What We Handle
- Venue sourcing and booking. We know which properties actually hold groups your size in December, and we start early enough that the good ones are still available.
- Dining. Private rooms, restaurant buyouts, plated or buffet, with dietary requirements collected up front instead of the night before.
- Travel and lodging. For companies with distributed teams, we handle flights and room blocks so the party doubles as a get-together.
- Ground transportation. Shuttles and transfers, which matters more at a party than at a retreat.
- Entertainment and extras. Whatever fits the night and the budget.
Corporate Holiday Party Ideas (Corporate Christmas Party Ideas)
The default is a hotel ballroom and a plated dinner. It works, and nobody remembers it.
Destination Holiday Party
For distributed teams, flying everyone somewhere warm in December is often the only time the whole company is in one room all year. Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, and Punta Cana are popular for exactly this reason, and the all-inclusive model keeps the budget predictable.
Holiday Cruise
Short three and four night sailings work well for larger groups. A Bahamas run out of Florida is the easiest to fill, and lines like Royal Caribbean and Norwegian all decorate for the season. Meals and entertainment are built in, and the per-person cost often lands below a comparable land event.
Resort Takeover
Smaller companies can sometimes buy out a boutique property entirely for a night or two. Expensive per head, memorable in a way a ballroom isn’t.
Local Venue Done Well
Not every holiday party needs a passport. A private room at a genuinely good restaurant, booked early enough to get the date you want, beats a mediocre ballroom every time.
What Does a Corporate Holiday Party Cost?
Rough ranges to plan against, per person, before taxes and gratuity. Actual numbers depend heavily on your city, headcount, and season.
- Local venue, plated or buffet: roughly $75–$150 per person, depending on the market and open bar length.
- Boutique resort takeover: often $250–$500+ per person once the space itself is factored in.
- Short holiday cruise (3–4 nights): frequently $150–$350 per person all-in, since meals and entertainment are already bundled.
- Destination all-inclusive: typically $600–$1,200+ per person once flights are included, offset by having lodging, food, and activities in one price.
The number that actually matters is total per person, all-in, not the headline venue rate. A “cheap” ballroom with a cash bar and no transportation plan can cost more in the end than a cruise where everything is already included.
Sorting out which format actually gets you the best total value for your group takes a bit of digging, and that’s exactly what an advisor does for you.
When to Start Planning
Earlier than you think. Good December venues book out by late summer, and the ones still available in November are available for a reason.
- 6+ months out (June–July): Best window for a destination party or holiday cruise. Widest choice of ships, resorts, and flight availability.
- 4–5 months out (August–September): Comfortable for most local venues. Still workable for travel, though room blocks start tightening.
- 2–3 months out (October): Workable for local events at venues with availability. Travel options are thinning fast.
- November or later: We’ll do what we can, but options will be thin, especially for anything involving flights or a cruise.
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Holiday Party FAQs
Four to six months for a local venue. Longer if the party involves travel, since flights and room blocks in December get expensive and scarce.
Up to 50 travelers for trips involving travel, and up to 100 for cruises. Local events can run larger depending on the venue.
Employee social events held primarily for the benefit of employees broadly can be fully deductible, which is more favorable than the usual meal and entertainment rules. Your CPA determines the treatment for your situation. We handle the documentation side.
Yes, and it’s one of the more common requests we get from companies with remote teams. Flights, lodging, and the event itself all coordinated together.
Common at holiday parties and worth deciding early, since it changes headcount, budget, and sometimes the tax treatment.
Both. Not every holiday party needs to involve travel. We even have great relationships with local hotels like the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa, where, based on availability, we may be able to get you additional perks.