The holidays will soon be upon us. Some argue that the arrival of Labor Day officially ushers in our nation’s extended holiday season, while others view the transition of summer to fall as the more legitimate signaling of festivities to come. But for most, when Halloween night gives way to November 1st, the matter is firmly decided—holiday spirit is in full swing.

And with the arrival of the holidays, company gatherings are not far behind, which is a great reason to keep these themed corporate holiday event ideas in mind. Far too many company parties fall victim to the “mandatory fun” label, typically as a result of poor execution, an absence of imagination, or (most commonly) lackluster cuisine.

Take a few cues from these theme ideas for corporate holiday events and ensure your company’s party is well received by the staff you hope to please.

#1. Lights of the Holidays

The holiday season is a widely cherished time of year, if for no other reason than for the festive and often breathtaking lights in which neighborhood blocks, shopping plazas, and town centers become gloriously awash by late-fall.  Importing elements of this annual phenomenon into your corporate party will make for a gathering both classy and perfectly aligned with the season. Give your overhead bulbs a night off, and replace them with pleasant candle lighting.

Regardless of how your festively illuminated party comes together, the food should be first-rate across the board. Holiday cheese displays are always ideal starters for festive parties, while herb butter turkey accompanied by a side of white cheddar mashed potatoes will make for an excellent entrée. Both blend seamlessly with holiday lighting schemes.

#2. Film-Centric

Everybody has a favorite holiday film. Building your party around a “Night at the Movies” theme will be immediately popular. Trivia activities and re-enactment games are easy to arrange and a great way to garner high participation among your audience. You might also consider having an iconic seasonal film playing via projector while the gathering is underway. There’s no shortage of classics on that front.

Another way to enrich the atmosphere is with a creatively arranged tapas bar. Well-conceived tapas spreads consist of savory cheeses, quality meat offerings, artichoke kebabs, and a good deal more. As convenient finger food, tapas are particularly ideal for what will likely amount to an active and lighthearted affair. Involve an excellent caterer in the planning of your film-focused party with the aim of generating a fitting menu.

#3. Costumed Gathering

Although Halloween takes the spotlight as the holiday for costumed events, there is no legislation (that I know of) prohibiting the wearing of costumes after October 31st. Attendees will arrive ready to celebrate the holiday spirit, and themes of this sort lend themselves easily to contests: Best Costume, Most Unique Costume, Funniest Costume, and so on. If you would like to keep with the holiday spirit, consider a Santa/Elves sub-theme.

Costume assembly is time-consuming and parties mandating them can be overwhelming for some. Make sure to provide a hearty, delightful cuisine for the participants and guests, or risk a costumed revolt. Baked ham with a cranberry sauce side always makes for a delicious dinner entrée, particularly when it is prepared by a uniquely gifted catering professional who understands the importance of serving delicious food at events.

#4. Wintry Landscape

Although Southern California doesn’t see the type of weather that’s traditionally associated with winter, holiday parties are the perfect opportunity to create a festive ambiance. Capturing late-fall and early-winter seasonal elements (think: snow, woodland creatures, holly berries) is central to holiday imagery and is also ideal for the enriching or your corporate office party. Couple a creative blue/white lighting scheme with white backdrops and a few winter-specific props. A seasonal musical track will provide the perfect touch to achieve your desired wintery aesthetics.

In keeping with the seasonally rich experience, your menu should be designed with comfort foods and cuisine uniquely associated with colder climes and alpine environments. Expertly prepared meals and delicious appetizers are mandatory, but don’t shortchange your event on the dessert front. A caramel-laced heirloom apple pie will be the bow atop your winter-themed gathering, and a terrific way to conclude a hearty, creative holiday meal.

Need help planning the menu for your next corporate holiday event? Let Made by Meg match your menu to your theme. Connect today!

