Everything You Need to Know About Christmas Parties
It's time to get those sleigh-bells jingling
Ring ting tingle-ing too
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a Christmas party together with you...
(And your employees😉).
Christmas is soon approaching! We both know your employees deserve a party to thank them for their hard work during another challenging year. So we put together the questions employers really want to know before they start planning them:
Are Christmas Company Parties Tax Deductible?
Yes! A Christmas party, or annual party, is a deductible expense for corporation tax purposes.
Don't worry, you don't need to check with your accountant for that one. We've been helping companies plan their Christmas parties in line with tax regulations for a few years now. Don't believe us? Check out the official government advice here!
You must follow some essential rules for your Christmas event to qualify as tax deductible.
You need to invite ALL of your employees. (Not all need actually to attend, but the invite must extend to all). You can't have a director only get together.
You can spend a maximum of £150 (including VAT) per head. Please do not go over it, as it will not count.
You can not include clients or customers, the rate per head does not cover them. Client entertaining does not count.
Keep the receipts for your spending!
You can not claim the £150 as cash or use it for something else. It is used for a tax exemption for a Christmas or annual party only.
The employees you can use this amount for must be on the payroll.
You can also give a Christmas gift to your employees. However, it can not be cash, a cash voucher, or a direct transfer. It has to be a set gift, for a maximum of £50 each.
How to motivate your employees to attend?
Inclusivity is important! You must strive to host an event that caters to most of your employees (we know it'll be impossible to find something everyone will enjoy). The first step to motivating your employees to attend is to plan something that the majority of them will want to attend to.
Top tips to remember when choosing what your Christmas do will be:
Not everyone loves to drink. If your event has drinking involved, ensure there is a non-alcoholic alternative.
Be mindful of physical capabilities. Whilst it could be great fun to organise an ice-skating party, not all of your employees may be able to join in!
Are you thinking of a dinner event for your Christmas do? Collect everyone's allergies, food requirements and choices.
A client's favourite choice of ours in recent years has been a show (musical, pantomime, performance etc.). But how would you go about choosing one? We can help you create a poll or questionnaire to send to all your employees; you would then book the most popular choice!
Your Christmas event shouldn't be considered a requirement but rather the time to blow off some steam and feel a part of good company culture. Encourage work conversations to be left in the office. You could even offer them the morning off after the event; this will undoubtedly incentivise them to have a good time!
Remember, this annual event is about your employees. It's a great time to show appreciation and how well you know them. Making it accessible, entertaining and personal is key. No one likes a scrooge!
When Should You Start Planning Your Christmas Party?
We mentioned how inclusivity is important. To be inclusive, you need to give your employees enough time to be able to attend - we advise telling them at least a month in advance. Christmas is a busy time, some may need to sort out childcare, plan travel, work it around pre-booked activities etc.
So, that means getting your party planning committee together now (or outsourcing to corporate Christmas event specialists🎄).
There's a lot involved in event planning; here is our very own mini strategy we follow to throw the best Christmas do's.
We begin by writing out some goals! How do you want your employees to feel? What are they like? This will help us create a concept, and think about all the cool elements of your party, from venue to activities.
If you have a set idea of the type of event you want to host, it means we can jump straight into this next step.
This is to create a deck around the chosen idea. Let's say you have chosen to go for a dinner party. We will source ideal venues according to requirements and preferences, ones with availability. We then pair this with some activities or team-building suggestions at the venue or locally. PS: We know how to throw something fun, creative and within that £150 per head budget! ;)
After you have picked your winner, we will go ahead with booking everything. If you need a caterer, showman, or drinks ordered, we cover it all for you, down to the last Christmas cracker.
At Goho, we are a quick and efficient team, but to make it as seamless as possible, we need to have our elves starting soon! Especially if you want to make it a Christmas party to remember.
