You didn't volunteer for this. Nobody ever does. Someone in a meeting said "we should do something for Christmas this year" and before you could look away, everyone was looking at you. Congratulations, you're organising the office Christmas party.
The good news: it's not actually that hard, provided you start early enough and make a few key decisions upfront. The bad news: if you leave it until November, every decent Friday and Saturday in December will already be booked.
This is the checklist we wish someone had given us. We've helped hundreds of companies organise their staff Christmas party at The Anchor over the years, and we've seen what works, what falls apart, and what makes the organiser's life significantly easier. Use it, forward it to whoever drew the short straw next year, and stop worrying.
The month-by-month Christmas party planning checklist
July-August: lay the groundwork
This feels absurdly early. It isn't. If you're wondering how far in advance to book a Christmas party, the answer is: earlier than you think. Here's what to do while everyone's still thinking about summer holidays.
- Send a quick survey. Three questions: What day of the week works? Lunch or dinner? Any dietary requirements? Use a Google Form or a quick Teams poll, don't overthink it. You need a rough steer, not a binding contract.
- Get a headcount range. You won't have exact numbers yet. That's fine. You need to know whether you're planning for 15 or 50, because that changes the venue, the format, and the budget.
- Set the budget. Talk to whoever controls the purse strings. Get a per-head figure or a total ceiling. If the company's contributing, find out how much. If it's self-funded, work out what people are willing to pay. More on this below.
- Start browsing venues. You don't need to book yet. Just get a sense of what's available. Search for "christmas party near me" or "christmas party venue" and make a shortlist of three or four places worth calling.
September: book the venue
This is the month that separates the organised from the panicked. Every Friday and Saturday in December has a limited number of slots. By October, the popular dates are gone.
- Book the venue. Call your shortlist, check availability, and lock in your christmas party booking. A deposit secures the date, don't wait for perfect information.
- Confirm the format. Sit-down meal, buffet, or drinks and canapes? The venue needs to know to plan staffing and kitchen prep.
- Ask about current seasonal options. Plenty of venues change offers through the year. At The Anchor, we only confirm offers that are live for your booking date.
- Check logistics. Parking, public transport links, accessibility. If half the team will be driving, a venue with free parking saves everyone £15-20 each compared to a city-centre location.
October: nail down the details
You've got the venue. Now it's about the details that make the night run smoothly.
- Collect menu pre-orders. If your venue offers a pre-order system, use it. It's far better than a shared spreadsheet that nobody fills in. At The Anchor, we send you an online pre-order form, you just forward the link, and everyone picks their own choices. No chasing.
- Confirm dietary requirements. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergies. Get these in writing, not from memory. Your venue's kitchen needs at least two weeks to plan around them.
- Sort transport. If the venue isn't walkable from the office, work out who's driving, who's getting a taxi, and whether it's worth booking a minibus. A shared taxi fund of £5 per head covers a lot of problems.
- Set a deadline for RSVPs. Make it clear: if you haven't confirmed by [date], we can't guarantee a seat. People respond to deadlines. They don't respond to "let me know when you can."
November: chase, finalise, invite
- Chase the stragglers. There will be people who haven't responded. One reminder email, then a personal nudge. After that, assume they're not coming.
- Finalise headcount with the venue. Most venues need final numbers two to three weeks before the event. Don't wait until the last minute, kitchens order food based on your confirmed count.
- Plan entertainment. If your works christmas do needs more than good food and conversation, now's the time to sort it. Background music? A quiz? Awards? Keep it simple, forced fun is the enemy of a good night.
- Send the proper invite. Include: date, time, venue name and address, dress code (if any), what's included, what's not included, and transport info. A calendar invite with a map link goes a long way.
December: the final stretch
- Submit final headcount to the venue 7 days before. This is your hard deadline. Changes after this point cause real problems for the kitchen.
- Brief the team on logistics. A short email the day before: reminder of the time, the address, parking details, and what to do if they're running late.
- Relax and enjoy it. You've done the work. The venue takes it from here. Your job on the night is to turn up, have a drink, and accept the inevitable "thanks for organising this" from people who had no idea how much effort it took.
The five decisions every organiser has to make
Beyond the timeline, there are five choices that shape your entire corporate christmas party. Make them early and everything else follows.
1. Lunch or dinner?
A daytime christmas do has real advantages. People are fresher, less likely to overdo it on the drinks, and you avoid the late-night taxi scramble. It's also cheaper, lunchtime slots are easier to book and often come with better pricing.
Evening works better if you want a longer, more relaxed affair. People are in "night out" mode rather than clock-watching. The trade-off is availability: every company in the country wants a Friday evening in December.
Midweek tip: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings are significantly easier to book and often cheaper. Your staff christmas party doesn't have to be on a Friday.
2. Sit-down or buffet?
A sit-down meal feels more "event." There's a structure to the evening, starters, mains, desserts, speeches if you're doing them. It works well for groups under 40 where you want everyone at one table or a few tables together.
