If there’s one recurring theme at this year’s Christmas parties in Leeds then it’s the appearances of the likes of Abba, Tom Jones, Take That and George Michael at intimate venues all across the city throughout December. Now usually you wouldn’t get to see these megastars anywhere smaller than a large field, sports stadium or concert arena, but here at Eventa we wanted to give you Yorkshire folk the opportunity to pay tribute to the stars, Christmas party nights Leeds style!

What this entails is wonderfully authentic performances from expert pop and rock star impersonators as you sit mere feet away enjoying sumptuous Christmas party food and drink. Down at the city’s beloved Elland Road stadium you’ll be able to experience the wonders of one of the UK’s hottest Robbie Williams tribute acts. Let him entertain you with all those famous hits whilst you sing along and clap your hands!

Tribute nights Leeds continue across the city near Seacroft as Michael Buble, Pink and the King of Pop Michael Jackson come to town. Sorry boys, this is one geared towards to girls, who’ll be swooning to the likes of ‘Just Haven’t Met You Yet’.

The movie world is also given a look in over the festive period with a series of Leeds Christmas parties entitled ‘Hollywood’. Here you can expect casinos, cocktails and corsets, not to mention red carpet arrivals and awaiting paparazzi to go with the glamorous decor and famous film scores from across the years.

Company Christmas parties are getting exciting again after a tough spell on company budgets and we are continuing to ensure that you only have the finest Christmas parties to choose from, wherever you are based. Our tribute acts will be bringing the house down this December and we’d like to invite you all along for the ride.

A £3.2m extension aimed at both expediting customers’ passage through the city’s airport and experience of arriving in the North East could be ready in time for a season of exciting Christmas parties Newcastle style, it has been revealed. The work, including the addition of extra baggage search lanes and a refurbishment of the pier housing the airport’s departure and arrival gates, commences early next month and will go a long way towards improving passengers’ immediate perception of the region. Bright, spacious departure and arrival gates will create a picturesque, inviting first port of call.

Now, we here at Eventa aren’t ones to shy away from thinking up new and innovative ways to experience your company Christmas party and upon hearing about the planned extension at the gateway to one of our favourite Christmas party destinations we decided to get in on the act. Of course local companies have no excuse when it comes to enjoying festive events such as To Russia With Love, Murder Mystery and Stars On Stages on their doorstep, but we reckon that small companies based as far away as the South of England should perhaps consider a Christmas party Newcastle style this year! For the same price as a Christmas party in London, you could all hop on a plane and be on Tyneside in under and hour. Having undergone a huge series of regeneration projects, the city centre is starting to look as swish as its airport with a ground-breaking portfolio of interesting Christmas party venues, clubs, pubs and restaurants to enjoy.

The aforementioned To Russia With Love event is certainly one of those Christmas parties to go the distance for. Set amongst grand settings, guests enjoy their Christmas dinner surrounded by a mock-up of the Tsar’s palace and are entertained by Cossack sword dancers, fire eaters and aerial trapeze artists. Once all the fun and festivities are over, the city has a wealth of high quality hotels in which to rest weary legs before hot-footing it back to the South the next day. Get involved!

Over the course of our last few Christmas party blogs we’ve been telling you all about things that we think you should do. So with that in mind, we thought it was high time we let you know about a few things that you shouldn’t be doing at your Christmas party. We’ll own up here, we’ve found ourselves in several of these ill-advised situations ourselves over the years but hey, we’re all human and we like to think that we’ve lived and learned. We’ve done it so you don’t have to, hopefully! So without further ado, here’s our five essential Christmas party don’ts.

Kiss The Boss’ Wife/Husband

Pretty self-explanatory this one. If you find yourself flirting with or, in a worst case scenario, kissing the boss’ wife or husband, expect to find your P45 waiting on your desk the next morning, and that’s if you’re lucky!

Drink Too Much Before Dinner

We’ve all been found guilty of this one a few times. Being excited about your Christmas party and wanting to celebrate the festive season wholeheartedly is great, but we advise that you pace yourself with the drinks, especially before you’ve had a chance to eat anything. A pre-dinner drink or two, followed by bottle of wine with dinner and plenty of water is usually the best way to celebrate without overdoing it.

