Is your company or organization excited about it's future? How about transferring that excitement into the members of your team by throwing a morale building theme party. Follow these guidelines and you will be off to the right start sooner than you think.

1. Create a committee with fun people who like to party. Some ideas of responsibility include food, entertainment, location, finance, decorations/cleanup, company communications.

2. A theme party adds to the fun. Examples are 50's-60's, Disco, Country/Western, Hollywood, Beach, Olympics, and Casino. Let your guests know about wearing costumes, and a possible prize for the best costume.

More Theme Ideas:
Right DJ
Company Award Show
Krazy Hatz
Hawaiian Luau
Casino
Sports Theme
Music Theme
Costume
Viva Las Vegas
Celebrity Look-Like
Futuristic
Masquerade
Country
Beach Party
City Nights
Circus Big Top
Party Nights
Mardi Gras


3. Consider the demographics of your invited guests when you are to hire entertainment. Will there just be employees or are spouses invited? Mostly women or men? Young or old? Will the "Big Bosses" be there and do they like to party? Will there be children? Does your group consist of different ethnic groups? The answers will help you to decide which kind of entertainment to get. For example, clowns, magicians, face painters, and jugglers are great for children. Card Readers, caricature artists, and dance instructors are good additions to an adult party. Finally, an experienced Disc Jockey is able to play to many age groups, and can act as your emcee.

4. Giving away door prizes. If you are going to be calling ticket numbers, do it once an hour to avoid stopping and starting the party. Two people will be needed, along with a pad of paper, scotch tape, and a table. Call the numbers twice, have one person then write the item and ticket number on a piece of paper, tape that paper to the item, and place it on the table, then move on to the next item. This avoids waiting for someone to come forward with the ticket. Another way give away prizes is to have your entertainer ask a trivia question or have guests "name that tune." The first correct answer is the winner!

5. Food is important to your party. Avoid messy food like wings and ribs, and have a variety of items like a cheese/fruit/vegetable station, shrimp/crab/oyster station, carving station, and a pasta station.

6. Next to entertainment, beverages are second in importance to the life of the party! These can range from coffee, tea, milk, juice, water, and soft drinks, to beer, wine, and mixed drinks. Keep a variety of beverages available throughout the party. Having a coffee station available for the final 2 hours of your event is a great idea.

7. What do you want them to remember? Surveys have shown that guests will soon forget what they ate and drank at a party, but remember if they danced and had a great time. Try to decide if you would like: Dancing? Singing? Audience participation? Is it just socializing and networking? Would you like team building activities? Will there be speeches? Awards? Door prizes? Communicate to your entertainer what you would like, and try to give them as much information about these activities as soon as possible. Your party will "flow" better, and you'll have more time to relax and have fun!

8. Consider hiring a photographer to take candid pictures. These can be used in the company newsletter, pinned on the company bulletin board, or used for a promotional kick-off meeting. Showing employees having fun together boosts morale!

9. Meet again to recap and analyze the event. It is a good idea to have the committee meet after your event to discuss the results of their efforts. What went well? What went wrong? What has been the response of the guests? Did you accomplish your goals?

About the Author:

Daryl Thomas is Professional Mobile Disc Jockey and Booking Agent for 1-800-DISC JOCKEY, LLC, North America's Largest Disc Jockey Booking Service with over 12,000 professional DJs represented.

As a professional radio personality, mobile disc jockey and club DJ himself, Mr. Thomas has successfully MC'd more than 1,925 events in the past 20 years.