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The office is all about work on most days, but as the festive season is here, a few wild nights will likely be thrown into the mix as well. If you are planning on hosting a Christmas party in the office, you want to make sure it goes off without a hitch. To help you prepare for the upcoming Christmas party like a pro, here are a few awesome tips that just won’t let you down. Make Sure the Office is Clean Before we discuss decorations, the office must be made to shine first, and that requires a professional office cleaning service. Contact a company like Regional Services for a thorough clean before the festivities commence - you will likely need their help afterwards as well, for the postparty clean-up! They provide commercial cleaning services in London for both regular cleaning and one-off callouts. You will also need to make sure all employees have a clean desk policy before the party starts, and this includes making sure that any confidential information is properly filed away. Decide on the Theme The theme can of course be anything, but ideally, it should have some relevance to the company history - any significant event or just about anything else related to the establishment specifically. In case you are not sure how to go about it exactly, keep your decorations more in line with traditional Christmas themed office parties and it will look just fine. Only pay a bit of attention to the office’s general décor and see if you cannot work out a plan that makes use of the general design language. Involve Everyone Who Wants to be Involved An office is only an office because of the people working in it, and since they will also be the ones coming to the Christmas party mostly, why not involve them in the planning phase? Ask everyone to join in, then welcome the suggestions and help from anyone who takes you up on that offer. Not only will it provide you with more helping hands for organising the event, but it is quite likely that at least a few of them have done it before, so they could also contribute to office decorations and party preparations with their own ideas. This one step will make everything go faster, but stay in charge of the decisions, as a lot of people trying to work together could lead to conflicting ideas without someone to settle them. Activities are Essential A Christmas party that doesn’t include any activities is a boring one, which will lead to most people either leaving early or getting drunk! Planning the activities, however, is going to be different, depending on what the office rules are in regard to what is allowed, and what isn’t. Nonetheless, scavenger hunts, secret Santa, musical chairs, charades, a murder mystery, karaoke and a whole lot of other games can still work in any office environment. Live Music on a Budget? If there’s enough space, you can also consider arranging for quality live music. This is a budget strainer so, see if you cannot put together a small office band for the event by selecting amateur musicians from the employees themselves. You would be amazed at how many people have surprisingly impressive musical talents! In case that’s not an option, local, smaller bands often provide entertainment at a reasonable price, but you will have to book them in well advance, given that Christmas is a busy time for those working in the entertainment business. Food and Drinks: It’s a Costly Affair This is usually not a concern for larger businesses. It is, however, a big budget concern for smaller ones. Setting limits on both the drinks and the food is important to keep things in budget, so go with quality over quantity. Just in case you do have the budget, a restriction on alcohol consumption is still advisable. We all know a few colleagues who will drink until they pass out or cause a ruckus, so keep things in check to maintain the peace of Christmas as best as possible! Keep Your Office Safe from Radical Plans! As a final tip, we would advise reserving your more radical plans for only when you have the budget to go to a separate location for the party. After all, there’s only so much even a professional office cleaning crew can do if the party ends up damaging property! Always keep the potentially dangerous games and activities out of the Christmas party if you are going to hold it in the office itself. Unlike most other office parties, the Christmas party should ideally have a family aspect to it as well, so making it a family event is also a welcome idea to consider, but it will inevitably raise the budget.