Expose Yourself

This doesn’t happen too often at Christmas parties but when it does it can sour the whole event. Remember that if you are attending a shared Christmas party you’ll be sharing the room with a number of other groups that probably won’t see the funny side. In any case, keep your shirt on and look the part in a classy way!

Declare Your Undying Love For A Colleague

After a few tipples it might seem like a good idea to take the plunge and let that office crush know how you feel about them but we speak from experience when say that this is not such a good call. This is one Christmas party trick that usually leads to embarrassment the next morning. Don’t get us wrong, office romances can of course blossom if both parties are willing, but on the whole it is one-way traffic!

Pass Out Before Midnight

You shouldn’t be passing out full-stop but if you are nodding off before Midnight, whilst all your friends and colleagues are having the time of their lives on the dance floor, you’ll look really silly and be the butt of all jokes from now on.

So there you have it! Follow these five easy Christmas party ideas and you are halfway towards having a cracking festive event. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for our five Christmas party DOS!

With roughly two months to go before the peak of Christmas Party season it now really is time to start planning the event.

To help you out we’ve highlighted five of the mos important things to remember before your Christmas party.

TIP ONE

Pick a theme

At the earliest stage decide what theme your Christmas party night will take as there is nothing worse than deciding on a fancy dress theme at the last minute when you’ve already ordered decorations and handed out invitations. Choosing early means you can get the most out of your chosen theme in all aspects of your party.

TIP TWO

Invite the guests

Now that you’ve chosen your party theme you can create your personalised party invitations and hand them out. Don’t hang around as given the time of the year there will be loads of parties to choose from and you don’t want your guests getting double booked before they’ve even heard about your party.

TIP THREE

Organise the venue

Check and double check that your party venue is expecting you and they know the numbers involved. It happens far too often that venues double book, so avoid the heartache and stress by clearing this up at the start. Then make sure they know what you have planned right down to the fine details.

TIP FOUR

Book entertainment

Unless the venue are laying on the entertainment this is something or get organised early as anyone with a small amount of talent will be booked up well before your Christmas party unless you get very lucky. Make sure the venue is happy with the entertainment you’ve got in mind too.

TIP FIVE

Get enough food!!

Nothing can kill a party quite like having dozens of hungry guests, either waiting for food that never comes or being underwhelmed by what does show up. This may sound selfish, but guests always expect a good spread when they turn up to any kind of party.

Alternatively check out Eventa.co.uk and leave the Christmas party organising to the professionals.

Christmas parties can be the same every year and as we get older the years seem to come around quicker and quicker, so rather than looking forward to our festive bash it can become a chore.

The same old decorations, same Xmas songs, same food and the same costumes. It is said that variety is the spice of life, so why not consider an alternative Christmas party and go with a totally random theme.

Some traditionalists will undoubtedly complain that it is not the spirit of Christmas, but everyone still gets to party, so why not wear Hawaiian outfits, eat barbeque food and listen to cheesy pop? There is no harm in that, is there?

Christmas parties can be organised which hold no resemblance to Santa, Rudolph and Baby Jesus, while Noddy Holder and Shaun MacGowan will be silent for once at this time of the year.

For a sample of the types of Christmas party packages that you can embrace with your company or group of friends, we have the following:

Safari Theme – It may be cold outside, but in your Christmas party venue it’ll be an African safari park, so dress appropriately and look forward to tucking into some wild grub. No turkey and definitely no gravy here.

Casino Nights – There will be no Santa dishing out presents here, but if you are lucky you can fill your boots courtesy of the house on a casino themed party. Dress like James Bond and Pussy Galore and replace your mulled wine with a martini, shaken or stirred.

A good way of spicing up Christmas parties, which can be rather formulaic year-on-year, is to make it fancy dress.

Office Christmas parties can need a kick start to get everyone in the mood to party and then before long the guests are well on their way to drinking far too much brandy, mulled wine and everything else  stocked behind the bar.

So if the party is to be fancy dress what are your options for outfits that will stand you out from the crowd, or leave guests wondering who it is behind the mask or decorations.

The obvious choice is a Santa outfit for the men, who don’t need to hold on their beer belly for a night, while the sexy Santa outfits are always a big success. However, it is predictable and a little boring, especially after the ‘you can sit on my knee’ line has been used a dozen times.

