It’s that time of year again. The holiday party season is quickly approaching, and you are tasked with organizing the perfect event for your tenants or company’s employees. What are some ideas to consider? If you’re struggling with coming up with new concepts for your next company holiday party, this article will contain some tips around coordinating an in-person holiday party in 2021.
Let’s be honest! For the past two years, the holiday season has been different and challenging. Holiday parties are a significant part of celebrating your community. Your team may be on the fence about hosting an in-person party. Several articles are providing tips on how to host in-person holiday parties in 2021 successfully.
Recently, the SHRM article Weighing the Pros and Cons of In-Person Holiday Parties provides interviews on how different companies and offices handle this year’s festivities. “Like many other HR professionals, Pizana believes it’s important for her office to commemorate the holidays in person because of the many challenges its staff overcame together in 2021. “With the difficulties we have faced this year, we feel our team deserves a day to celebrate and enjoy themselves with their co-workers at our offices,” she said.”
Holiday parties are a great way to boost morale and celebrate making it through the year. You can create a safe environment for your community. The three main things to consider when planning a holiday party in 2021 are:
To Gather or Not Gather
We are finding some communities are still opting for the grab-and-go style event for their holiday party. It depends on the management preferences on this topic. Some communities are ready to get people back in person, whereas others with tenants are still cautious. No one wants to host a holiday party, and ¼ of the people attend due to gathering concerns.
The best way to make the judgment call is consulting with regional or corporate on the rules. Next, it is best to start surveying the tenants on their comfort levels. You may be surprised by their feedback—no reason to guess when you can ask the source.
Make sure there is enough space
Spacing may be the difference between hosting a pre-pandemic holiday party and not. If your community usually expects 100 or more tenants in your clubroom, you may have to reconsider your holiday party structure. The following section in this article will give you solutions for unconventional scheduling.
Most communities have standard social distancing rules. The leasing office would have to choose how to enforce those rules at the holiday party. You may be more lax or stern to create an inviting environment.
Unconventional schedules
We have some communities that have chosen split events to help navigate around space limitations. This solution is for communities that still want to host a party yet have space restrictions. You can have people sign up for time blocks. For example, you can have the first time slot from 1-230pm, and the second time slot is 4-530pm.
The biggest challenges around this solution are budget and staff capacity. This option may be taxing for a leasing office to manage internally. It’s best to outsource split events through a coordinator, or it will likely become a long day at the office. Most coordinators or contractors bill off hourly rates. A more extended time block means a higher event cost.
Conclusion
Planning an in-person holiday party can be intimidating at times. If you’re hosting the event, there are many factors to consider that depends on your comfort level with social gatherings and space limitations and how creatively you want to schedule the event. Contact our event coordinating team today for more information about all of our menu options available for this special occasion!
We look forward to hearing from you soon!