Holiday party for a team of 20 to 60 in Vancouver: the two-week plan

Somebody said it in Tuesday's meeting and nobody argued: the team is having a proper holiday party, on an evening in December, and you're the one putting it together. With partners, the list lands somewhere between 20 and 60, and the party is four to six weeks away: enough time, if the next two weeks go to the decisions everyone else is waiting on.

The musicians and the caterer will both need floor space and time to set up before anyone arrives. So week one, November 9 to 13, goes to the date, the room and the hires, and week two, the 16th to the 20th, to writing down how the night runs.

Week one: the Friday, the hours and the room

Start today if you can. Send whoever signs off three Fridays, December 4, 11 and 18, and ask for a decision by Tuesday, November 10. Put the start and end time in the same message: every Pro below plans around them.

As soon as the date is fixed, reserve the room. Click Click, a Gastown loft that rents for "personal celebrations, business events, and creative gatherings," fits up to 60 guests. Its kitchen is fully equipped but has no oven, and the page says to bring your own food and drinks. It's on the third floor with no elevator, so ask the musicians and the caterer whether they can carry their gear up before you commit. Hire the music and the food the same week, since both need things from the room.

Music that fits the room

V & G Entertainment, a Vancouver live-music company, lists "appreciation dinners & company holiday parties" in its corporate work, with line-ups that run from soloists and duos to jazz quartets and cover/dance bands. Its entertainers "do not perform the same set list from one event to the next," so tell them who's coming and how the evening runs before they plan the music.

The size of the act decides when the room has to be open. V & G's FAQ puts set-up for classical, jazz and small pop ensembles at 10 to 15 minutes, with the musicians arriving about 30 minutes before the event. For a dance band, "with load-in and sound check it can take up to 2 hours," which is worth knowing before you choose one for a third-floor walk-up. For 20 to 60 people who want to talk over dinner, a duo or a jazz quartet is the easier fit.

Settle the speeches before you sign. V & G bills from the start to the end of the performance and doesn't charge for set-up, but "if you need the musical ensemble to take an extended break due to speeches or similar that time is billed." It also asks that the musicians get a meal when they play 2.5 hours or more, so add them to the caterer's count.

Dinner that arrives ready to serve

With no oven in the kitchen, hire food that comes ready to serve. Pacific Coast Catering, with locations in Vancouver and Surrey, brings the serving side along: its delivery page lists serving trays, plates and cutlery or traditional tableware, wine glasses, linens and chafing dishes, and its crew sets the food up "on time and where you want it."

Ask whether anyone stays. Pacific Coast can deliver, set up and leave, or stay on site "to serve and/or replenish" while the team eats. If you're the one who organized the night, the second means someone else keeps the buffet full. It has served groups from 6 to 6,000, so a team of 20 to 60 sits well inside its range.

For coffee after dinner, Meld Coffee Cart's corporate page lists staff events and employee appreciation among its work ("Bring the café to your team"). Its site asks for 5 to 7 feet for the espresso cart and cooler, and a dedicated 120V outlet within 25 feet of where it serves.

By November 13, draw the floor and count the outlets

With the hires settled, draw the room: a corner for the musicians (ask how much floor the line-up you chose needs), a buffet table for the chafing dishes, the coffee cart's 5 to 7 feet if you have one, then tables, drinks and coats, with space left for everyone you expect. Count the power too: the musicians' amplification and the cart's dedicated outlet at the least, and ask the caterer whether its set-up needs any. Ask the venue for a floor plan with the outlets marked and put each Pro's space where the power is.

Week two: write down how the night runs

Build one page for the night: in time order, for every Pro, the venue and whoever gives the thank-you. With doors at 6, it might read:

• Before doors. A duo or a jazz quartet arrives around 5:30; a dance band can need the room from 4. Ask the caterer and the coffee cart for their arrival times, and add them with loading instructions and who has the key.
• Arrival and dinner. The first set plays as people arrive, and dinner goes out from the buffet, with the caterer's staff refilling it if you asked them to stay.
• Speeches. In a break between sets, so the musicians aren't held for an extra one. Five minutes of thanks from someone the team likes hearing from is plenty.
• The later sets. Once the buffet is cleared, with coffee from the cart in the last hour.
• The end. The time the venue needs the room back, so the musicians know when the last set stops.

Send the page to everyone on it by Friday, November 20, and ask each of them to flag anything that doesn't work while there's still time to move it.

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.