The holidays may feel months away, but for companies trying to plan a memorable holiday party, the best time to start planning is before the weather outside is frightful. Popular dates, flexible spaces, catering options, and the best entertainment options get booked up quickly as November and December approach. A thoughtful holiday party planning timeline gives your team more choices and less stress.

Whether you are organizing an intimate gathering or a large corporate holiday party, reserving the right venue early can make every other decision that follows so much easier. In this article, we’ll provide a practical timeline to help you plan your celebration and determine when and where to book your party.

6 to 9 Months Before the Party: Book the Venue

For companies big and small, six to nine months before the event is an ideal time to begin holiday party planning. The timing is especially important if your preferred celebration date falls on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evening in November or December, as these are the most popular party days of the week.

Get a good estimate of your guest count, establish your budget, and then identify the type of experience you want your guests to have. Are you envisioning a formal dinner, an interactive team celebration, or a family-friendly gathering? Your answers will help you narrow down Christmas party venues and other event spaces that can accommodate your needs.

At this stage, prioritize finding a corporate event venue that offers flexibility. A venue with multiple spaces, entertainment options, food service, and event support can eliminate the need to coordinate several separate locations and vendors.

4 to 6 Months Before the Party: Fine-Tune the Details

Once you have your date reserved, the next phase of holiday party planning is deciding how you want the celebration to feel. This is the time to determine your theme, confirm your approximate guest count, choose your menu, and decide whether you want entertainment, activities, presentations and awards, or fun team-building activities.

If your company holiday party includes your employees’ families, consider activities that appeal to different ages and interests. If the event is primarily for employees, interactive experiences can help transform a traditional dinner into a memorable celebration.

Booking early also gives your planning committee time to compare food and beverage options. Wintrust Sports Complex offers in-house event catering, allowing planners to coordinate food service directly with the venue.

2 to 3 Months Before: Send the Invitations

By this point, your holiday party should have a confirmed day, location, general schedule, and event format. Now it is time to send the invitations and begin collecting RSVPs.

Give employees enough notice to arrange transportation, coordinate childcare, and plan around other seasonal commitments. This is a busy time of year after all. If your office holiday party is open to spouses, children, or other plus-ones, make the RSVP process clear so you can develop an accurate final headcount.

This is also a good time to finalize decor, entertainment, signage, and activities. The more decisions you make in advance, the less likely your planning team will be dealing with last-minute details during the busiest part of the year.

4 to 6 Weeks Before the Party: Confirm Everything

As the event approaches, your holiday party planning should shift from big picture decisions to logistics. Review the guest list, confirm your catering selections, establish the event schedule, and make sure your vendors and entertainment providers have the correct arrival information.

If you are hosting a corporate holiday party with presentations or awards, confirm your audiovisual requirements as well. A versatile corporate event venue can make these details easier to manage when technology is already available on site.

Wintrust Sports Complex offers built-in PA systems, dimmable LED lighting, wireless microphones, Bluetooth speakers, projectors, Wi-Fi, and digital screens in our meeting spaces.

1 to 2 Weeks Before: Finalize Your Headcount

With the event now just around the corner, obtain your final RSVP numbers and communicate any changes to your venue and catering team. Review the schedule one more time and make sure everyone involved understands their responsibilities.

This is also the time to make seating arrangements if you’re having a sit-down dinner, prepare name tags, gather awards and gifts, collect raffle items, and assemble any other goodie-bag items you plan to give guests. If your holiday party includes games or activities, make sure the event team knows how much space and equipment you’ll need.

A final walkthrough or planning call with the venue staff can identify any potential issues before the big day.

Why Wintrust Sports Complex is Ideal for Holiday Parties

Choosing from the many Christmas party venues in the Chicago area does not mean settling for a standard banquet room. Wintrust Sports Complex provides a flexible event setting where companies can create a celebration around their own goals and culture.

At Wintrust, we boast 72,000 square feet of hardwood courts, a 4,000-square-foot arcade, a laser tag arena, a full-service restaurant and bar, multipurpose rooms, and in-house event catering.

Our facility also provides the technology and event amenities needed to support everything from a dinner with an awards ceremony to a more active celebration. The gymnasium includes an overhead PA system, dimmable LED lighting, Wi-Fi coverage, a stage available for rent, and a projector. Our meeting rooms have digital screens, HDMI and Chromecast capabilities, a projector, microphones, podiums, and Bluetooth speakers.

For groups looking for food and entertainment in one location, our restaurant and bar can accommodate up to 175 guests, while our facility also provides arcade and laser tag options. These amenities make Wintrust a particularly flexible choice for a company holiday party that is meant to be more engaging than a traditional dinner.

Make Your Reservation Early at Wintrust Sports Complex

The earlier you begin holiday party planning, the more opportunities you have to choose the date, space, menu, and activities that fit your team. Waiting until late fall can leave you choosing between limited dates or compromising on the experience you originally envisioned.

Whether you are organizing a small office holiday party or a large corporate celebration, starting several months ahead gives you time to make thoughtful decisions. As a holiday party venue, Wintrust Sports Complex offers flexible spaces, amenities, activities, catering, and the event support needed to bring your plans together seamlessly.

If you’re ready to start planning, contact Wintrust Sports Complex today to discuss your event requirements, preferred dates, guest count, and available spaces. With an early reservation, your holiday party can be something your team looks forward to all season.