5 Common Mistakes in Event Planning for Christmas

Event Planning Advice | 09-10-2019 | Posted By Mia Williams

Christmas comes but once a year, meaning people of all ages look forward to celebrating the festive season together and as a community. For that reason, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to create a Christmas event like no other.

The Fun Experts are always on hand to give some tips to help you. We have compiled a list of 5 common mistakes that should be avoided when it comes to event planning, to make sure your Christmas event goes as smoothly as possible.

Leaving It Too Late

Let’s start with the most obvious. This is when people leave their event to the last minute and, when they begin organising what they need, everywhere and everything is all booked up.

Our data shows that over 75% of our client base begins looking and enquiring into Christmas with us around the month of October - some early birds even begin earlier, in September.

Getting complacent regarding the Christmas season is a common mistake; people may say “it’s far too early” or “there’s still plenty of time left”.

It’s important, however, to remember that booking early means not only that you can sigh relief, but also that you may find better prices due to preempting a high demand.

Not Budgeting Adequately

During the planning phase of your event, you will begin to notice the financial cost of the venue, food, drinks, equipment, and much more. As the financials list begins to get bigger, it’s important that you have a budget firmly set in place.

Having a robust budget in place ensures that you’re getting the best possible value out of your event and that you have a monetary buffer for any unforeseen circumstances.

Many times, what separates a good Christmas event from an amazing one is simply the careful implementation of budget. Spend it wisely on the crucial components of the event and you’ll see the difference.

Not Listening to Your Audience

A common mistake many event planners make is not actually having their audience at the focal point of their decision-making process. Instead, they tend to assume what the audience wants. Throughout the planning process of an event you need to constantly ask the question: “will the audience enjoy this?”

There will be a vast array of individuals of all ages attending your event, and it’s vital that you incorporate entertainment that will please 5-year-olds and 60-year-olds alike.

Send out a simple questionnaire that will allow you to gauge a better understanding of what your audience wants, as this will help you to answer questions such as:

Should it be indoors or outdoors?
What will be the venue location?
What are the best times?
What is the number of attendees?
Is there an entry fee?

All of these questions can be answered in the planning process by getting first-hand feedback from your audience.

Lack of Investment in Marketing

When hosting a Christmas event for your community, you want to be able to scream, shout, and make noise about it all across social media. You’ll want to create a sense of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) that will have the audience wanting to attend the following year.

This is a very simple form of free marketing, however, many organisations fail to grasp the opportunity to promote themselves to a wider audience.

Implement simple tricks that will not only have audiences sharing their photos, but also being rewarded for doing so.

For example, create a bespoke #hashtag for your event asking people to share their images using the hashtag for a chance to win a prize. Not only is this a super low-cost form of marketing, but it also means that your low-cost advertisement can spread tenfold - and even have the potential to go viral!

Not Defining Your Goals

Before the planning stage of your event, before even putting pen to paper, you want to identify the main aim of your event. Will you be promoting some form of equipment? Launching a brand? Maybe you just want to host an event that brings the community together.

Whatever your reasons may be, it’s imperative to have a clear end goal with regards to your event. This will help future decision-making and give your event overall both scope and direction in the planning process.