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Organising the Greatest End of Financial Year Celebration: Our Top Tips

Date Posted: 11/04/2019 8:45:08 AM
Posted By: Laissez-faire Catering

How does your organisation celebrate its End of Financial Year? An EOFY celebration is the perfect time to treat your staff, celebrate their milestones and keep them motivated. It's important that an EOFY remain on target and not to dry, while making it clear that the employees are the focus. At Laissez-Faire Catering, we understand the need to make your corporate events spectacular and memorable. Here are some tips for making it a party you can truly celebrate.

Take It Out of the Office

Most employees don't want to celebrate financial goals in the same place that they met those financial goals. Book a spectacular venue and you'll be on your way to a spectacular party. Some of the best venues at the moment are the Urban Winery Sydney and The Venue Alexandria, but at Laissez-faire Catering we're constantly exploring the best options for our customers

Consider matching your catering to your office culture. If you have an active, outdoorsy office, consider an outdoor park or other scenic venue. If you have a high class, sophisticated office, it may be time to visit a lounge or contemporary restaurant. Booking a venue cuts down on the amount of decoration and planning you need to do on your own.

Create a Bespoke Canape and Drinks Menu

It's the food that most people are going to remember. You can take to the Laissez-faire Catering team about creating a bespoke canape and drinks menu, focused on celebrating your team and its accomplishments. Canapes are a great solution for EOFY celebrations, because they let employees get a little of everything rather than focusing on a few large meals. Canapes allow employees time to socialise and celebrate while also snacking in between.

Drinks are also a large part of the celebration, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, and they shouldn't be forgotten! A good cocktail can be a memorable event in and of itself, especially if it's done with style. 

 

Choose a Unique Theme for Your EOFY Party

A unique theme is beneficial for nearly every corporate celebration, because it gives you a fun and entertaining starting point. A theme will guide you while you make decisions about food and drink, while also informing your decoration and color decisions. Further, a theme gives employees something to expect and get excited for: they can even consider dressing up to a theme.

For an EOFY party, you can consider something fun and frivolous (to ease any stress and tension) or something sophisticated and dashing (to celebrate financial success). Choose a theme that aligns well with the values and the mission statement of your company culture, and you'll make it easier for your employees to look forward to the celebration. 

Balance Your Celebration and Your Socialisation

An EOFY event often needs to give out awards, discuss company milestones and tackle the future of the company. But between these important, critical events, it's also important to let employees relax and socialise. An EOFY should have some brief speeches, awards and other events, while also having entertainment and leisure activities available.

It's important to give employees free time, so they can talk, eat and drink. If employees don't have this time, it'll just feel like another company-focused seminar, rather than a real reward and celebration. At the same time, taking some time to acknowledge individual employees, give out awards and celebrate the company's success will show the employees that they are valued. 

Combine It With Some Time Off

The end of the financial year is often a stressful time, with many departments struggling to meet milestones or wrapping things up. It can be a good idea to balance an EOFY celebration with time off: schedule it just before a long weekend, or schedule it as part of a larger corporate retreat. That means employees are already going to be in a great mood, and they're either going to be looking forward to their time off or already enjoying it.

Larger, corporate retreats also give you the chance to integrate your EOFY celebration with a specific, company-building venue, and team-building exercises. If your company has a strong, focused culture and you want to build upon it, a corporate retreat can be a good way to do so. In a corporate retreat, you can control all the elements of your EOFY celebration, while making it part of a bigger journey.

Laissez-faire Catering's Exclusive EOFY Offer

Working with a caterer can help you bring your EOFY celebration from concept to creation.   From organising your venue to creating a complete catering menu, we'll be able to create an event to remember.

We currently have an EOFY exclusive offer. If you are planning an EOFY event, we'd love to help.   Contact Laissez-faire Catering today  to find out more about our bespoke catering options. 

The Sydney Catering Guide: How To Prepare An End Of Financial Year Party For Your Office

Date Posted: 27/03/2018 1:39:28 PM
Posted By: Tara Connolly

The end of the financial year is just around the corner and almost every boss and their employees know that it can be a crazy time. It can be really exhausting when everyone focuses on meetings about the annual budget, clearing the company’s tax details, going through performance reviews and preparing for next year’s budget.

Just like any normal person would do, everyone should take a break after accomplishing all the end of financial year tasks. Stop for a second, sit back and take a deep breath and plan a party to celebrate the year that has been. In fact, there are many reasons for you to have a party; it can be winning new clients, beating your annual budget, closing some big deals or adding new and valuable personnel to the team.

