Are you the lucky one who gets to pick out the holiday dinner party for your law firm, playgroup or charity board? There are so many restaurants it can be overwhelming to start but below are a few things that help narrow down your restaurant options and select one that will create a feeling of celebration.
10 Tips for selecting a Holiday Party Venue:
- Ask collegues where they like to celebrate their anniversaries or birthdays – you may find a new gem
- Private rooms are the best thing you can do for a holiday dinner party. You want your guests to be able to mingle and relax and having a private room provides the right setting for this type of interaction.
- OpenTable.com has a feature that lets you view all restaurants that have banquet facilities and private dining rooms.
- Eliminate restaurants that say your group must be done at a certain time.
- Determine if this is going to be a “fancy night out” or a casual affair. There are a lot of restaurants inbetween but at least you can cut out a large portion of the list.
- Is there a chance your host will want audio visual for an awards recognition or give a short speech? If so, discuss this with restaurant managers upfront – you will probably narrow the list immediately.
- Consider the perception. Although restaurants at a Four Seasons or Ritz are superb, if your company recently had cut backs or you are a non-profit consider the negative implications of hosting a dinner at this type of facility, even if the price is equal to other restaurants. This is a potential PR nightmare.
- Consider where majority of your guests live and try to stay within thirty minutes of that region. Eliminating everything outside of a geographical circle narrows your selection and keeps you focused.
- Ask the restaurant manager how many other groups they have on the same evening as yours. If you have found the perfect place but there are two other groups that evening, ask how they will space out the orders to ensure your guests are not waiting two hours for cold food.
- Request a manager be assigned to your group the night of the event to take care of any issues.
In this economy, you may find that pricier restaurants are now willing to offer group rates that haven’t been available in the past. For a short list of ideas to help shave the dinner party budget check out this entry.
Your group is probably happy meeting anywhere and the venue you chose will be a special evening to remember.
Happy Holiday Planning.
Check out Bonjour Events for event planning tips, resources and templates.
thanks! this helped me plan our christmas dinner