Planning a Corporate Party? How to Host a Successful Corporate Cocktail Party

Have you been put in charge of the office cocktail party and want it go off with a bang? Read these useful and perhaps not-so-obvious tips on planning and giving the perfect corporate party.

GIVE THE DATE OF YOUR PARTY CAREFUL CONSIDERATION

Spend a little time and thought when picking the right date for your corporate party. Choose a date that works for your business and staff to ensure maximum turnout. A mid-week date is usually a good choice as people have personal plans and commitments on Fridays and Saturdays. And try to avoid busy times for certain office departments. For example, avoid the quarterly or year-end rush for the finance department or clashing with the annual marketing roadshow.

GIVE ENOUGH NOTICE

Send out invitations about 10-14 days in advance and make sure you put RSVP on the invitation and whether or not the employees are allowed to invite their partners. Chase up the RSVPs three days before the party date so you can finalize the numbers.

LET YOUR BUILDING MANAGEMENT KNOW

Remember to notify your building management in writing that you are holding an office party.

SHORTER IS SWEETER

Corporate cocktail parties are typically held in the early evening and should not run too long. 6:00pm-8:30pm is a good time. By setting an end time, you can clear the venue out in prompt fashion and by keeping it short, you can ensure a better turnout. if you are going to have speeches, don't forget to make room for them in the schedule.

PICKING A THEME

If you pick a theme for your corporate party (and they tend to be more fun), try to carry it through to every aspect: from drinks, food, waiters' attire, background music, invitations and decorations.

Theme ideas:
1. Hollywood
2. Decades (the 20s, the 60s, the 70s, the 80s)
3. Famous couples
4. Color e.g. gold and black
5. Hawaiian Luaus
6. Country and Western
7. Kids (if you're giving a party for adults)
8. Shipwrecked / Pirates of the Caribbean
9. Wine tasting
10. Casino
11. Grease/Happy Days
12. Superheroes
13. Nuns and Vicars
14. Gangsters and Villains
15. Caveman
16. Greeks and Romans
17. Elvis
18. Countries and Cultures
19. Sports
20. Aliens
21. Superheroes and arch-villains

CREATE A MEMORABLE AND FRIENDLY WELCOME

Apart from the food and beverage staff, consider asking some staff to be greeters at the door. Not only can they take business cards and offer a cloakroom service, but it creates a friendly welcome from the start. Perhaps there is an opening activity to get people in the mood e.g. a cut-out photo opportunity (you know, the ones when you put your head in the space and end up with the body of a monster), or a giant autograph board. Or perhaps this is the moment that the Lucky Draw tickets are given out.

DON'T FEEL PRESSURE TO HAVE BACK-TO-BACK ENTERTAINMENT

Do not feel obliged to hire end-to-end party entertainers, play games or have speeches throughout the evening. There is nothing wrong with allowing your staff to talk casually and get to know each other in a relaxed social setting.

KEEP ALL SPEECHES SHORT

If you do have speeches, make sure to keep them short and if several people will be speaking you might want to break them out into two (or more) sessions.

Follow these tips and your office party should be a huge success!

Gemma Swansburg is a writer/researcher who has attended many a boring office party in her time. Maybe that's why she works from home now. Read Gemma's latest article, a set of Luminess Tan reviews the at-home self tanning system featured in Allure Magazine. For the best prices, special offers, airbrush make up tips and great before/after images for the Luminess airbrush system and other airbrush make up equipment, visit her site at airbrushmakeupfoundation.com.

Hosting - Party Game Ideas

Ok, so it's your turn to host this year's 4th of July party. As we all know too well, the downtime between eating and watching the fireworks can be a long and arduous one, especially if your party guests have children. So, to bail you out of hours of boredom and the thought of never being asked to host another 4th of July party, below are a few "themed" party games to entertain the masses.

The first one involves embracing your inner child - invite all party attendees to join in a parade. You can purchase streamers, party horns, balloons, obviously in red, white and blue and have them readily available for your guests or you could request they bring their pre-decorated bicycles or scooters/skateboards with them. Obviously, if you waited and did the decorating at you party; this would also help fill that void space of time until the fireworks. You can have prizes ready to hand out for the funniest, best all around or most creative. If you are extra adventurous, you can all line up and bravely peddle and scoot down your street with your parade.

Another fun party game is a balloon passing game. Again, purchasing the colors of red, white and blue would be in order. All of your party guests can play this game and you can either play as teams - men against women, adults again children, etc. or just play every "man" for himself in a straight line. This game can take on several varieties from the first person using their hands to pass the balloon to the second person who passes it with his legs to the next person having to pass the balloon using his/her neck. Get creative. Another variation of this game is to pass it to music, like musical chairs and whoever ends up with the balloon when the music stops is out. Last one standing is the winner. Since the 4th of July is usually a hot day, why not fill the balloons with water? Or whip cream for a messy game? It will bring out the kid in your guests and lots of fun can be had. (Obviously, if you're going to get wet or messy, you might want to tell your guests to bring an extra set of clothing).

Sidewalk Chalk Artwork - This game is good for both adults and children, but probably more for the children. Again, you can break the teams up with an adult/child or females or adults or one person "teams". (Those party guests that are party poopers can be the judges since they won't like to draw anyway). Take different colored chalk - again since this is a 4th of July part, you could try for red, white and blue. Have you guests draw a patriotic picture, with something specific having to be in the picture - like the flag, the Liberty Bell, fireworks, etc. You can pass out prizes to the winner of this game as well.

