Don’t shoot the messenger! Now that we have our gorgeous spring weather, of course we have to remind you to plan for your Christmas party.

Event planning. Say those two words and see how fast your coworkers run for the door. But you’re game. And fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. We are award-winning, event
planning experts. We plan all aspects of any kind of event, no matter the size or circumstance. From extremely small to a cast of thousands, we’ll keep our eye on the details so you don’t have
to. Simply Elegant – Event planning that makes you look good.

Party Planning
You’re thinking: great friends, great time, great party. We’re thinking: great parties come out of great party planning. It’s hard to believe that something as fun as a party can take so much work. But it does… Always. Of course, great hosts make it look easy. Great hosts rely on great people. We’re your people. Your party planning people. We’ll do the planning. You have the fun.

The rewards of a successful Christmas party will carry on throughout the year. There are many steps to planning leaving it to the demands and challenges of the holiday season is a recipe for headaches. Here are some tips to lighten the burden in planning this years parties:

Things to think about in planning this year’s Christmas party:

Use task lists and schedule deadlines to complete all your planning on time. If it’s an office party, then the location, budget, and date all three are usually determined by management so you’re working within limits already. Be mindful of your corporate culture in planning on food and entertainment. (IE food restrictions due to religion)

It is never too early to start organizing. In fact, numerous 500 guests or more companies have completed this planning already. Many of the large facilities are pre-booked on an annual basis with first come first served for the smaller ones.

Book your facility now. The larger the number of guests, the less number of local facilities are available. Why not look at unique locations such as a museum, garden or cultural centre. The environment in these locations create the base decor and give a refreshing feel to the festivities.

Re-think your theme. Successful parties create a common thread that tie everything together using the budget as your guide. Coordinating the entire Christmas program with the menu, decor and entertainment allows for a memorable celebration. An example of this is an international Christmas theme with world food/action stations with matching decor and entertainment.

Poll your employees as to what type of theme and entertainment they would like this year? You could make it a competition! Instead of the comedy show, perhaps they would like to experience a cirque show or a Christmas themed murder mystery? Focus the opportunity for an engaging and interactive party this year.

Guests love to take the dinner table centrepiece home. Why not set up a centrepiece creation competition between departments where the pieces are raffled off to generate money for your favourite charity. Remember to make a note in the invitation that there will be a prize for the department that decks out the most ingenious Christmas centrepiece.

Promote the designated driver concept and these alternative forms of transportation in your invitations. Let’s face it – drinking and driving never mix. Offer a variety of non-alcoholic beverages for the designated driver and others who prefer not to drink alcohol. If preparing an alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base like fruit juice. Alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream faster with a carbonated base. Provide for for alternative modes of transportation for guests range from shuttle, limousine service or passenger vans taxi fare for the end of the evening. Don’t forget to budget for this!

Save a tree and go green e-invites for your event.

Planning a party is a lot like buying a house. You do the research, crunch the numbers, think ahead – and you put the best possible team around yourself to help you achieve your goals. When party disasters happen, it usually comes down to poor planning. And many smart, capable social committees just plain and simple don’t think through some of the basic details that will make or break their party. That’s what a planner is for.

Call Simply Elegant if you need support with some or all of your Christmas event. It’s what we do best. From planning, to decor, to entertainment, to catering, we work hard to ensure that every facet of your corporate event says what you want it to say. After all, this isn’t just some corporate event. It’s yours. It reflects back on your Company — and on you. Every detail has to be on message. You wouldn’t let an email go out that didn’t look good on the Company. You’re sure not going to let your company look bad through a poorly thought out or executed event.

Ultimately here are the Top Ten Signs You’re at a Bad Office Christmas Party according to CBS
– Late Show with David Letterman

10. Eggnog smells suspiciously like Liquid Paper.
9. Anyone caught under mistletoe gets choked by Latrell Sprewell.
8. Because of corporate downsizing, Santa is only 120 pounds.
7. Only food available is something called reindeer kebabs.
6. Last time you saw this much sucking up was on the Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson videotape.
5. Christmas tree is just a fat intern in a green sweater.
4. For the 16th year in a row, the Canadian band leader has passed out in the eggnog.
3. Thanks to the alcohol-free punch, not a single butt gets photocopied.
2. Boss offers to give you a raise, and hes not talking about money.
1. Its held every year on July 23rd.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the ultimate eco-fabulous green wedding, how about an edible centrepiece?…yes, we said edible…yes, for your wedding.

Imagine chocolate covered strawberries overflowing on fabulous decorative glass platters or on lovely tiered pastry stands.  Accent the strawberries with edible (pesticide free) organic flowers, such as gardenias, day lilies or roses.  You could even do it yourself if need be!

Directions

1. Melt one pound of organic dark chocolate with two tablespoons of shortening or grapeseed oil.

2. Dip the strawberries into melted chocolate and lay on parchment paper to cool.

3. Drizzle melted white chocolate over all or some of the strawberries for a striking accent.

Pots of edible herbs or wheatgrass accented with potted edible flowers also make a great centrepiece. Bonus:  your guests can take them to plant in their gardens for a lasting memory of your wedding.

This next suggestion can be truly striking and sublime.  Place apples, oranges, lemons, limes, pears, peaches, and other in season fruits and berries in tall, clear vases of varying heights.  Again, edible flowers and nuts as well can be included in this centrepiece.

How about edible bouquets with chocolate Ecuadorian roses and yellow violets along with sugared orange and lemon wedges? Fabulous! Here’s something fun: large ice cream cones topped with edible white carnations to form the scoops of “ice cream.”  Place the ice cream cones in glass containers on 2-3 stands of varying heights.  The kids and the young at heart will love these.

Edible centrepieces will wow your guests and best of all, leave nothing that needs to be thrown out! They are an eco-chic solution for eco-savvy brides….

When was the last time you looked at table centrepieces and thought, “I’d really love to eat those….”

If the answer is never, you really need to hang out with us more. One of the things we love doing for events is coming up with unique, fresh, fun and GREEN ways to make your guests feel special.  What always goes over well are edible centrepieces for your tables.

We kid you not. We’re talking about centrepieces your guests can actually eat during or after your event. Edible centrepieces will generate conversation AND they will help you reduce, reuse and recycle, which your guests will appreciate. Finally, they’ll get to take home centrepieces they’ll actually use!

You can easily create edible centrepieces that set the perfect tone for your event, whatever the occasion.  And every season brings with it a whole new and exciting range of possibilities.

Doing a kids party? Pick up a half circle Styrofoam ball, cover it with any colour of burlap, dyed cheesecloth, Spanish moss, green or fall leaves, the list goes on and on…then stick lollipops in the base, one colour for each table.

Want to liven up a fundraising event? Make your centrepieces out of retro candy. You can use Elephant Popcorn or Crackerjack boxes as the base and artistically arrange your favourite candies, mixed with flowers and ribbon. Smart and original, just like you.

In a hurry? Cupcakes make great, easy desserts to serve – and you can display them all night with a beautiful cupcake stand. Functional and pretty all at the same time.

The possibilities are endless. And best of all, your centrepieces won’t just look good – they will be used instead of just thrown away. And that’s just plain good sense.