Santa of course needs little helpers, so if you don’t mind playing second fiddle to the man in red and white you can come as an elf, or if you’re feeling particularly adventurous a reindeer, although you do not want to be lumbered eating carrots all night long.

One that is usually only for the ladies is to come as an angel with wings and halo, or on a similar theme a fairy complete with her magic wand.

You could come dressed all in white and be a snowman, or a snowwoman of course, but there are costumes out there for those that want to be an inanimate object during the Christmas party night.

Come as a Christmas present and wait to be unwrapped, or come as a Christmas tree and see you have hanging off your arm by the end of the night? We’ve also seen Christmas pudding costumes, but the danger with this one is being set alight with brandy.

All of these costumes and more are available for an Xmas party night to remember, or you can get creative and make your own festive masterpiece.

The Christmas party season is now upon us and with it brings the tradition of having a festive kiss under the mistletoe.

However, in the climate of fear over swine flu we are being advised to take precautions when swooping in for a quick peck under the foliage.

Etiquette advisers Debrett’s have issued advise to help keep partygoers health aware this year, starting with the opinion that anyone feeling unwell should stay away altogether.

For that mistletoe moment the advice is to briefly touch cheeks with the other person, without leaving a saliva trail. Even air kissing with an audible ‘mwah’ is off limits to prevent the spread of bacteria.

Debrett’s etiquette adviser, Jo Bryant, said: “Personal space is a big issue for a lot of people, regardless of whether there is a national swine flu outbreak.

“People are more aware of spreading germs this year and there is a certain set of manners surrounding this.

“If you are going to kiss under the mistletoe this year, people should remember others may not want your lurgy over Christmas just for the sake of a peck.”

However, a kiss is still deemed to be more hygienic than greeting with a handshake given our germ-laden palms.

Merry Christmas Everyone

If you’ve been given the task of arranging the office Christmas party, you might be considering using a party planning company or agency to book your annual festive bash. Using a third party company can save a lot of time and take out a lot of the stress in organising one of the biggest social events for your company of the year! It means you don’t have to worry so much about the tiny details of the Christmas party, and gives you more time to enjoy the build up to Christmas. We’ve put together some handy hints and tips to help you should you decide to book through a Christmas party planning company or agency.

What are the benefits of working with a third party?

One of the benefits about working with a third party is that they usually work directly with a variety of venues and a number of different companies, meaning they can usually show you a whole range of different parties from different suppliers which saves you trying to research each individual company. It also means that you don’t have to individually book the venue, the food, the entertainment and try to synchronise everything! You can simply look at a number of packages or tell the company what type of party you’re looking for and they can use their expertise to point you in the right direction.

Have a rough idea of what you want

Before you get in touch with your chosen agency, it’s a good idea to have some thoughts written down about what kind of party you feel would be best for your business. Things to consider is the location, the kind of venue and food you would liked served and also have a think about what kind of entertainment would appeal to you and your guests. If the agency has a website it’s a good idea to have a quick browse through it to find some inspiration about what you might like before you chat to them.

Make sure your expectations are clear

Once you have chosen a party package the company will usually send you through written confirmation of what will be delivered on the night, the cost, when the deposit should be paid and for how many people the party will be for. It’s always good to have this confirmed in writing so that both you and the agency know what you are expecting from the Christmas party. Once you have this, it’s also important to let your boss and colleagues have this information so they know what they will be looking forward to – unless you’re planning a surprise of course!

Understand the terms and conditions

Make sure you are familiar with the company’s terms and conditions so there’s no confusion later down the line. It’s also very important to know when the deposit it required to confirm your party, when final numbers are needed, full payment and also what their policy is on cancellation should that occur. By making yourself aware of this you will make it easier to handle such situations if and when they arise.

Why not browse through some of our popular destination for some ideas. Such as London Christmas Parties and Birmingham Christmas Parties.

