Christmas is just around the corner, and with it comes the last minute panic to secure the best catering, entertainment, and drinks suppliers for your event... For anyone involved in planning the annual office do, we know how quickly December creeps up on us all, so we've put together some handy recommendations of some of our favourite suppliers for festive bashes.
Check out our top picks below, and if you're still looking for venues, have a browse of our favourite venues for last minute bookings - and get your skates on to book them!
Serve up a festive feast
Let's face it: the way to your guests' hearts is (more often than not) through their stomachs, so you'll need to serve up some seriously special nosh at your Christmas party. Luckily we've got a range of the top caterers for festive events, and we'll dish up the desserts!
From out-of-the-ordinary creations, to classic turkey with all the trimmings, you'll be spoilt for choice with these fabulous festive suppliers.
Dinner Ladies Catering
Dinner Ladies is a London-based catering company that specialises in providing great food and fun events. They use only the freshest British ingredients to create bold and exciting flavours for their Christmas feasting menus, including hot-smoked salmon, ginger winter tomatoes, and coronation cauliflower and pomegranate vol-au-vents (as well as delicious drinks!).
Their team is passionate about sustainability, and they offer planet conscious menus alongside their usual offering, making these guys a stand-out option for planning events with the planet in mind. Plus, they offer professional servers, beautiful table settings, and more to make sure your event is truly one of a kind, and a stress-free event planning experience!
From £60 per guest
Easy Gourmet Catering
With their versatile menu options (ranging from street food to afternoon tea!), Easy Gourmet Catering is a perfect, quirky choice for any event. Their team of highly trained chefs and experienced events staff will work with you to create a truly memorable experience, providing everything from delicious food to stunning table settings, making sure that they really live up to their name!
For something a bit out-of-the-ordinary at a festive event, why not bring them in to provide a selection of delicious street food stations, or even a Christmas barbecue?? We bet your guests won't forget this feast in a hurry!
From £35 per guest
Moving Venue
When it comes to food, Moving Venue is a caterer that always goes above and beyond. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, they've mastered the art of creating customised menus that are designed to complement your event's style.
These guys go for luxury, and they certainly won't disappoint: with seasonal ingredients and a focus on fresh, local produce - plus some truly scrumptious presentation - their dishes are sure to impress your guests.
From £10k + VAT
Keep the drinks flowing
If there's one thing we've learnt about Christmas events, it's that an incredible cocktail goes a long way in setting your party apart from the crowd. Why settle for white or red when you can whip up a snowstorm in a glass and have guests tumbling headfirst into the festive spirit?!
Here are a few of our favourite suppliers for fun, festive drinks to 'tipple' the balance in favour of your party!
Mix and Match Cocktails
With their high-end cocktail bar service, bespoke cocktail menu creation, professional mixologists, and even mobile bars, Mix and Match are sure to make any festive event a success. Their impeccable customer service is guaranteed to make them go down as well as a tipple of sherry with a figgy pudding, and that's just the tip of the holly bush!
They also provide ample branding opportunities and stylish costumes to complement any event style, and make your brand memorable for all guests. So if you're looking for a unique way to wow your guests at your Christmas party, these master mixologists are your perfect (mix and) match!
From £750
Set The Bar Cocktails and Mobile Bar
Set The Bar is the perfect choice for anyone looking to add a touch of luxury to their event. Whether you’re planning an intimate gathering or a large-scale celebration, Set The Bar comes highly recommended, taking care of everything from staffing and bartending services, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a delicious cocktail concoction!
With bespoke menu planning and recommended pairings, the team will help to make sure your event is a success from start to finish. Plus, they can supply their own bar so wherever you hold your party, you'll have fabulous drinks on tap.
From £500
Sixth Sense Experiential Cocktail Bar
Sixth Sense are masters of the mind-boggling, and this incredible drinks set-up is like nothing you've ever seen before, with liquid nitrogen cocktails that are sure to take your event to the next level! Not only will your guests be amazed by the theatrics of this unique experience, but they'll also be able to enjoy delicious, one-of-a-kind drinks that are sure to leave a lasting impression!
It's a great way to inject some fun into a party, and bring some childlike excitement to your colleagues!
From £1050
Custom Canned Drinks
Add a splash of celebration to every gulp with Custom Canned Drinks - your go-to for infusing each delightful cocktail with the spirit of your brand or the vibrant vibe of your festive gathering.
This innovative company allows you to embellish their delicious cocktails (our favourite is the Rosemary!) with your logo or selected motif, and voilà - you're all set for an extraordinary, bespoke drink experience that will leave a lasting impression!
From £3.50 per can
Deck the Halls!
Twilight Trees
If you're looking to set the scene for a winter wonderland, look no further than Twilight Trees. Their beautiful Christmas trees are guaranteed to make your guests feel like they've stumbled into Narnia, especially with some clever thought around making the cloakroom into an entrance...
