The holidays always seem to be around the corner and that requires giving thought to planning holiday parties whether they are office parties, school parties, or a family gathering at your home. Everybody knows that the holiday season can be stressful, even if shopping is the only thing on your to-do list. Add the stress of planning a party or two and it may seem like a never ending chose.
And the stress may be worth it in the end when you finally see family that you have not seen in a while, or when you see the smile on the faces of children, or when you see your boss pucker up under the mistletoe but you surely would still welcome any advice that may make the planning process easier. After all, the parties will be much more fun if you know you had fun planning them too.
If you have children then you likely have responsibilities involving them after work hours and if you don't that doesn't mean that your life is completely devoid of other responsibilities. So how do you solve the problem of planning a Christmas party with other people that do not have the same schedule as yourself? There are actually a number of ways that you could implement that would work for you and the others with whom you are doing the planning.
Stress free planning option #1
The first option for reducing stress when it comes to planning a Christmas party is to delegate duties. This is a surefire way to reduce your workload and ultimately your stress. If you are uncomfortable choosing who should be responsible for which duties you could do one of two things.
One option is that you could make a list of things that need to be done and have each individual sign up for a task. The second option is writing all of the tasks down on separate slips of paper and putting them into a hat and having everyone choose a slip of paper. Both of these options provide you with a way to delegate responsibilities without being responsible for who gets what.
Stress free planning option #2
Another way to reduce the stress when planning your Christmas party is to have a meeting to discuss each aspect of the party such as the decorations, food, and gift giving procedures. Some things not only need to be delegated but discussed first in order to come to an agreement and while you may not be able to all find the time to get together in a physical setting you do have the option of holding a conference call.
Conference calls are useful because you can get together whenever it is convenient for everyone and everyone can conveniently be at home when it is done. Also, keep in mind that conferencing does not need to be expensive.
In recent years, a number of free conference calling services have made their debut. Simply search out a free conference calling service using any internet search engine. Once you have found a free conference service with the features you need, start planning your conference call now so that you have plenty of time to be flexible for everyone.
Planning a Christmas party can be a lot of fun but it can be a lot of stress too. Make it easier on yourself and everyone else by delegating responsibilities or making plans together. You could even do both and really be efficient.
Whether it's delegating more responsibilities, rotating assignments in a hat or using a free conference call service to facilitate communication, a number of ways exist to help you make the process more fun. In the end you will all enjoy a great Christmas party that was planned with not nearly as much stress as you thought it would entail.
Author Andy Court is an avid enthusiast of new technology systems. He contributed to the launch of Rondee's free conference calling service in 2007. Andy has spent most of his life in the Southern part of California.