How to make a Christmas function suit and benefit your work best?

Workplaces are like families - each one of them is completely and utterly unique, and accordingly requires an event that is best tailored to the office culture and types of personalities that you have on board. The type of function that suits a large 400 person company will be completely different to a small startups business, and you'll need to strike the right balance if you want everybody to have a grand old time. 

It's not just about what works best in terms of logistics either. The best office parties are ones that bring everybody a little closer together and form new relationships between staff. Christmas is the perfect time to do this, and so we thought we'd take a closer look at some of the factors to consider when organising the perfect function to best suit and benefit your workplace. 

Make it manageable

One of the trickiest aspects of getting the entire office together for a Christmas party is finding a space big enough for everybody. This is especially true with larger companies, and as a result many turn to ballrooms or other large venues where they can comfortably fit everybody in. This can be great in terms of practicality, but still presents a problem in terms of the most important factor of any party - fun. Sit down meals are great but we strongly believe that Christmas is a time for getting a sweat on, be it through bowling or any other sort of game. 

To make this work, many companies split up their workforce into more manageable chunks - departments work very well for this - but it's still good to ensure a mix from all levels so that staff get to interact with people they may otherwise not see in a fun and relaxed environment. 

Make it personal

Once you've got the perfect venue organised, you can make the final touches that really set your evening apart from the rest. Every office has its own little in-jokes, rituals and quirks, so Christmas is the time to embrace all of these and really give your occasion the personal touch. 

This could be through decorations that recall a funny customer or themed gift bags that reference the line of work that you're in. Either way, going the extra mile will help to foster that vital team spirit by encouraging people to value their office culture. Longer term, this will lead to higher engagement amongst employees and a greater sense of fraternity and friendship throughout the business.