Taking inspiration from alpine slopes, and topped with a dusting of snow, their green or gold trees will instantly elevate your event and transform your venue into a magical space. For an added dash of elegance, why not also hire their circular bar (which works perfectly with a tree in the centre!) for an après-ski vibe with added style?
From £395
Get snap happy
Once you've gone to all the effort of setting up an incredible Christmas party, make sure you capture the fun with some professional photography and filming! There's nothing like a photo souvenir to keep guests singing your praises, and these suppliers make the photography part of the party experience.
Ignite Images
Roaming photographers are a great way to get people talking about your event - and your brand! - long after it's over, but it can take weeks or months to see the hotly-anticipated pictures.
But with Ignite Images' roaming photographers, you guests won't have to wait - they'll be shared with them instantly via text or email at the event, and you can even opt to have the photos printed on the spot, so your guests will have a physical souvenir of the event to take home with them. It's like Christmas came early!
From £650
Say Fromage Photo Booths and Filming
Say Fromage is the perfect studio to hire if you're looking for creative and innovative ways to capture your event. They specialise in both photography and videography, so you can be sure that your event will be remembered for years to come.
With Say Fromage, you'll get stylish, high-end photo booth set-ups, and you can opt to bring in their videographers to preserve those memories (and dance moves) in style. With their expertise, your event is guaranteed to go down in the hall of fame!
From £1150
Smartpics Photobooths
Smartpics provide uniquely designed photo booths that add fun and excitement to any corporate or private event. The photo booths are hand-built with state-of-the-art photographic technology to ensure excellent picture quality and stylish design, and they offer instant-printing to give guests a treat to take away. Set up a photo booth at your Christmas party and we guarantee you'll have trouble dragging guests away - even with the promise of champagne!
From £625
Crack out the entertainment
Aerial performers
An aerial artist is a great way to add excitement and entertainment to your next event, and the acrobats from Just Talent are something special! With their unique combination of athleticism and artistry, an aerial performer is sure to wow your guests with their gravity-defying feats. And with a variety of costumes, music, and routines to choose from, you can customise their performance to perfectly fit your event's them and create a spectacular centrepiece for your party.
From £250 an hour
Cabaret performers
Life is a cabaret, so make yours a night to remember! Set the scene for a special event that'll go down in company history with some seriously memorable cabaret performers from Stormont's expert repertoire, and we guarantee you'll be laughing all the way to the taxi home!
With a team of experienced comedians and dancers doing the rounds, your event is sure to have guests 'stocking' up on jokes to tell in the office for months to come. With plenty of laughs, audience interaction, and show-biz pizzazz on tap, these entertainers are sure to make your event a Christmas cracker!
From £1090
Champagne pourers
If you want to add a touch of glamour and sophistication to your champagne soirée, why not bring in immersive actors to serve your drinks? With hoop skirts to balance the glasses, they're quite the statement centrepiece for a party!
It's a fun way to break the ice (or icicles) and get guests immersed in a magical atmosphere for the night. You can customise their costumes to match the theme of your event, whether it's a 1920s speakeasy or a Victorian murder mystery, and create an atmosphere of mystery and excitement that your guests will never forget (even after a glass or two!)!
From £760
Complimentary drinks
Complimentary Drinks are hilarious professional entertainers who will make sure your guests are treated to personalised, uplifting compliments throughout the event. Your charming hosts will circulate throughout your event, giving guests a tipple of confidence here and there, and spreading some positive, festive spirits!
This immersive treat is the perfect way to add some extra sparkle and break the ice, and with incredible costumes and show-bizz flair, these sweet performers will do wonders for the memorability of your Christmas do!
From £200 per hour
DJ Philly
And finally, it's not a party without some rowdy dancing, and for the all-important boogie after Christmas dinner, there's no one like DJ Philly for getting your guests on the dance floor all night long!
With a mix of music that spans genres and decades, there's something for everyone to enjoy. And with her high-profile clients including some of the biggest names in entertainment (think Angelina Jolie, Lewis Hamilton, and Naomi Campbell), your guests will be in good company on the dance floor!
From £60
Keen to make your Christmas party a cracker? Snap up our suggested suppliers and you'll be sure to have a corker of a time! From Christmas trees to deck the halls, to performers to welcome your guests, these suppliers have Christmas in the bag.
Still looking for more festive favourites? Check out our nice list of more of the best suppliers around to find the perfect partners for your party! And if you're looking for festive backdrops, hitch a sleigh ride over to our top Christmas party venues to find the perfect spot for your party.
Author
Jessamy Cowie
Jessamy channels her passion for sustainability and cultural events into shining a spotlight on innovation and inspiration in the events world, and heading up Hire Space's sustainability committee.
