You are tasked with organising your company’s annual dinner. You want your colleagues to enjoy it, you want to make it different from last year’s but it also has to fit into your budget. We have worked with many companies for their annual dinners; sometimes this is the responsibility of the HR or admin departments, sometimes it is assigned to the social committee. Whichever may be the case, we always hear organisers are stumped for new ideas for an annual dinner, so we have put together our top 4 tips for your Annual Dinner.

1) Venue is Key

Your first job is to choose a venue. You will need to figure out how many guests there will be. Are you organising an annual dinner for your team or your department or your whole company? Most companies prefer venues which are close to the office to minimise travel time. Many also choose to have their annual dinner around Christmas or Chinese New Year. Remember to book at least 3-6 months in advance as venues in Hong Kong get booked out very quickly that time of year. To find the perfect venue for you, check out this handy tool http://www.venuehub.hk/ .

2) The Perfect Time for Employee Recognition

The annual dinner is the perfect occasion for employee recognition as deserving colleagues get rewarded for their efforts in front of the whole company. Some corporates like to include branded packaging for their Long Service Awards to reinforce the company’s message

Traditional gifts include a watch or a plaque, but we have worked with companies to provide experience gifts such as a Meet a Dolphin, Penguin or Seal at Ocean Park, Fun Family Photo Shoot Experience or Personal European Chef at Home as they wanted gifts with lasting memories that will be remembered long after the employee has departed the company.

3) Everyone loves gifts!

For staff attending the party, one of the most popular features of the event is of course the gifts! For annual dinners which are close to Christmas time, it’s quite common for companies to host a Christmas gift exchange game and for ones close to Chinese New Year, often companies give out Lai See. Many events also include table prizes and lucky draw prizes.

In one of our favourite annual dinner events we worked on was with Rotary Club Tolo Harbour They wanted to use the gifts in a string of surprises for the guests. As everyone arrived they were each given a wrapped gift for round one. In an interactive exchange session set to music, akin to musical chairs, all guests were asked to exchange their wrapped gifts and greet fellow guests continuously until the music stopped and it served as a fun ice breaker. Each of the gifts were wrapped with a number slip and there were further prizes dished out in round two for the tables whose number slips added up to be the highest total sum and the lowest total sum. Those who received a bogey gift of a giant eraser were eligible in round three for yet further grand prizes. Of course there was also a final lucky draw at the end!

For ideas on lucky draw gifts or table prizes, check out Spoilt Experience Gifts

4) Entertainment

Finally, a great annual dinner always features entertainment! Some events may hire professional entertainers such as a band or a dance performance. In some companies, the staff get involved in performances, think marketing team vs IT team! We have also helped some annual dinners set up activity booths, such as a photobooth corner or game booths, for staff to keep entertained in between catching up with colleagues and winning lucky draw prizes.

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