Holiday and Corporate Events

This month I'd like to discuss the holiday and corporate event. You may think that it's a bit early to be thinking of the holidays, but let me assure you, it's not. The reason it's not too early is that for a successful event, you need to have all items nailed down and planned out well in advance and the sooner you start the more smoothly your event will run, and if you've been reading any of my previous blogs, you'll know that your stress level will be much lower as well.

For starters you need to remember that as holiday events go, your straight-up Christmas/Holiday event is the easiest to book because you have multiple days with which to work. A Holiday or Christmas event can be booked from December 1st to just before Christmas, so DJ and band availability is not that big an issue. When it comes to holidays like Halloween, Valentines Day, Fourth of July, etc., you get only one day or one prime weekend to work with. New Year's Eve of course, is prime for all entertainers and many will book this night a year in advance. It's also premium price night - translated: you're going to pay. I do not know any disc jockey that works for under $1200.00 on this night and the longer you wait to book it, the less room you have for price negotiations. So if you're throwing a New Year's Eve bash, be warned, start as early as possible.

If you're on an entertainment committee for your place of employment or social group, you may already be experiencing the anxiety and stress that comes with event planning. Don't panic. You've already found a great resource by coming to this site and you're a click away from contacting us if you need professional guidance, and of course, we'd also love to handle your entertainment needs! The important thing to remember here is that you need to define exactly what it is you are trying to accomplish. Questions like: Is this party multi-cultural or multi-denominational as in Christmas or "Holiday"? Will it be formal or casual? Sit-down meal, buffet or strictly hor'devours? Is your company or social group paying or will each person contribute? Is this party primarily for dancing, socializing, award ceremonies, speeches or all of the above? Will there be raffles, prizes or give-aways and who will take care of those items? Do you need a Master of Ceremonies or just background music?

These and many other questions must be answered well in advance in order for your party or event to flow smoothly. Many people don't allow for all of the time that these things take up. They handle this stuff 'on the fly', then wonder why the party flopped, having run out of time for dancing or having the dancing interuppted too many times, leaving your guests with the feeling they couldn't relax and enjoy. It happens at weddings too. A balance is key to the evening's success. You have to remember that once people are dancing and having fun, stopping and starting the evening's events destroys the flow and ruins any groove the disc jockey has going. Sometimes it's just impossible to get them back out on the floor. Once one person grabs thier coat and heads for the door, many times, others follow. As I've said in previous blogs, you want your guests on the dance floor, otherwise, why have a DJ?

Having stated that holiday parties are the easiest to book does not mean that they are the easiest to plan. In today's politically correct corporate enviroment it's tough to get everyone on the same page and even tougher to make them all happy. The bottom line here is that if you are heading up the committee, you need to stand firm and make some decisions. If anyone has a rough time with the plans made by your group, they need to step up next year and get on the planning committee themselves. It's easy to judge others until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That's not to say we don't need to be respectful of others religious beliefs, opinions etc., it simply means that once you define the type of event you're having, corporate or otherwise, you need to move forward. Six months into your "Christmas Party" plans, you can't be derailed by those who want to change everything around. Next year, hand the torch to them. I promise that you cannot make everyone happy. There will always be someone who is unhappy with something - don't let it get to you.

Many corporations have done away with the holiday event completely because of the difficulty of the task. We have seen a decline over the years and I believe it is directly related to two things; political correctness and money. Between the pressure that comes from not wanting to offend anyone, to the concern over the bottom line, it gets harder and harder to pull off successful corporate holiday parties. Even music selection gets dicey when religion enters into it. It's not easy. So, what's the secret? There isn't any. It's all in the planning and leg work. Communication is key at the inception of the idea. You need to know what it is you want, your group wants and your employer wants - then you need to tie it all together.

To recap: start planning as early as possible, talk to all the people involved so that your direction is clear - forming a committee if necessary, get a list of the evenings events down on paper so you know the flow of the night and decide what the theme will be so that your entertainer can format successfully musically. Remember that you will not please everybody no matter how hard you try and using your DJ for help and advice during the planning of the event will be an asset to the evening and help reduce your stress level overall.

If you are lucky enough to be planning a corporate event or holiday/Christmas party, good luck with the event and we hope this blog helps out in some way. Of course we'd love to hear from you and as always remind you not to delay the selection of your entertainer or location of event. The sooner you start the better. Have an outstanding event!