There’s nothing quite as nice as coming into a festive looking office in the run up to Christmas. It puts a spring in your step and is a sure fire way of getting you into that Christmas spirit. Too much however can look a bit garish, and if you’re fighting your way to your desk through a jungle of tinsel, it may have been overdone. When you’re decorating the office for Christmas it’s important to make sure that you have the permission of your boss and that you take into account what your co-workers might think. A six foot laughing and singing Santa going off every time someone answers the phone might not be the best thing. Here we look at some simple tips of getting your office ready for the Christmas season!

Have a Spring (Christmas) clean…

Decorations on top of dusty surfaces won’t go down well, so before you start hanging your baubles and putting out miniature Christmas trees, take some time to have a whizz round and de-clutter and tidy the office so it is like a blank canvas ready for your Christmas party masterpiece!

Make sure you have the space!

Before you go ordering a Christmas tree that would rival the one in Trafalgar Square, make sure you have enough space for the decorations you want to put up. This also includes checking with the boss about how much is “too much”. A smattering of decorations can make a place look festive, but if no one can move (or work!) then it’s not going to go down very well with the big bosses!

Make sure you’re safe…

This might sound crazy, but in an age of health and safety you need to make sure that whatever you’re hanging or plugging in isn’t going to cause an accident or get in anyone’s way. If at all unsure check with your boss or health and safety rep because it’s no fun breaking a leg tripping over tinsel at Christmas.

Make sure everyone is happy

It’s worth taking some time to let people know what kind of decorations you intend to put up around the office and take into consideration other people’s beliefs and views about Christmas, as it might not all be the same. Don’t be upset if not everyone shares your Christmas enthusiasm, and don’t try and force them to join in with the fun! Be respectful and listen to other’s ideas about what might look good around the office and you’ll have a nicer working harmony than if you steam ahead and ignore everyone else!

Decorate in your own time…

Unless your boss says otherwise, it’s a good idea to decorate after hours. It means you’re not being distracted from your work (which is why you’re there, yes, even at Christmas time), and you won’t be distracting others. If you do it when there’s no one there it also means you can crank up the Christmas music whilst you decorate!

As the holiday season creeps upon us and the social calendar begins to fill up, it can be easy to get carried away with all the pre-christmas partying that come the big day you might feel completely worn out! it’s important to look after yourself so that you can enjoy the best of all the Christmas parties without running yourself into the ground. We’ve put together some simple tips that can help you survive the christmas party period.

Planning

Taking a little time to plan your Christmas party schedule can go a long way to reduce your stress levels, and stop you from having that panicking feeling that you don’t know what your doing or where your supposed to be celebrating from one day to the next. Remember that in addition to all the fantastic festive celebrations you’ll be enjoying, you’ll also be finding time to squeeze in your Christmas shopping, decorating and making sure you’re all ready for Christmas day. If you don’t already have a calendar, get one; even if it’s only for the month of December! You might find it easier to print out a timetable and have it by your desk at work so you can see at a glance what you’re doing when those Christmas party invites start coming through!

Don’t feel obliged to go to everything

The build up to Christmas can feel like one long party, but unless you’re Paris Hilton chances are you can’t spend each morning after a party lounging by the pool or sleeping all day until your next social engagement. There just aren’t enough hours in a day or days in the month to mean that you can go to every single invitation you get without getting tired. Prioritise which parties you want to go to; remember, it’s all about quality, not quantity.

Don’t stay until the end

If you do find yourself with a party list as long as your arm, remember not every night has to be a 6am finish. It’s easy to get caught up in the festive celebrations of a christmas party and it might be hard to tear yourself away from the dance floor after Slade comes on for the 5th time, but leaving a little earlier and getting a good night’s sleep can do wonders for your energy levels.

Keep stocked up on fruit and veg

With chocolates and sweet treats surrounding you at Christmas your healthy routine often goes out of the window, why have an apple when someone’s brought in another tray of mince pies? A little indulgence is a good thing, but don’t forget your fruit and veg, it will give your immune system a little boost and stop you feeling so sluggish after those late nights of mulled wine and yuletide logs!

Don’t drink too much

We’ve put this tip last, as even though abstaining from alcohol altogether would certainly give us more energy throughout the christmas period, we just couldn’t imagine a festive season for most of us without a little tot of sherry here and there. The key thing here is not to overdo it… at least at every Christmas party!

Follow these tips and you’ll find yourself breezing through the party season with the ease of an A-list celebrity.