Charades - Like the game once played by many a youngster, you can play charades with a 4th of July theme. Some can act out being the Statue of Liberty, Abraham Lincoln, etc.

Along this same line you can play the guessing game where you fill a jar, yep, you guessed it with red, white and blue something; be it jellybeans, gum, hard candies, M&Ms, etc. and have your guests guess how many are in the jar. Obviously the winner would be the person who is the closest to the correct number without going over.

Last, but not least, fireworks. While they are not really a game, you can have your guests help organize which ones get set off after which. You have to be careful though because in some places blowing off fireworks at home is illegal and you should always be the pyrotechnician setting them off - not the children. The "I'm sorry officer I let a child get hurt while blowing off fireworks illegally at my home" game is not one that you get a really great prize for.

Hassan has been writing for 2 years. He writes about many other subjects such as Electric Garage Heaters and Propane Garage Heaters.

Easter Party Decorations - Host Your Easter Party On A Budget

Easter is arriving late this year on Sunday, April 24th. While the kids may not like the idea of having to wait a little longer for the Easter bunny to come deliver their Easter baskets... it's good news for those of you who are hosting an Easter party celebration for family and friends. The late date means you still have plenty of time to make plans for your special Easter celebration - from picking your favorite Easter holiday dishes to selecting your decorations, games, and activities.

You'll want to create a fun and festive atmosphere for your celebration or event. The first thing you'll want to do is decide on an Easter theme. There's so many fun ideas! You can celebrate with an extravagant champagne brunch, an Easter egg hunt, an Easter costume party, or any number of ideas you can come up with!

Luckily now days, you can find fun, festive Easter party decorations and supplies online at discounted prices in an extensive assortment of colors and designs.

Easter Party Invitations - Skip the phone calls to family and friends... instead, how about sending out custom-made Easter party invitations to your guests. Select a design that reflects your style and create your own personalized invitations. It's easy to do online and your guests will sure to be impressed! Choose from a great assortment, from traditional Easter bunny invitations to religious announcements.

Easter Party Tableware and Decorations - Celebrate in style with a colorful tablecloth with matching paper plates, cups and napkins. There's so many colors and patterns to choose from. Or customize your table with mix-and-match place settings. To make your table even more special, how about adding a matching centerpiece or beautiful Spring flower arrangement for an elegant touch.

Easter Banners and Balloons - No party would be a party without balloons and a banner. Easter banners are another fun way to liven up your event. Choose from ready-made banners or personalize your banner with your own special message. Easter themed latex balloons add a nice touch to the festivities. Pick from an assortment of Spring colors like blue, pink, yellow, green, or violet.

Easter Costumes - Dressing up in Easter costumes is a fun way to get into the spirit of this Springtime holiday. There are so many Easter costumes and styles to choose from for both adults and kids. Costumes like the classic Easter bunny, little lamb, Spring chicken, biblical costumes, and even sexy bunny costumes for the ladies.

So, get creative with your Easter festivities this year and check out some of these fun and unique ideas for your Easter holiday celebration.

In this article I've given you some great ideas for planning an Easter party celebration. For more Easter party decoration ideas as well as where to find Easter party decorations and supplies at UNBEATABLE prices, please visit my website now: http://easterpartysupplies.org

Hosting a Disney Cars Birthday Party

Cars is one of the most popular Disney movies for boys. It is also one of the most popular themes for a boy's birthday party. With Cars 2 being released in the summer of 2011, it will undoubtedly continue to be one of the most popular birthday party themes for some time to come. Fortunately, it's very easy to host a Disney Cars birthday party. Party favors are easy to find, and there are plenty of choices for Cars-themed games.

Invite Your Child's Friends and Family

Once you know that you want to host a birthday party based on this popular movie with Lightning McQueen, Mater, Luigi, and the rest of the gang at Radiator Springs, you'll have to decide who to invite. You might want a small party with just a few friends and family, a family-only party, or a party with your child's entire class. If you're just inviting a couple family members and close friends, you can probably get by with an email invitation or by calling them on the phone; if you're inviting classmates, you'll probably want to buy invitations. Fortunately, Disney Cars invitations are pretty easy to find.

Get the Right Decorations

One of the first things that you'll need to do is find the right decorations. You should be able to find Cars-themed invitations, cups, plates, and napkins at your local party store, or online. You also might be able to find tablecloths and wall decals featuring the popular characters. How much you decorate depends on your budget and what kind of space you're decorating for. If you're decorating for an outdoor party at a park, you'll probably want to skip the wall decals and get more balloons.

Find the Right Cake

It's easy to find a Cars-themed cake for your child's birthday party. Your local grocery store's bakery probably can make one for you. You might even be able to get an ice cream cake made for your party at an ice cream shop. If you prefer cupcakes, movie-themed cupcake toppers, baking cups, and racing flags are available. It's easy to bake your own cupcakes if you want to save a little bit of money. If you want to make your own cake, there are themed baking pans and cake toppers that can easily be found online.

Cars-Themed Games

Most kids can keep themselves pretty entertained at a party just by running around in the backyard, but you might want to include a game or two when you host your party. A piñata is popular with many kids; you might be able to find a Lightning McQueen piñata, or at least one with a race car on it. If you're a crafty kind of person, you might want to create a Lightning McQueen posture (without the number 95 on the side) and play "pin the 95 on Lightning McQueen". Another automotive-themed game that you might want to play is "Red Light Green Light".

Looking for Cars-themed cake and cupcake ideas? Brooke Lorren has written about how to decorate Cars cakes and cupcakes.