If you’re the office manager, office assistant or the event manager assigned to organise the party, you have to make sure you plan a fun event. Focus on building team spirit and congratulating employees for doing a good job. You have to rise above a notoriously boring and unimaginative company party.

Form a group to help you organise the party. You have to provide your “party team” some time away from their normal office tasks and provide all the resources they need in order to plan a top level event. If possible, include people from different departments that already have experience planning company events in the past.

Think about the goal of the party. Yes, the party is about celebrating the end of the financial year, but there should also be a purpose like recognising a team or an individual or celebrating a company milestone. Whatever the goal is, keep it fun!

#1 Working On The Details

Once your goal is established and you have a few people to help you plan the event, you can get started. Start working on the specific details of the event and the areas that needs to be covered. List all of the things that will need to be organised: budget, venue, catering, audio visual and entertainment.

#2 Budget

Receiving and distributing the budget will get things rolling. Set the budget as a starting point of brainstorming ideas for venues, catering, entertainment, awards, decorations and gifts/prizes.

#3 The Venue

Choose a venue that is centrally located and can be easily accessed by everyone. It can be within the company premises (like a large conference or theatre room). If holding the event at the office or in the same building isn’t possible, choose an outside venue in the Sydney CBD or near your office so that everyone can get to the venue easily after work. Also, make sure that the venue is near a public transport so that everyone can go to the venue and get a ride home easily.

The venue you choose will depend on your budget, the number of people attending and the culture of your company. It can be a restaurant, a hotel ballroom, beach, a park, a bar or an entertainment complex. Make sure to ask your other colleagues if they know a great place that you can get for your party.

 

This is a great opportunity to treat the staff to an exclusive night out to a venue they wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. If you’ve got the budget for it, go all out.

#4 Food and Drinks

 

Arranging for the food and drinks is one of the most complex parts of the party process. Again, the budget will play a big part in the food and drink choices. The company culture, number of attendees and theme of the event will also affect your decisions about the catering.

The great thing is you’ve got lots of options. Think gourmet food, buffet catering or casual fare like burgers, BBQ, pizza, gourmet donuts, beer or wine. Alternative dishes should be available for people with special dietary requirements. No one should go hungry or thirsty!

Alcohol is a big part of any party, but consider limiting the alcohol especially if the event will be during office hours. If the party is after 5pm, then you can serve the beverages of your choosing. But consider limiting the beverage package to a small selection of beer, wine and some sparkling drinks with non-alcoholic options like water, sodas and juices to keep thing simple. This will keep everything under control without taking the fun out of things.

 

Set a meeting with your chosen caterer. It can be over the phone or a face to face meeting. A face to face meeting is better because you get to talk to the caterer and understand how they work rather than blindly putting your faith in them. A proposal will be created with the menus and the cost for your initial consultation if it applies.

Catering styles could be any of the following:

  • Buffets and food stations - This can be a few gourmet platters or an elegant sit down dinner. It can also be food stations at one of your chosen venues.
  • Cocktail party – High quality canapes and gourmet finger food that will have all the guests raving. A premium selection of wine can also be served to show everyone that they are appreciated.
  • BBQs and picnic style party – This is one of the most fun styles because everyone can be as casual as possible. The caterer will be on cooking duty with your favorite BBQs fares to be served with ice cold beers, soda and wine.

  

#5 Audio-Visual System

If you’re doing the party within the office premises, you can hire third party AV equipment. The better option is choosing a venue that already has this equipment and can set it up according to your needs and your vision for the event. Design your own lighting scheme and choose the ambient music.

#6 Entertainment

You can hire a DJ or a live band if your budget permits. Music helps any situation and will let staff relax and enjoy the event. Ask around the office for the best local live bands and check their availability. If it gets too tricky to organise a band just go for a DJ or even better, start an office playlist with input from everyone.

When planning an end of financial year party, it’s best to prepare early so that all the details can be ironed out before the event and everything will go according to plan. Let’s party! 

Want Laissez-faire Catering to take care of your EOFY event? Give us a call and start getting organised today.