A buffet is more flexible. People can move around, chat to different colleagues, and eat at their own pace. It's usually cheaper per head, and it's far easier to cater for dietary requirements when people can choose from a spread. buffets priced from the live approved source make it viable even on a tight budget.
For groups over 30, buffets tend to work better logistically.
3. Entertainment or just food and drinks?
Not every christmas party needs a DJ, a photo booth, and a karaoke machine. Some of the best office parties we've hosted have been great food, a well-stocked bar, and people actually talking to each other. If your team don't normally socialise outside work, structured entertainment (a quiz, a game, a music round) gives people something to do. If they're already a sociable bunch, let the evening breathe.
4. Budget per head, how to set it fairly
The average spend on a corporate christmas party in the UK sits around £30-50 per head for food alone, before drinks. That can go higher in London or lower if you're savvy about venue choice.
At The Anchor, christmas party package pricing is confirmed from the current approved source when you enquire, with a proper menu rather than a production-line hotel dinner.
If the party is self-funded, be honest about what people can afford. A £25 per head contribution covers a very decent buffet with drinks. A £40-50 contribution gets a sit-down meal. Nobody should feel priced out of the works christmas do.
5. Location, what actually matters
The "perfect location" depends on your team. Near the office? Near good transport links? Somewhere with character that people will actually remember?
Three things that matter more than postcode:
- Parking. If people are driving, free parking is a genuine differentiator. Airport hotels near Heathrow charge £15-25 per car. That adds up fast.
- Accessibility. Can everyone get there? Check train, bus, and taxi options. A venue that's a ten-minute taxi from the nearest station is manageable. Forty minutes isn't.
- Private space. Sharing a room with three other companies kills the atmosphere. A private or semi-private area makes it feel like your party, not a cattle market.
Common mistakes to avoid
We see these every year. They're all avoidable.
Booking too late. Friday and Saturday dates in December are gone by mid-October. This is the single biggest mistake. If you've been wondering how far in advance to book a christmas party, the answer is now, not "after half-term."
Not accounting for dietary requirements. One in four adults in the UK has a dietary restriction of some kind. If your pre-order form doesn't ask about allergies, intolerances, and preferences, you'll find out on the night when someone can't eat anything on the table.
Forgetting transport. The venue might be perfect, but if nobody can get home afterwards, you'll hear about it for months. Check last trains, taxi availability, and parking before you book.
Setting the budget too low. A christmas do that feels cheap is worse than no christmas do at all. Skimping on the food to save £3 per head is a false economy. People notice.
Not getting a headcount commitment early. "I'll let you know nearer the time" is not a commitment. You need numbers to book, and the venue needs numbers to plan. Set a deadline and stick to it.
The organiser's secret weapons
A few things that'll make your life easier and make you look like you know what you're doing.
Use the venue's pre-order system. If your christmas party venue offers online pre-ordering, use it. It saves you from maintaining a spreadsheet, chasing people for their choices, and manually collating dietary requirements. At The Anchor, our pre-order form handles all of this, you forward a link, people fill it in, done.
Get a VAT invoice upfront. If the company's paying, your finance team will want a proper VAT invoice for the christmas party booking. Ask for this when you book, not after the event when the venue's accounts team has moved on to January.
Ask about organiser support. Some venues help the person doing all the legwork. At The Anchor, you get a clear contact and a simple pre-order process.
Book midweek for better value. A Tuesday or Wednesday in December gives you better availability, often lower prices, and a more relaxed atmosphere. Your team won't care what day of the week it is once the drinks are flowing.
Get a dedicated contact at the venue. You don't want to explain your requirements to a different person every time you call. Ask for a named contact who'll handle your booking from start to finish.
Make it easy on yourself
If you've read this far, you're already more prepared than 90% of office christmas party organisers. The checklist works. Start early, make the five decisions, and pick a venue that does the heavy lifting for you.
At The Anchor, we've been hosting staff christmas parties, corporate christmas parties, and works christmas dos for years. We know what makes them work and, just as importantly, what makes the organiser's life bearable.
Here's what you get when you book with us:
- Christmas party packages priced from the current approved source for three-course meals or buffets
- Current seasonal options confirmed when you enquire
- Online pre-order system, no spreadsheets, no chasing
- Free parking on site, no meters, no charges, no validation stamps
- 7 minutes from Heathrow Terminal 5 and outside the ULEZ zone
- Organiser support because someone should make your job easier
- Proper VAT invoices for your expenses claim
- A dedicated contact from first enquiry to the night itself
Whether you're planning an intimate team dinner for 12 or a full corporate christmas party for 60, we'll make it straightforward. That's what we do.
Ready to get the christmas do sorted?
The Anchor Horton Road Stanwell Moor Surrey TW19 6AQ
Call us: 01753 682707 Email: [email protected]
View our Christmas party packages | Corporate bookings
The Anchor is a village pub in Stanwell Moor, seven minutes from Heathrow Terminal 5. Free parking, outside ULEZ, and properly good food. We've been hosting christmas parties since before it was called a "christmas do."