How To: Party in the car park this Christmas

In a pre-Covid world, event planning platform Eventbrite revealed that UK organisations were set to spend a whopping £955m in 2015 on entertaining sta at Christmas parties. So it’s safe to say the standard has been set high for 2021 festivities.

Following on from Boris Johnson’s announcement to relax Covid restrictions, rounding up your team and heading to the hustle and bustle of the local pub may seem like the most convenient option. But what employers should now be considering is how to combat safety concerns amongst staff members.

How can your Christmas party celebrate company achievement whilst reassuring your team of a safe event with good infection control?

Although this move towards normality may seem a positive notion, it could also be a daunting prospect for some of your team. Industry expert, Duncan Strain, of Silent Noize Events offers: “Christmas parties offer a unique opportunity for employee gratitude and team bonding and it’s a time when organisers really need to hit the right spot, especially to match the scenes of pre-Covid entertainment.”

That’s where the great outdoors comes into play. The rise in outdoor events has increased significantly over the past year, seeing organisers breaking down the confines of their four walls and turn to gardens, beaches, or even the car park. Brits have shown once again what a hardly sort they are and it is more than likely that this resilience will see many a Christmas party taking place outdoors wrapped up against the weather and under outside heaters.

So, with the weather not allowed as an excuse, why not make outside the hub spot for your portable Christmas party? With the Government’s roadmap likely to allow large events to go ahead, it doesn’t matter if you are a team of 200 or 2,000: silent discos cater for all group sizes.

Many silent discos feature colour changing headsets, o ering multiple channels of musical choice, ensuring there is something for everyone. Of course, the potential of future peaks in infections due to the return of large gatherings and events falls on the large shoulders of the Government departments, but we can all see that huge efforts are being made to bring a new normal back to our lives.

Strain is optimistic that outdoor venues will pave the way for a season of merriment: “The past year has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works for the events industry, but we’re all in it together and are hungry to get the festive period going again. Silent discos are a safe way to bring people together for a time of appreciation and some much-deserved fun – we cannot wait.”

Now rolling into a post-pandemic environment, safety remains a top priority for the UK events scene, so here’s a few outdoor locations to treat your co-workers with a safe and silent disco:

• Outdoor car park – a quirky location with plenty of open-air space for the perfect picture opportunity to show your friends
• Local park – they say that green spaces are great for health. Why not up the ante with some music entertainment and dancing to keep the chill at bay?
• Back garden – put up the string lights, bring the bar outside and light the firepit – your personal garden area is an ideal space to celebrate in silence.