Call Us Laissez-faire Catering Sydney

EOFY Catering Offers

Date Posted: 12/06/2017 5:11:00 PM
Posted By: Tara Connolly

End of Financial Year Deal

EOFY-punting 

Yes, it’s that time of the year again and its brrrr cold, chilly and the skies are looking as grey as they ever have…

For those of us not jetting away to the sunnier continents for some well-deserved fun in the sun, we have put together some great ideas so you can bring the fun to you and not have to venture out in this winter madness.

For an all-inclusive package of just $89.00 we will bring you a warming, delicious cocktail party with no fuss, no umbrellas and no cleaning afterwards.

#EOFYDEAL

Tailored canapé menu (6 bites + 1 substantial canape per guest)

Blanc beverage package 3 hours

Professional wait staff and function supervisor

A dedicated Event Planner to coordinate and assist with the finer details of your event

Package is based on a minimum number of 60 guest

Valid – 1st June 2017 through to the 31st of July 2017.

 

Contact us today to get more information on this deal or book your event today!

EOFY Planning Guide

Date Posted: 10/03/2016 3:19:25 PM
Posted By: Tara Connolly

Guide to EOFY Party Planning for Event Coordinators

End of financial year (EOFY) celebrations are a great way to offer a huge thank you to your shareholders and your staff. And what better way to show gratitude than organising an enjoyable event where everyone can celebrate the achievements of the company?

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As an event coordinator, there are several things that you should focus on to make your guests happy and ensure the EOFY party is a memorable event. During the planning stages, it’s important to take into account:

  • Jovial and exciting atmosphere
  • Delicious drinks
  • Tasty morsels of food
  • Celebratory music or entertainment

These factors will make for an amazing celebration of the many professional accomplishments your company has achieved in the financial year.

EOFY Event Planning: a Guide for Event Coordinators

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            Key elements:

  • Start early - You will save  money
  • Find a venue -  You won't miss out on your  preferred choice
  • Choose your style -  This will help determine budget
  • Engage with the team -  Ensure everyone is on board and happy

   

  

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    Some of our  top featured venues could be perfect for your EOFY event:

     

    1. Plan and book ahead

    Booking a venue is one of the most important yet challenging aspects of an event coordinator’s job. Chances are, other companies are also starting to think about planning their EOFY events. If you leave the booking too late you’ll be fighting with other companies for your preferred date and venue. Don’t let it come to this! The best day to plan and book everything is right now. Decide on the date and find the venue. Once you’ve done that you can figure out the other details.

    2. Determine the budget

    Everything will depend on the budget. However, don’t let the budget affect the fun. You can still manage to keep it memorable and creative by choosing the right providers and booking early.

    3. Attend to details

    This includes the entertainment, menu, the flow of the program and the party theme. The details will make your guests feel like the event has been thought out and planned so they can have a good time. Make them feel special and your event feedback will be off the charts.

    4. Invite guests

    Send out your invites (digital is the  way to go) and have your guests look forward to the event!

    Choosing your menu

    Event-Catering

    Your menu should depend on the event theme and the type of event. Popular choices include sit down dinner, buffet and cocktail. It would also depend on the type of atmosphere you want for the whole event.

    Food and drinks may not be the highlight of the night but it certainly make or break the whole event. You don’t want guests going home hungry and unsatisfied. This makes food a vital part of the event organising with menu planning being one aspect that can occupy a huge chunk of your time.

    No matter what, make it fun!

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    Despite the fact that an EOFY event will be work-driven, don’t make it all about work! Give employees and their managers something to celebrate. It’s a day to talk business while having fun. At the end of the day, they’ll go home looking forward to next year’s EOFY event designed by a great event coordinator.

    Need help organising your EOFY event?  Contact us today to discuss venues, menus and  planning the perfect event.

    Don't forget the drinks and nibbles! Click on the banner below to access our Drinks menu

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    Hot Deals

    Date Posted: 8/03/2016 11:12:46 AM
    Posted By: Laissez-faire Catering

    EOFY Packages  & Great Winter Events 

    Be rewarded at the perfect location this EOFY!

    Book your EOFY event with Laissez-faire and receive a $250 Westfield voucher just for you. With over 10 unique venues, we are one of Sydney’s best catering services  and will make your EOFY event 'pop'. You bring the guests and we'll supply the bubbles, food and an amazing space. Venues include Australian Technology Park, Australian Maritime Museum, Harbour 220 and The X Studio.

    Australian National Maritime Museum

    Book by 31st May and receive a $250 Westfield voucher for events booked through to 30th June 2016.

    Contact us today to  discuss your event.