Planning a formal holiday party is different than coordinating the details of an office party. The atmosphere you’re trying to create is different—or should be, if you use these tips to plan your formal holiday event.
Choose the right venue.
The right venue is more than a detail. It’s a requirement that ensures the success of your formal event. The perfect event fits your theme, location requirements, sizing and space specifications, chosen atmosphere, budget, and amenity needs. Because your venue needs to check off all the boxes, determine your goal and compile a guest list before you initiate a search for the perfect venue.
Give your guests an unforgettable entrance.
Event atmosphere starts at the door; formal events are not immune from creating a vital first impression. Hire entertainers that fit with your theme to greet your guests. To choose the right entertainers that fit with your holiday event theme, contact an entertainment agent that has experience and a full line-up of holiday entertainers to choose from.
Create awe.
Bring the wonder of the holiday into your event with every detail. Incorporate high impact pieces into your décor, such as table centerpieces and ice bars, that impress your guests and leave them wanting for more.
Use dinner entertainment to create atmosphere.
Your guests need to feel the formality of the event. Use dinner entertainment, like a string quartet or dueling pianos, to reinforce event formalness and give your guests something to talk about.
Make your main stage act a showstopper.
A formal event is nothing without a main stage act that fits the name. For a formal holiday evening, a White Christmas show fits the bill and the atmosphere. For another theme, contact an entertainment agent for an entertainer that can customize their act to your specific event theme. As with any formal event, you need to use a “larger than life” event planning strategy to create an awesome atmosphere that fits the holiday mood and the event formality.
