put together an EOY party for all your amazing guests. Here is a quick and helpful step-by-step guide for you to make sure you don’t miss out on anything important when it comes to planning such an occasion.
Know your scope and vision
Who are the guests you are holding the event for?
Knowing this will allow you to give your party a more personalised touch that will feel unique and special to them. Find out what they would love and enjoy and tailor your event accordingly during the planning process. Remember, you have to think about how to appeal to the crowd. Why would they want to come to your event?
Why are you holding this party?
Figure out what the purpose of your end of the year party will be. Is it going to be a celebratory corporate event, a cocktail party, a birthday party, or a fundraising event? Defining what function you will be hosting is another key step that determines a lot of your decision-making.
What is the expected number of guests?
Figuring out whether your end of year party will be small or large-scale will affect the scope of your planned event and you will need to adjust your budget accordingly, as well as considering the type of function, size and location of your venue.
Pin down the practical details
What is your budget?
The amount of money you allocate to your event is dependant on the aforementioned variables from above - guest number, event type, and other things to consider are - venue price, entertainment hire, staff hire, catering, and gift prizes.
When is the date/time?
Decide when you will hold your end of year party. Consider the availability of your guests - recommended days to hold events are during Friday evenings and weekends when most people are not working; don’t forget public holidays are popular choices but keep in mind highly desirable venues will be booked out early if you don’t lock in early.
Next, decide the time of the day this event will be held. Think about the mood and atmosphere you are trying to achieve and choose accordingly. Evenings are popular choices when alcohol and dancing is involved; it’s also the end of the day for the guests so take advantage of this fact by planning your schedule in a way that feels unrushed so that the attendants unwind naturally throughout the night.
Here’s a great tip: if you plan to host the party during the evening, you will have the morning and afternoon prior to make preparations. Daytime parties are equally valid if you want a lighter, casual experience or if outdoor activities are involved.
Where
First, to get a general idea of the location of the end of year party, consider the proximity of the event to the majority of the invited guests, then begin searching the range of available venues within the vicinity. Be strategic wherever possible: if you are holding a casual company party for example, consider booking a venue near the workplace instead of people’s homes, and schedule the event after their shift is over; also take into account that some guests will prefer public transport over driving, especially when drinking is involved.
Theme and Decor
Deciding on the party theme and dress code is highly recommended and not to be overlooked if you truly want your end of year party to be special and memorable for your audience. There are many possibilities to choose from such as - a masquerade, retro, disco, a royal ball, pool party, etc. Then let the chosen theme guide all your decisions centred around the decor, music, food, and activities. Choose a dress code that matches your theme appropriately and make sure everyone invited sticks to it. Be sure to dress yourself as stylish as possible to make the best impression as a host.
Choose your party venue
By nailing down the practical details and key aspects of your end of year party vision, you should already have a general idea of what party venue you are looking for. To narrow your choices down even further, consider the space, capacity, decor, sound set-up, catering options, equipment, staff, and services that they may offer at their function. Write down the must-haves and nice-to-haves to further give you clarity on the kind of venue you’re looking for. You might want a venue that has a spectacular view, or is equipped with all the A/V system and lighting you need; it could possibly be that the venue offers a novel selection of food that matches your party theme perfectly, or that they provide a whole host of entertainment options.
Hire a strong team
You cannot expect to run the event all by yourself, especially if it is a large-scale party. So consider hiring a solid team to help keep your event running without a hitch. You are going to need people such as - front of house to greet guests as they arrive, bartenders to serve drinks, waiters/caterers to serve food, an MC to keep your party lively, security, medically trained personnel, sound/lighting technicians, and etc.
Most of the aforementioned event staff can sometimes be provided by the venue as a one stop shop solution, but you may need to hire other personnel to fulfil niche roles individually. Also, make sure the staff are dressed uniformly so that guests can easily distinguish them from the crowd.
If this is an overwhelming step in your planning, then it would be a great idea to hire or consult an agency to assist you. Hiring the appropriate and sufficient amount of staff is paramount in ensuring your end of year party does not run into major issues.
Consider accessibility
Making your party as inclusive as possible will greatly help with increasing the amount of guests accepting their invites and keep them partying for longer when at the event. Again, ensure your event is held at a reasonable distance from everyone and that people can make their transit to and from the location via multiple modes of transport. Is parking available, and what is its capacity? Do you have designated smoke areas? Does the location allow for a quiet and safe space for some guests to retreat to so they can take a break from the party commotions? Is the party Covid-safe? Is your event LGBTQ friendly like having gender-neutral toilets? These are some of the many considerations to make your party as accessible as possible for the guests. Take some time to brainstorm some more and think if it is worth the time to invest in applying them.
Book your entertainment
Great thought should be put into choosing the best and most appropriate entertainment as this is what will make your end of year party memorable for your audience. Hiring live bands, DJ’s, dancers, and photo booths are popular choices to start off with. If you want your party to be especially special, you may consider pyrotechnical/firework displays or even hire magicians.
Professional magicians such as The BlackTies, can easily elevate your end of year party whether it be an intimate dinner to huge crowd events. Not only are magicians an excellent choice for entertaining the crowd with a magic show, they can also perform close-up magic to guests at the beginning and downtimes of your event. Your guests will constantly be engaged throughout the night and that will escalate the party’s energy to a high immediately. You can even collaborate with them to tailor their magic in such a way that it suits your party theme!
Take into account the energy of each act during the event too by knowing when the night will peak. At the climax of your event, people will get excited at this point and will feel compelled to hit the dance floor. So place non-musical acts away from the end of the schedule and be sure to transition the music from an upbeat vibe to a more relaxed one in the last hour to allow your partygoers to unwind.
Plan ahead of time
It is important to be organised and plan ahead if you really want your event to run as smoothly as possible. Take a notepad out and working backwards from the time and date of the party, write down what needs to be done a day, a week, fortnight, a month, and 2 months prior. This is a general guide to help you be on top of things and not make avoidable oversights during the preparation process.
Send invites early
As soon as the event’s details are concrete enough, get the word out as soon as possible! Send out a save-to-date email to all your invitees to allow them to schedule their time accordingly, then follow up with an invite to RSVP and register ahead of time. If you are charging admission, get people to pay in advance as this will increase the likelihood of coming.
Utilise multi-channel marketing to further promote your event. Create a special landing webpage with the relevant event details and provide links to your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages. If you are collaborating with other businesses and organisations, make sure to cross-promote the event on each other’s platforms.
Build anticipation
Utilise social media platforms to build up hype for your end of year party: create lots of fun links to share; host online competitions to reach a wider audience; and use video trailer/teasers, past videos, and photos as promotional content.
Having professional photographers and videographers at your event will make for great marketing content later in the future with their produced media.