Here I outline 3 ways to make your office Christmas party a success by identifying 3 main areas to consider: the venue, food and drink, and entertainment. But before you consider any options, you must determine your budget. Talk to your company’s financial manager to find out exactly how much you can spend.

Firstly, the venue where you will hold your office Christmas party. There are many factors to consider here. If it’s to be in the office, will there be space for catering? How many guests will be at the party? Will others such as spouses, partners or children be included? If children are invited the venue may have to be completely different to that of an all adult party and certain health and safety issues need to be looked into. If you decide on an off-site Christmas party you need to make sure you have a reservation before you announce the event. You can work on other details later, such as menu and decorations.

Once having selected your venue, food and drink is your next area to plan. If you are in charge of providing the food on-site, consider getting staff to bring a dish each and sign up on a sheet to say what they are bringing. This can keep the cost down if you are on a limited budget. You don’t have to have traditional Christmas holiday food.

Think about a theme and organize your food to relate to it. This can be followed through in your choice of decorations. If you are hosting your office Christmas party in the office, you may need to hire a bartender. Alternatively, you can set up self-service bars.

If you choose an outside caterer, you will need to select a menu and determine serving options. A restaurant may have a set menu or a few options so you have a selection of meals. Be sure to include some vegetarian options and check to see if any people have allergies that need to be taken into consideration. At an off-site venue you will need to choose the wine, beer and spirits you want to serve, but don’t forget the non-alcoholic drinks as well.

Be sure to draw up a contract with your venue that will outline the cost of the event including add-on expenses such as cleaning up, transportation and alcohol. Most venues have a person in charge of events management, so it’s good to get their name and contact details.

Finally entertainment at your office Christmas party. This is very much determined by your budget, venue and the group of people that will be attending. Music is essential for the atmosphere. Either in the form of a DJ, band or your own selection it is something that can get the party off to a good start. Renting a Karaoke machine is easily done.

Whether on- or off-site you might want to consider some games or activities. These can not only be fun for the family and kids if present, but can be a great icebreaker at parties. Consider a quiz game or charades. For parties that include children having a Santa at the party is always welcome, especially if the company can provide small gifts such as candy.

And lastly make sure you send out all your invitations in plenty of time. Christmas holiday season is one of the busiest of the year, so you will want to give plenty of advance notice to ensure a good attendance. This plus good planning is sure to make your office Christmas party a success.

At number five is the Liftimer Clock

This is quite a strange invention as it not only allows you to see the time but count down the time to many different things. This can be anything at all such as the time until your next coffee break or your next holiday. This is not a gift restricted to a certain sex so get it for anybody at all.

4. Portable I-Phone Charger

This quite literally does what it says on the tin and all you have to do is charge it up on your computer at home and then pop it into your pocket and when your I-phone is running low, simply pop it in for an extra twenty hours of music time or if you prefer, five extra hours talk time.

3. A breath tester small enough to fit onto a key ring

This can be a very useful thing to have at Christmas as it can be used to see if you are going to be fit to drive that car home.

2. The Star Wars R2D2 USB Hub

Although this is going to be one of those gifts for men this product can come in handy as it will provide you with four extra USB points to plug into which in turn can be very useful for anyone really struggling with the cables at the moment.

1. The Choclate Shot glass

No, number one is not one of those fancy new toys, just a normal shot glass but made out of chocolate to add that extra bit of taste to it. The reason it is at number one is simple, it is one of those things that comes in very handy at a Christmas or New Year party.