Alternative ideas for your Christmas party
Christmas parties can be conducive to a happy workforce. In fact, 63% of 500 SMEs surveyed on the subject believed that cutting back or cancelling Christmas parties could damage staff morale. Their belief is backed up by studies that have suggested that workplaces in which strong employee friendships thrive report better levels of stress management and productivity.
But even though Christmas parties are something of a necessity, traditional office parties have gained a reputation over the years for being a bit bland; even downright boring. There however are plenty of alternative options to the bog-standard Christmas Party that your business can choose from.
Head to a country house
The office party is almost as much of an institution as Christmas itself, but no one ever said that it actually has to be at the office. Why not swap your desk for a table at one of the country’s most elegant country houses instead?
Plenty of lush country houses can be rented for corporate Christmas parties, and some even host their own. For example, Highgate House in Northamptonshire are having a Hollywood themed New Years Eve party this year, and Sandon Hall are hosting their own Prosecco Party event at Christmas.
Be a spectator
Instead of organising overdone office games or tired team building exercises, why not swap the whiteboard for Wembley, or the office for the 02?
There are a number of big name venues which offer special events over the Christmas period. If a sizeable portion of your staff have young children, you could save them the trouble of finding a babysitter and treat your staff to front row seats at the exceedingly child-friendly ‘Disney On Ice presents Frozen’ concert at London’s 02. Alternatively, you and your colleagues can take in a show in the West End with VIP hospitality packages with Keith Prowse, or you can even partake in the most Christmassy of events, the pantomime.
Or, if your employees would appreciate something slightly less musical in nature, you could take them to Brian Cox and Robin Ince’s Christmas Compendium of Reason at Hammersmith Apollo. Your group could even check out the rugby hospitality packages at Twickenham, which will swap the usual mundanity of the office for the excitement and drama of international rugby, with first class facilities, and the chance to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the game. However, at 100’s of pounds a head, a luxury package such as this one might serve better as a special reward to a few certain members of your team who have outperformed the rest over the course of the year.
Eat at a Supper Club
A staple of the office Christmas party is going for a nice meal out. But in an office full of people, likely with different dietary requirements and preferences, picking the right restaurant can be tricky to say the least. And for a special occasion like Christmas, you want your dining experience to be special too.
Supper clubs are niche alternatives to standard restaurants, serving delicious food and offering unique entertainment exclusively to a small number of guests, and they are currently all the rage in London’s foodie scene. Going to a themed supper club in a unusual venue will be a much more memorable and immersive experience than heading your average pub meal. For example, you can enjoy art on an off the plate at Supper in a Pear Tree, or you can even catch a meal in the St Pancras Clock Tower.
Supper clubs give employees the perfect opportunity to let their hair down in an eccentric, informal setting. It’s living room comfort with restaurant quality food.
Rent out a vineyard
City centres are awash with office nights out this time of year, and bars can often be packed in December, making a night out particularly difficult to organise for large groups. So if you can’t face a night drinking in town, why not go straight to the source?
A tour of a brewery has the making of a fun and unique work night out that combines a little education with a lot of booze. If beer isn’t really the office drink, you can head to a gin distillery instead. The City of London Distillery have been running gin tours and tastings since 2012, they even offer companies the opportunity to develop their own small-batch gin. That way your workers can come away from the Christmas party with more than just a hangover.
At a vineyard, you can even to turn the Christmas night out into a weekend away. England’s South Coast is dotted with wineries set in idyllic settings. The Rathfinny Estate in Sussex and Camel Valley in Cornwall are two vineyards that are perfect for a work weekend.
