Creating a festive and memorable corporate holiday party can be incredibly stressful! But with these corporate catering tips and ideas, we hope to alleviate some of the anxiety that goes into planning a party for your company.
First and foremost, you need to create a plan and solidify a budget. Answering these questions may help you narrow both: Where is the party to be located - at the office or a private venue? How many people will be in attendance - will it be just staff or will they be allowed to bring a date? What style of party are you wanting - casual, semi-casual or formal? What type of food service to you envision - plated dinner, heavy appetizers, interactive stations, a dinner buffet? Or are you looking for a combination of different types of food service? Before you begin planning your party, you need to have a vision of what you are wishing to accomplish for your corporate holiday event. Then signify a budget that you are willing to invest to obtain that vision.
TIPS FOR HOSTING THE BEST CORPORATE HOLIDAY PARTY IN KANSAS CITY:
At Olive Events we strive to make each corporate holiday event a memorable catering experience, so here are some of our top tips for those looking to host their event in Kansas City.
1. CONSIDER FOOD ALLERGIES & REQUESTS: A good corporate party is inclusive, ensuring that all guests feel welcome and comfortable while attending. While curating a holiday party menu is a fun experience, you want to make sure to accommodate those with dietary restrictions or allergies. You want those guests to feel equally thought of and taken care of – not an afterthought. And you sure don’t want anyone unable to eat at the event! At Olive Events we’re happy to prepare gluten free, vegetarian, vegan and allergy friendly menus as requested. It’s just as important to us to take care of all your guests, including those with food allergies or preferences, as it is to you!
And we like to be anything but boring with those food requests. For example, a Beef Tenderloin, prepared medium rare, with Red Wine Demi-Glace, Buttermilk Whipped Potatoes and Asparagus is Gluten Free – and remarkably delicious! And one of our favorite Vegan dishes during the winter season is Roasted Acorn Squash filled with Quinoa, Roasted Apples, Cranberries and Wild Mushrooms with Balsamic Drizzle. Both of these dishes are beautiful in presentation, comply to guests’ gluten and vegan requests, and delicious! No afterthought found here!
2. EMBRACE THE ERA OF MOCKTAILS: In simple terms, a mocktail is a specialty mixed beverage that doesn’t include any alcohol. But that is where the simplicity ends, as the variety of flavors, glass options, and serving styles are endless and can be customized to match the festive nature of the corporate holiday party. They can be used as welcome drinks for guests attending the party, or displayed with fun stir-stick place cards assisting guests in finding their seat, or they can be at the tried-and-true location, the bar, where guests can explore different mocktail options. Mocktails can be used to create a guest experience, but they also provide a fun non-alcoholic alternative to soft drinks. It gives the non-drinking guest (whether they do not drink personally or are the designated driver) the opportunity to still enjoy the experience and feel included with the festivities. PS. Being that it is a holiday party, don’t exclude the idea of incorporating hot drinks – everyone loves a good hot cocoa station!
3. ALCOHOLIC OPTIONS THAT IMPRESS: Most corporate holiday parties have a bar option complete with beer, wine, and mixed drinks available to guests. When creating mocktails, give guests the option to add an appropriate liquor into their beverage. Or come up with some Holiday cocktails that can become your holiday party classics! Embrace the flavors of the season by incorporating them into the bar menu. At Olive Events, we love to make guests a Pomegranate Martini with a Rosemary sprig – it’s a punch of flavor with a hint of aroma. We’ve even served these in clear ornaments for an extra flair of festivity!
4. ENGAGE GUESTS WITH INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES: Interactive experiences get guests engaged and moving about the party. And it is a great way to change the event from year to year, while keeping guests entertained. Let’s give you an example to get you thinking outside the box: How about offering passed hors d’oeuvres at the beginning of your event, but take it up a notch by having the servers wear a light up dress that also doubles as the tray for passing. Yes, we’ve been asked to do it, and it was a crowd pleaser! Other interactive experiences could be introduced at stations, including a chef-ran carving station (feels like you are right there in the kitchen with us), or an area where guests can build their own beignets with sprinkles and condiments to drizzle. Interactive experiences keep guests entertained and socializing with each other – not to mention silently judging one beignet compared to the next. It’s a way to take the event to the next level – and enlist your catering team to do the work for you.
5. BRING ON THE BRANDING!: Branding includes your company’s logo, colors and graphics, the year’s successes, or anything you wish to highlight to your guests as they enjoy the corporate holiday party. And utilizing these items can not only be fun to build within the event concept, but it can be done in a classy way that reminds guests of their favorite company to work for. 😉 From custom stickers on takeout boxes, to company colors used to decorate the rim of glassware, to cookies created using the company logo, there are so many unique ways that your company’s branding can be reflected within the culinary and beverage experience of your guests.
These 5 tips will help to create the best corporate holiday party in Kansas City, or beyond. Collaborating with an experienced caterer, like us at Olive Events is a sure way that these elements (whether you pick 1 or all 5 of them) will help your event run smoothly. Your guests will know that you took time to consider their needs first and then built on that to make it a truly unique experience. Whether you’ve had the experience of working with Olive Events once or ten times, you know we love to work closely with our corporate event planners to create the perfect event that fits their vision and budget. And the best part is we can dream up these ideas together, and then you can sit back and enjoy the experiences yourself with your colleges.
Happy Holiday Event Planning!
