Company Christmas Party Or Holiday Event Planning Made Easy -
By Boris Cherniak, Sat Dec 10th

“Holiday entertainment planning is a serious business – a lothappens behind the scenes, long before the CEO says thanks for ajob well-done”, says Incredible BORIS (Boris Cherniak). Aroundthis time of the year, human resources managers and company CEOsare asking the age-old question - How do we make our holidayevent an affair to remember? After all, we are simply trying tothank the employees, suppliers and their families for a job welldone throughout the year. We also want this event to motivatethe group to be happy and productive in the future. This is amore difficult task that may appear from outside.

“The people planning functions have an enormous task of fittinginto the ever-shrinking budgets while keeping party-goerssatisfied,” says Boris Cherniak, corporate event planningprofessional, comedy hypnotist entertainer and motivationalspeaker.

Here is a helpful checklist of planning an affair for theholidays (as provided by Boris Cherniak): 1. Budget. Break downall the amounts allocated to each task then you can have a clearview of how much room you have to play. Spend it wisely and knowwhat your limitations are. The old rule of thumb is you get whatyou pay for. If it appears too inexpensive, it may be theinexperience or you will not be getting what you expected. Getthe best value possible with the resources you have available.It is easy to spend ANY budget. You may have to make a fewsacrifices. What gets eliminated first and what should be keptat any cost? Always keep in mind of what the overall impressionby the attendees will be. Leave a lasting impression. 2. Numberof people in attendance – estimate the number of people expectedat the party. Keep in mind that a small percentage may notattend due to lack of babysitters, illness or vacation. 3. Bookbanquet hall facilities, venue location. Pick a location that isconvenient for your group with amenities like transportation,parking, etc. 4. Food and catering – dinner / lunch, drinks orbuffet – most halls will offer you different choices of mealoptions, hors d’oerves, desserts and per person amounts. Makesure there are enough choices for all tastes. 5. Schedule andtiming. It is easy to under-estimate the amount of time afunction will take due to many unforeseen circumstances. Factorssuch as how long the speeches will take, time to bring out thefood or attendees arriving late due to a freak snowstorm ortraffic. This can change the dynamic of your event - planaccordingly and have a contingency plan. 6. Entertainment –comedian, hypnotist, juggler, psychic, magician, DJ and dancing,party games. Entertainment is a wonderful way to make your eventmemorable. Entertainment comes in many budgets and styles. Picka solution that will not only make the company and event plannerlook good, but will leave a lasting impression on the attendees.Explore different options best suited to your group. Local ornational performers can be considered. Many are available on theweb and could be your first place of inquiry. Many agencies havea roster of people they can suggest. Never forget to look withinyour company for entertainment suggestions and talent (in everycompany there is a band or a disk jockey that would be more thanhappy to accommodate your budget and show off their talents).Keep in mind that entertainers are extremely busy during theholiday season – leaving booking your entertainment until thelast minute is not a good idea as your date may no longer beavailable. 7. Sound, lighting, projection equipment and audiovisual materials – Have a run-through and make sure everythingis in place before your audience arrives so that you don’t haveto deal with “technical difficulties”. 8. Accommodations for anyout of town guests and transportation to and from the airport.9. Taxi cabs for anyone that over-indulges in the open barconcept and to avoid liability. 10. Registration – name cardsfor

your guests, open seating or pre-arranged seating plan. 11.Awards, door prizes and giveaways. Many of these can be donatedby your suppliers or provided to you at their cost for yourholiday event. It shows good faith, and don’t be surprised ifthe suppliers return the favor. 12. Party theme and décor –color scheme, chair covers, centerpieces, flowers, icesculptures. One of the more unique ideas I saw recently was asports theme, where instead of elegant centerpieces, sportsmemorabilia was placed in the center of the tables, which wasavailable for the guests to take home – these included runningshoes and football helmets. 13. Dress and attire. Let theattendees know what to expect to wear – formal, casual orbusiness attire. We all heard a story of a prank where a personis invited to a pajama party when it’s a formal affair. 14.Invitations or a simple announcement in the company newsletterand bulletin board. 15. Contracts. Commit to the people you willbe doing business with, since it usually is done on a first comebasis. Halls, performers and caterers have limited availability.Be decisive and direct. Most people will give you a price rangethat would depend on your choice of options. Many eventsuppliers will require deposits to commit. 16. Presentations –keep the speeches brief and to the point. Number of speakersshould be kept down to a minimum. After all, people are there tobe social and not to be lectured. 17. Everyone wants to have aparty on a Saturday. You may find that having an alternate dayof the week may greatly reduce your expenses and make it easierto hire entertainment and book your venue. Also, consider havingyour function early afternoon. A lunch is less expensive than aseven-course dinner. 18. Include a table for the crew,entertainment and other behind-the-scenes people. They, at timesforget to eat to make sure your event runs smoothly. Show themthe spirit of the holiday season and include them in yourcelebrations. 19. If your business is busy during the holidayseason, consider having your event earlier or later. It shouldnot make a difference if your function is held in November orJanuary instead of December. 20. Have a cell phone handy for anylast-minute emergencies the day of your event. If a cell phoneis not an option (no signal or simply unavailable), make sureyour suppliers have the venue address and phone number. Yourfunction will be attended by people from many walks of life andbackgrounds - politically correct term is Holiday Party. Make itchic, memorable and fun. Have people walk away saying - I had agreat time, that was incredible.” He is a wordsmith comedian,observer and commentator on society quirks, obsessions andstereotypes. Incredible Boris is not just a stage name, but alsoa way to describe a positive attitude and a constant state ofmind. The Incredible Boris is an expert in psychology, hypnosis,body language, power of suggestion and human behavior. Heauthors a popular ezine “power words and phrases” through hisweb sites www.comedywood.com or www.IncredibleBORIS.com orwww.HypnotistShow.com Boris has been featured on numeroustelevision programs, including Montel, Howie Mandel Show and theprestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Boris’self-hypnosis Relaxation and Motivation CD is available throughhis web site or as a giveaway to complement his performance atyour company’s function during this holiday season. HappyHolidays.

About the author:The Incredible Boris is a comedy stage hypnotist that appears inalmost 300 live performances yearly at functions for mostfortune 500 companies and their competitors. He is a frequenttalk show guest and delivers a comical point of view to anotherwise serious subject of human behavior and expression.