Bijou and Budget-Friendly Partying

Keep It Simple

If you really are on the tightest of budgets, the main ingredients are pretty straightforward: 1. Tasty food, 2. Drinks – including a limited amount of alcohol! – and 3. Great live entertainment. Focus on those big three and don’t sweat the small stuff. Save on the details and put the budget where it’s going to be noticed: No one’s going to have an issue with you using unbranded rum in your Mojitos if they’re too busy dancing to the amazing live party band!

Send Email Invites

An email invite can save on the bottom line, but do it in style! You can create some pretty stunning e-vites online, with lots of free providers out there.

Evite, Paperless Post, Minted, and Punchbowl have great free options.

Stay On Home Turf

Hosting a party in your office space or premises is a brilliant way to cut venue costs. It just means a bit of extra thought is needed when it comes to turning your place of work into party central.

Live entertainment is a great way of transforming the daytime feel of your office into an atmospheric venue, with live music an especially immersive and exciting experience for guests in what is usually their work place. Plus you don’t need big stages, loads of decor or complicated audio visual set ups: 3–5 piece party bands, acoustic bands, and DJs can all be pretty compact, as well as provide their own PA and lighting!

Combine Catering and Entertainment

For super savvy party planning, think about hiring food and drink options that not only double as food or drink, but as entertainment – and even decor – too! Pop Up and Campervan-style cocktail bars are a great option, with mixologists putting on a show at the bar with their cocktail-making skills. They can even develop customised cocktails for your company. Other suppliers like waffle carts and popcorn makers can also be visually stunning and really add to the party atmos.

Go Pro!

That local band of uni students might be super cheap, but there’s a reason! It’s a huge reputational risk to unleash an amateur band or DJ on your guests...not to mention any health and safety issues from dodgy equipment. You can still get cutting edge and exciting professional bands under £1000 that are not only amazing performers, have great promo that you can use to publicise your party, and reassuring reviews from other clients, but are also properly insured, with PAT-tested equipment.

Retro Game On

For just a bit of your budget, you can still put on some cool, informal and interactive entertainment. We’re talking retro games! Ask around the office to see who has some old-skool board games you can use for a chill out style area. You might want to steer clear of the long-winded options – no one wants to feel committed to a two hour Monopoly-fest. But Hungry Hippos and Twister are always a winner! Oversized games are a hit too – think giant Jenga, giant Connect 4, or giant Operation. For those with a bit more space to play with, how about a supersized Scalextric track or a Rodeo Rudolph – life-sized Buckaroo style?!

Get More Band For Your Buck

If you are planning a live band for your party, check out the booking options on their Alive profile. Many offer other music services that could give you much more for your money. Most bands offer DJ services to keep the party going in between and after their live music sets. Some also offer background acoustic set-ups for any early drinks, as well as packages that include photobooths, light up letters and other party extras. Likewise your DJ might offer additional lighting and other production effects for a small extra fee, and additional instrumentalists like saxophonists to take the entertainment up a notch.

Check out our Ultimate Guide to Party Bands and our Party DJs for more ideas.

For more Christmas party entertainment ideas, check out our Christmas Entertainment page and our articles on Christmas Entertaining.