I love throwing a good party, and love doing fun DIY things. But when throwing a corporate event, parties need to be at a higher caliber, and one might think they aren't able to do that themselves, let alone cheaply. Here's some ideas from a reader on how you can still throw an awesome corporate party on a budget.
Think about the key components of a corporate event. You’ve got the venue, food, entertainment, guest speakers, party favours, and decorations. The size of your group will have a major influence on how and where you spend your money, and there you can always find cost-effective ways to throw a great party.
You could hire an entertaining company for the budget conscious and plan your even far in advance in order to get the best rates on rentals, catering, etc. Want to know how else you can throw an amazing corporate event while keeping cost in mind? Read on.
Use Your Employees’ Talents
The office party is a great time to learn something a little interesting about your coworkers that you didn’t know before, or it can be an opportunity for those with hidden talents to shine. Your event should have some sort of interactive component to it that engages your staff, so why not engage your workers in the planning and execution of these activities?
You might have a particularly charming person on your team who could be perfect for hosting office trivia. Your entertainment cost could essentially boil down to prizes and giveaways, and you can tailor the trivia game to focus on your workplace. You likely have an amazing group of talented employees, and it’s possible that you aren’t even aware of all the amazing things they do outside of the office. Use the corporate event as the perfect time to open up to each other and build camaraderie between workers.
Planning Matters!
Expert event planners are truly a specific breed. They’re skilled at multi-tasking and can hold five conversations at once while also decorating a room. Even if you don’t think of yourself as an event-planning whiz, don’t underestimate the power of a plan.
Focus on establishing a budget (and sticking to it!), planning out the guest list, preparing the space, and booking entertainment as quickly as you can. Try to answer as many questions as you can before the actual event hits, that way you can be as ready as possible for whatever may come up on the event day. Even the best planner can’t predict the future, so build a contingency fund into your budget. A good rule of thumb is to set aside 20% of the overall party budget for unexpected expenses.
Save Money on Décor
Pick a theme for your event and you’ll have a general direction for your event that can come in handy when picking out décor. It’s easy to go overboard with party decorations, so try to find a stylish venue that doesn’t require a whole bunch of floral arrangements and centrepieces.
Party decorations are often wasteful, too, so by going with a minimal décor with emphasis on the theme and activities, you can skip the extra waste and costs that come with event decorating. You can also apply this mentality to your invitations and go electronic, saving you money on printing and saving trees, too. A small budget doesn’t mean less fun, you just have to look for ways to reduce your costs and embrace the power of teamwork in planning an event in the best, most cost-effective way possible.
See my disclaimer.