The holidays are almost here and if you’re an event planner you’re probably already in high gear decking the halls with boughs of holly. When finalizing your holiday party plans, here are some things to consider.
Plan ahead
We hope you’ve made your list and checked it twice. With the holidays, one of the of the most important aspects is starting well in advance. Many organizations will be booking on the same days during December.
When working with a LIVE event production company, like MAC Productions, most AV professionals will want to do a site visit before your event to figure out what it’s going to take to make your event perfect.
Once an event manager assesses the space, it will help inform how we can utilize the room more creatively and even avoid problems that a client might not see.
Whether it’s a conference or a holiday soirée, MAC Productions will help you put on the best event possible.
Set the mood with lighting and music for you holiday party
When planning an event, pick an event theme. It could be a winter wonderland, Santa’s workshop or just a simple monotone color scheme you wish to stick to.
While a production team can help with music amplification, equipment for announcements or a slideshow, that isn’t the most important part of your event. Whenever you have a party— it’s all about the ambiance you create. That’s done mostly through lighting and music.
At MAC Productions, we believe there’s nothing worse than showing up to a holiday party in a space without any special lighting or even worse — fluorescent lighting.
Music and lighting are key to anything. If you’re in a room where the music is too loud to talk — or if you don’t hear the music at all, it can leave your guests with a bad impression. Likewise, if you’re at a holiday party with no holiday décor, it’s easy to wonder if the Grinch came and stole the decorations before the event.
Something as simple as a projection of snowflakes falling on a wall or a fog machine to make it seem like a cold winter night can bring a room together. Even a few well-placed spotlights or strings lights can elevate your space.
Take extra steps to set the mood: Go to Spotify and look through the Happy Holidays playlists. They have categories like Family, Jazz, Chill and Party – based on the mood you want to set, just pick a playlist and hit play. You can also have your team collaborate on a playlist.
For decorations, wrap up a few empty Amazon boxes and stack them in a corner or under a tree. Bad at wrapping? Strategically place bowls of ornaments on your tables.
It’s critical to create the right mood and feeling with lighting and sounds and there’s a delicate balance in creating the right ambiance with the proper audiovisuals, which an AV Production team can help with.
“It’s almost a primal thing that we tap into, especially during the holidays,” said MAC Productions CEO Quinn McMurtry.
You can take a grumpy person, and with the right lighting and mood, you can make their heart grow three sizes. Good ambiance can transform the whole evening for them.
Looking for an over-the-top event idea? MAC’s seen it all
MAC Productions Founder Mike Claypool said one year, the company turned the elevator shaft at the Florence Mall into a fireplace with a chimney.
“Santa came down the elevator with his bag of toys and walked out of the fireplace with the kids all around the fireplace and chimney. It was pretty cool,” he said.
Another year, while assisting a Covington church for a holiday parade, MAC Productions shot a flare with a parachute off the top of the now Radisson Hotel to represent the North Star.
One parade MAC Productions helped with featured a mock manger scene with Mary and Joseph carrying baby Jesus, followed by the three Wisemen and choir of angels. It ended in Goebel Park, with smores, cookies and eggnog for “all ye faithful.”
There was even a donkey in attendance because attention to detail is everything.
At MAC Productions, we make your vision a reality, working with your ideas. Contact us today for help planning your 2022 events.
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