The Secret of Planning a Company Christmas Party

Sarah has been with the company for three months now and has been given the grand task of planning the company's Christmas party.  "What do I know about planning a party?" she thought.  I am 25 years old, have no rug rats, and my kind of party is a keg with beer pong. 

Sarah's predecessor, Margaret, recently left the company after 12 years to raise her third child. Margaret was a Pinterest person, the type that would bookmark ideas and file them for future use. 

Sarah came across many of these documents left behind by Margaret. However, Margaret's folder, which read Christmas Party Ideas, contained an old list of employees, vendors' addresses, and an old coupon for a discontinued restaurant chain.  Apparently, Margaret was not leaving her ideas behind.

Sarah is frustrated, so she pours her soul out to her best friend Becky as she swigs down a cold Miller Lite. Becky hands Sarah a card and says, "This guy was at a business expo I attended.  He was funny and made some cool stuff with balloons. You should give him a call."

The next day, Sarah visited with the Human Resource Department and Accounting. There she was able to calculate the number of families that attended, gathered receipts for toys purchased, found the name of the banquet facility, along with a couple miscellaneous purchase from years past.  With this new data in hand, she was able to secure a hall and food.  Entertainment was here next priority, and this Balloon-dude was next on the list.  

"Hi, I'm calling about some balloon entertainment, and want to know your price?" Sarah exclaimed.  "Can you tell me more about your event and what do you envision the party to be like?" replied the voice.  This was the first time anybody asked what Sarah envisioned. 

"I want big candy canes scattered around the room, Christmas lights, a big ornate chair for Santa to sit on, a dance floor, and by the way do you know of anybody who plays Santa?", Sarah asked.  

"Yes" replied the voice, "I know an entertainer who plays Santa.  Do you need a name of a balloon decorator to help you with the large candy cane columns decorated with twinkly lights?" 

"Do you know of somebody?" Sarah asked. 

"I sure do", replied the voice.

Sarah looks around the room.  To her amazement, she did it.  The boss and management are happy, people keep complimenting her on the Magical Balloon-dude, and life is great.  

Inside Sarah's Christmas Folder of Ideas is stapled a business card with the words "Lifesaver" scratched in pen above the card.  Sarah did not realize it, but she had found a person whose years of experience offered guidance, and his contacts helped create the best holiday party the company has ever seen.

Sarah's tips for planning a Christmas party for the first time

• Look to the past, and see what has happened in the past
• Ask friends for recommendations
• Work with professionals who have great colleagues
• Share your vision with others, and have them make it happen 

Putting A Twist On Your Christmas Party, by giving Dale a call  (708) 744-0234

Halloween

As the moon rises, illuminating the nights sky, we slowly drift closer to all Hallows Eve. 

This is the time when the spooky and undead walk among the living, that is what the horror movies want us to believe.

So it is this time of year when the cute and pretty balloon designs disappear.  What is left behind are ghoulish, creepy, flesh eating designs, the ones I like to call a Zombie Halloween.

Standing Out in a Crowd

I can always spot an art student on their way to the Chicago Art Institute. Their clothing, hair, and attitude is unique as they walk down Columbus Drive.

I think people can do the same with me and my style of entertaining.   It's not my clothing or hair, but more my attitude and energy that I bring.

This has been my style, high energy, mile-a-minute talking, quick witted humor that I bring to every event.  My style and balloons twisting is unique, which like the girl in the picture, makes me stand out from the crowd.

The SEO Behind The Balloon Entertainer

I was told by an SEO guru that you should blog to help improve page ranking, so I started blogging.

I was told by another SEO guru that just blogging in one location doesn't help you,  you need to be all over the Internet.

So I  blogged, and blogged, until I couldn't blog any more.

The SEO guru's are right, blogging is one part of the equation,  they neglected to tell that thousands of other people are doing the same thing.  It comes down to longevity, and  the willingness to keep at it no, matter what.

Some guru's say, keywords are critical, others say it is readership, but all agree if people don't share your articles it's all for nothing.

The SEO guru's are all about ranking and what they forget is, blogging is a connection between you and the reader. A connection that can change lives.

I may never know if my blog posts will change a person's life but, maybe one has, and if it hasn't, please don't give up on me.  It could be something as simple as you're following the wrong blog.

