Choosing your entertainment for Christmas and Holiday parties
Choosing your entertainment for Christmas and Holiday parties
There are many factors that go into choosing your entertainment for your holiday party, whether it's for your company, civic organization, church, etc.
How many people are you expecting?
What venue have you booked? Catering?
Is there a theme?
Are there other activities?
What is the primary demographic of your guests? This is a tough question all by itself! Put simply, what do your guests like? To answer that question, you'll have to consider age, occupation, geographic region, maybe even political orientation! Is it employees only, or families too?
I once performed for a fire department. The firefighters were fighting over the entertainment and could never agree on anything. (They settled on my magic show, and it turned out that was the first party they all enjoyed!)
The most common choice for parties is a band. This may seem like the safest direction to go, but that is not necessarily true. Depending on the size of your venue, the band will probably be heard throughout the whole party. That means, if a guest doesn't like the music, then too bad for him! People can also argue about the volume because some people like to talk at parties while others want to dance!
My personal favorite type of entertainment is a variety act. A new kind of show can really make an impression on your guests, and make this year's event stand out from years past. There are many to choose from, magicians, jugglers, comedians, circus acts, hypnotists, dancers, and many many more.
No matter what kind of an entertainer you go with, make sure they have a history of performing for your kind of organization or similar. For example: You probably don't have to worry about the comedian making dirty jokes if he/she has a long history of performing for churches!
There are probably other considerations you may not have thought about. For example: Any type of entertainer might try to make a joke about politics, but if your party is large enough then someone is going to be offended! An experienced corporate entertainer will know that.
In my experience, the safest entertainment is roaming performers. Consider a walk-around novelist. That is a writer who will come to your table carrying a typewriter, ask a few questions, and then write a short story about you! The writer then goes to the next table and does it all again.
That is safer then a stage act or band because, if someone doesn't happen to be interested in that specific entertainer then they can simply say ''No Thanks''. Everyone gets what they want. Conversely, if a guest doesn't want to hear the keynote speaker, then that guest will either be unhappy or leave the party.
Before choosing, take a look at your options. Does that act have pictures or video? Quotes from past customers? No single entertainer is right for every single event, but they should make enough information available to you to make your decision.
Below is a link to another article that might help you choose the correct venue for your event.
