With the festive season approaching, your company may be planning an end-of-year party for the staff and their families. If you are part of the team that is in charge of planning that event, then you definitely want to do a great job that will impress your boss and fellow colleagues. From the theme to the catering, it can seem like there are a million things to do before the actual D-day. However, even as you continue with the planning process, it is important for you to keep in mind some common mistakes that have the potential of ruining your office event. Here are five huge mistakes to avoid when planning an office party:
   1. Underestimating the budget
Ask any event planner and they’ll tell you that unexpected expenses are almost guaranteed to arise during any event planning process. For this reason, you shouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating the budget. If your office has ever had a similar gathering in the past, find out what the budget was and set this as a general guideline when planning your budget. Always keep receipts of all payments made and be sure to research widely before settling on a particular venue or service provider. This ensures that you get the best deal in the market.
   2. Being understaffed
According to an article on The Balance SMB, you shouldn’t underestimate the amazing value of having some additional help during your event. Depending on the number of guests, ensure that you have enough waiters or waitresses. Furthermore, you might need to hire adequate assistance for setting up of the décor and transport of chairs, tables and other manual work. You would rather have too many workers as opposed to having inadequate helpers. Besides, no one wants to show up as a guest at an event only to be told that they need to help out in one way or another. Always hire the right number of staff to ensure that your guests enjoy the event without any interruptions.
   3. Forgetting to hire cleaning services
Many people forget to hire professional cleaners to clean up after the event. Many caterers don’t provide clean-up services, especially if you are holding the office party at your company’s premises. Thus, ensure that you get the best office cleaning crew to provide event cleanup services.
   4. Inadequate signage
Have you ever gotten lost when looking for the venue of an event? Well, you definitely wouldn’t want this to happen to your guests. For this reason, you should always have enough signage that can be placed at the entrance and other landmarks. Have enough signs to point people to the washrooms, the parking lot and other important areas.
   5. Having no understudies
In a play, every actor has an understudy who knows their lines so that they can step in for the main actor incase anything happens on the day of the performance. You should employ the same strategy when planning your office party. Always have a replacement on hand for your DJ, main speaker and even the emcee. This ensures that the program will continue to run smoothly in the event that someone fails to appear.