Blogs I write.

Dale's Balloon Animal Blog - Deals with all thing balloon entertainment related.

Balloon Entertainment - Blog with no real direction, just me blogging about entertainment stuff.

1st Birthday Party - It's all about that special birthday, you know the first one.

Restaurant Entertainment - What to know what I know about restaurant entertainment, all of it here.

Trade Show Entertainment - Tips and trick for vendor who want to be successful at a trade show.

GrandOpeningHelp - All the cool stuff I've learned entertaining at grand openings available in on spot.

UnderstandingYourImage - Things I learned being a professional entertainer and how it transfers in to the business world.

Please feel free to leave me a note, just to let me know that you've read what I wrote.

Pros and Cons of having a Balloon Entertainer for a Husband.

I have several ideas/views on this subject.  I am on the line sometimes.  However, let’s start out with the

Pros

1. He is home during the week.   Unlike many of my friends, my husband works from home and only on the weekends.  Therefore, instead of us doing all of our fun stuff during the weekend we get to spread it over the week.  The older child does his homework and we get our coats on and go.
2. I get to work at home.  I quit my job several years ago and I now work at home trying to promote him and work on stuff with him.

 Cons

1. He is home during the week.  No just kidding…
2. I have to do stuff on the weekends by myself.  The weekend is usually the time that families get to do things together.  Most events happen on weekends.  Special celebrations with family, like birthday parties for cousins.  No matter which side of the family is hosting the event, I go.  If I did not go to anything with just the kids, I would NEVER see anyone.  Family understands that he is working.  He sneaks in visits with family in between, or before, or after shows.  I have learned that if I want to do something, I just have to go and do it.  It was hard in the beginning, but I think I am getting the hang of it.

I know it can be difficult.  Some people might not get it but they are not in my shoes.  My husband is a great father and a wonderful man.

The kids understand that Daddy works on weekends and that we do as much as we can on weekdays.  They like that he is there when they get home from school.  Our family is just a little different from yours.  I would not have it any other way. (Ok, well, maybe sometimes. Hahaha)

About the Author
Michelle Obrochta, wife of Balloon Entertainer Magical Balloon-dude, mother of two boys, head of the household, and Operations Manager of mbd2.com balloon store.

Michelle regularly writes about living with an entertainer, raising boys, and still family stuff.  Stop out and read her newest post,

The Recommendation

I’m an entrepreneur, like many people in the world seeking to make a living. My greatest resource are past customers and their recommendations.  They have seen my work and selling to them isn’t really selling, it more likes taking an order at a drive thru.  They know exactly what they want and know how much it is going to cost.

Would you make recommendation, if you could?

When it comes to corporate entertainment, perspective clients like to see testimonial from people in their industry or companies that have similar event.  They want to be assured that their event is not a Guinea pig for an act.

Search engines like to see back links to your website.  If your website is popular, you must be important or knowledgeable, or so the thought goes.  Either way, a back link from one website to another, in the search engines world is a recommendation.  Ironically, it is easier to get a recommendation from a competing company in writing then it is to get a link off their website.

In the world of Facebook, it is the like button.  I’ve learned that it is easier to like a picture then text, or just quicker to like two sentence thought then 350 word blog post.  Picture books are much easier to absorb then those books with all the words. We learned that as a child — a picture equals a thousand words.

So if you found this blog post somewhat intriguing or educational, why not recommend it to a friend. I’ve added a picture to make it easy on the eyes, words for the well-read, and simple to like, share, Google +1, tweet, and all that other social media stuff. So help an American entrepreneur with a quick recommendation, it is not a fad, it is not a craze, it is just a helping hand.

Corporate Entertainment

The allure of corporate entertainment and the big pay has entertainer’s struggling to acquire a chunk of this market. Creating website, brochures, online presentation, telemarketing, hours spent customizing data sheets, doing research on the individual and company doesn’t guarantee landing the gig.

It’s easier to wait by the phone and take the order when it arrives. Not seeking the glory or fame, but blend into the pack of others who wonder in amazement at those who stand on the corporate stage entertaining the world.

Corporate entertainer will tell you, ” It’s not hard getting corporate events. It took comment to do the work and perseverance to keep advancing, while others sit by the phone, waiting for it to ring.”