A Holiday Office Party may even be a good way to welcome back employees who were working from home during the pandemic.
With the holiday season rolling in, it’s time to give employees a chance to get together and enjoy some much-needed rest and relaxation, and what better way to celebrate the festive season than having a holiday party in the office?
A nice party will help boost morale and give them a chance to catch up with their colleagues.
Now, what every corporate holiday party needs are some great catering to make the event memorable for everyone.
Top Corporate Party Catering Ideas
- Have an international menu
- Have a dessert-only menu
- Host a vegetarian menu
- Have an interactive food station
- Have a holiday-themed menu
- Make a pairing menu
- Serve tapas instead of full course meals
- Host a holiday-themed cocktail party
- Have a selection of soups
- Have a pie party
- Make an era-inspired menu
- Have a movie-inspired menu
- Have camping-themed food
Here are some holiday party catering ideas for your next corporate holiday party.
1. Have an International Menu
Your office will likely have employees from different countries and cultural backgrounds and you can celebrate this diversity in the office by having a menu of various international cuisines, like Italian, Indian and Japanese.
You could try a different mix of international food for every office holiday party.
2. Have a Dessert-only Menu
Arrange a menu that will satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth by doing away with the main course and only having a big selection of delicious sweets. Include cakes, jellies, and even some exotic desserts like Turkish delights.
3. Host a Vegetarian Menu
Having a vegetarian menu will be a great change from the more traditional holiday party menus. Vegetarian dishes will keep your vegetarian employees happy and give non-vegetarians a chance to try new dishes.
4. Have an Interactive Food Station
With an interactive food station, you can make food both fun and tasty. Food stations like salad bars let your guests have fun making their own salads and you could consider hiring some professional chefs to custom-make some dishes for your guests during the party.
5. Have a Holiday-Themed Menu
This may be a very obvious choice but it’s still a very fun one. Having a menu based on holidays like Halloween and Christmas can bring out the holiday spirit in employees during an office holiday party.
Try some horror-inspired food items, like meatballs that look like eyes and sausages resembling bloody fingers.
6. Make a Pairing Menu
No holiday office party would be complete without some wine and a great way to make wine more exciting is to make a pairing menu.
What you need to do is match some simple appetizers with servings of wine. Here are some interesting pairing ideas:
- Barbecue ribs and Malbec
- Salmon and Pinot Noir
- Lamb chops and Bordeaux
- Apple Crumble and Sweet Riesling
7. Serve tapas instead of full course Meals
Usually, employees want to mingle and catch up with their colleagues during a company party and this may be more important to them than what’s on the menu. Serving only tapas, which are basically small bite-sized appetizers that guests can casually snack on while chatting can be both cost-effective for you and convenient for guests.
8. Host a Holiday-themed Cocktail Party
Holiday cocktail parties are a common affair but why not try a holiday-themed one? You can arrange a selection of cocktails that are inspired by a holiday. For example, you can have cocktails that resemble potions and witch’s brew for Halloween or colorful cocktails that pay homage to Christmas decorations for Christmas.
9. Have a Selection of Soups
The holiday season can be pretty chilly so including a nice selection of traditional soups into the menu will be great for keeping your guests warm, especially if the office party is held at an outdoor venue.
10. Have a Pie party
Pies are very versatile foods; they can be both a dessert and a main course.
Have a menu of only savory pies, like chicken pot pie and steak and kidney pie for the main course, and an assortment of dessert pies with favorites like apple pie and banana cream pie.
11. Make an Era-inspired menu
Have a menu of foods from different eras, like the 90s and 80s.
You can include some old favorites like pizza bagels, casseroles, and olive focaccia which were popular dishes back in the 90s, or even some vintage 60s era recipes, like chicken a la king and cheese fondue.
12. Have a Movie-inspired menu
Everyone loves holiday movies and a great way to celebrate this is to have a movie-inspired menu, with iconic foods seen in movies such as Peking duck from “A Christmas Story” or macaroni and cheese from “Home Alone”. You can have a mishmash of these different foods to make a fun menu.
13. Have Camping-themed food
Give your party an outdoorsy vibe by making a menu of traditional camping food, like sausages and smores. This would be a great idea for an outdoor office party.
Try these Holiday Party Catering ideas for a party you won’t forget
Corporate holiday parties are a great way for everyone to relax and reflect on their year, and with these catering ideas, you can make your next holiday party one to remember.