Birthday celebrations, sporting events, graduations, and, of course, holidays in these United States are widely acknowledged as being the most ideal and excusable periods of time in which to gorge oneself on indulgent foods the likes of which one is best advised to avoid under otherwise normal circumstances. And while birthdays are usually replete with punch and cake, gatherings predicated upon athletic contests (Super Bowl, NBA Finals, et cetera) with toppings-laden pizza and chicken wings (traditionally), and graduations with still more cake, the holiday season offers a sheer smorgasbord of rich, seasonally specific, indulgent baked goods and festive beverages.

In other words, it is a time in which to toss aside one’s sense of nutritional responsibility in order that the spirit of the season might not be slighted by dietary abstinence on what are to be the merriest of days. A promise of unfettered feeding is but one of the 10 reasons to host a holiday party at your office.

Okay, then–placing aside this fantastical thinking, there actually do exist a great many ways in which to enjoy holiday eating without forfeiting the health and fitness which provides for its bearer a far greater sense of fulfillment than could ever be equaled by a day (or month) of instantly regrettable binge-eating. When considering the below-listed 10 reasons to host a holiday party at your office, take inventory of all the responsible catering options at one’s disposal as they pertain to holiday party planning responsibilities; do right by guests, friends, and colleagues via providing wholesome foods which flavorfully align with the spirit of the season.

So long as the holiday season is upon us, why then should not the spirit of said season visit itself upon the professional spaces in which we are nominally most productive and in which a lion’s share of our waking hours are spent? The very notion itself provides occasion to bond with one’s colleagues in that time-honored manner which historically served our ancestors with the utmost reliability: over food. While reflecting upon the above-articulated suggestions, consider also these

10 reasons to host a holiday party at your office

Office Party Planning 

1. Camaraderie—Barriers come crashing down during periods of festivity, particularly when the provided food is to everyone’s liking. Facilitate the easing of tensions over a choice spread of quality dishes.
2. Variety—When encouraged to contribute a specialty of some sort, many an office worker or colleague will take it upon themselves to produce cuisine of particularly inventive nature. Expand one’s culinary horizons by prompting co-workers to do the same.
3. Morale—The days and weeks which comprise a year can drag-on in seemingly endless fashion, and often demoralizingly so. When the holidays make their annual appearance, welcome them in uplifting style. Wholesome, autumnal/winter foods will go a long way towards achieving increased morale, particularly in the context of a holiday soirée.
4. Leadership—“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…” or so Henry IV is thought to have remarked. Bosses often find their responsibilities rather lonesome in nature, as leadership tends to be a somewhat isolating phenomenon. Welcome your own management into the communal fold by ensuring their invitation to an office holiday party. Wise catering choices might just lend themselves to talks of promotion…for those who don’t mind a bit of uneasiness.
5. Leftovers—This one goes without saying, in truth. However, let us do the saying: provide generously day of, eat generously for days thereafter. Not all foods keep to an equal degree; though, with respect to those that do keep, holiday parties yield excellent dividends.
6. Trial Run—Holiday parties tend to precede their home front counterparts. Whatever culinary ambitions one might have been harboring since early-January may be trialed in the proving grounds of one’s office environment. Good work in the breakroom may well yield perfection in one’s dining room.
7. Dietary Influence—Share with colleagues the flavors provided by one’s favorite healthy catering operation; as in, the flavors they might otherwise never experience on account of being stuck in the convenience food ruts inhabited by so many a busy professional.
8. Unfamiliar Faces—Holiday parties benefit greatly from the presence of so-called “+1” guests. These are mostly spouses and significant others of one’s colleagues, many of whom are themselves familiar strangers. Appreciate the opportunity to revel in new company.
9. Anecdotal Gold—Even a comparatively tame party is bound to leave in its wake a narrative residue; each attendee belonging (to some degree or another) in some other attendee’s recounting of a notable tale. Enliven the office for months thereafter with the reliably unreliable telling of increasingly tall holiday party tales.
10. Creative Gift Exchanges—There are limits as to what co-workers are willing to spend on gifts for one another. With that in mind, invest a bit of time/energy in the engineering of an artful gift-swapping concept. One would do well to ready oneself for the inevitable appearance of homemade offerings, varying widely in terms of effort and material quality.

Ready to throw your next holiday party? Contact us today to organize all of your food needs.