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Plan Your Perfect Christmas Event: Ideas and Themes
Plan Your Perfect Christmas Event: Ideas and Themes
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The holiday season is here, and it's time to start planning the perfect Christmas event! Whether it's a fun-filled family gathering or an elegant corporate party, everyone loves to celebrate Christmas in their unique way. But, planning an event isn't easy, especially when it's about Christmas. When it comes to creating the perfect event, there are so many options. In this blog post, we'll provide you some amazing ideas and themes to make your event unforgettable.


1. DIY Christmas Ornaments Workshop

Creating handmade Christmas ornaments can be an excellent idea for your event. You can organize a workshop where people can learn to make their unique decorations. It can be an excellent activity for friends and family to bond over. Your guests will be able to take home a personalized ornament, which can act as a memorable keepsake.


2. Wreath Crafting

Crafting a wreath has become a popular Christmas trend in recent years. You can teach your guests how to create a stunning wreath for their homes with just a few simple materials. Participants will enjoy this hands-on activity, and the end creations can be a great addition to their Christmas decorations.


3. Homemade Gift Hampers

Gift hampers are an ideal way to show love and appreciation. You can create customized homemade gift hampers for your loved ones who attend your event. These hampers can be filled with items such as chocolates, homemade cakes, and Christmas-themed decorations.


4. Cocktail Making Workshop

Hosting a cocktail making workshop can be a fun idea for your New Year's Eve party. If you’re good at making cocktails, this is an excellent opportunity to teach others. You can introduce guests to some unique and different cocktail recipes, which they can use in their future parties.


5. Traditional Christmas Dishes Workshop

There is something special about the traditional Christmas dishes. If you’re good at cooking them, then you can teach others. You can organize a Christmas dish workshop where participants can learn to cook various traditional dishes and share with their family and friends.
Moving on, let's take a look at some fantastic ideas and themes for Christmas and New Year's events.


6. Breakfast with Santa

Breakfast with Santa is an exciting concept, especially for families with young children. You can organize this event at low cost and make it memorable by inviting Santa! Children will enjoy the morning meal, and parents can take some beautiful photos with Santa.


7. Dumpling Making Parties

Cooking parties are a new trend and can be a grand idea for Christmas day. The party can be served with Christmas-themed food and decorations. You can host this party at your home or book this at Otao kitchen venue to make it more significant.


8. Christmas Markets

Christmas markets are trendy events where people can come and buy unique Christmas gifts or just enjoy the festive atmosphere. You can create a perfect market with a theme, for instance, a vintage market or a natural market, to add an extra festive touch.


9. Christmas Party

Last but not least, what's Christmas without a theme party? You can host a Christmas party with a themed decoration, for instance, Italian classics or New Mexican. You can plan some fun activities such as games, movies, and singing Christmas carols.

With these creative ideas and themes, your Christmas event planning will turn from stressful to fun. Whether you decide to host a DIY workshop, dumpling party, or a themed party, you’ll be able to create memories that will last a lifetime. Always remember that the most important thing about the holiday season is coming together with loved ones and cherishing those moments. Happy Event Planning!

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Virtual Event Tips and Tricks
Virtual Event Tips and Tricks
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2020 has transformed the event industry world upside down. Technology became a matter of fact, and the events started happening on screens. As the world has not recovered from COVID-19 yet, Virtual event has been the safest way to organise an event.

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How To Engage Your Staff and Enhance Corporate Virtual Event
How To Engage Your Staff and Enhance Corporate Virtual Event
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Most physical events have been on hold for the past six months. While corporate events will likely be the first to make a full comeback, many companies we spoke to delayed all live business meetings well into 2021. When you hold corporate events, they will be mainly Zoom webinars during the pandemic, but these types of interactions won't deliver results long-term.  With the live stream becoming the default meeting room, how do you enhance these experiences to make an impact on your team? Read more to get you some ideas?

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10 Tips For Planning A Company Conference and Event?
10 Tips For Planning A Company Conference and Event?
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Looking for Planning A Company Conference and Event? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve seen a lot of business events over the years, and there are ten steps we’ve identified as key to a successful event. This guide may not be all of what you need to do because it will depend on the type of event you are holding, we can suggest some best practices that are important to follow for any event. 

 

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Event Planning Trends in 2020
Event Planning Trends in 2020
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Business event future is shrouded in uncertainty which the outlook depends on several factors in Australia and overseas such as resurgences of the virus, medical advances, restrictions on travel, the economy at large after easing restriction. The industry will bounce back. After all, we can't wait to see other people face-to-face because we like a strong sense of community and other people. Speak to many of our event planners, they share with us:

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Making Team Building an Everyday Priority
Making Team Building an Everyday Priority
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If your team is experienced and hard-working but its performance has been "hit and miss". You may find the team has lost some of its energy and motivation and morale is beginning to drop. You can get people back on track by exploring some team-building strategies and activities. Team building is about providing bonding time that your people need so that they can work in harmony. But, to be truly effective, it needs to be a continual process, embedded in your team and business culture.

There's a place for one-off team-building exercises, but they need to have a clear purpose, such as improving a particular skill and must be well designed to avoid conflict. In this article, you can explore how to use team-building activities and exercises as part of an ongoing strategy for developing a strong and effective team.

Getting Started with Identifying Your Team’s Needs

The first and most important step when planning team building activities is to identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Start by asking questions to identify the root of any problems. 

  • Are there any conflicts within the team?
  • Do they need to know one another better?
  • Is poor communication affecting the team progress?
  • Do people need to learn to work together, instead of individually?
  • Does the group need a morale boost?

Making Team Building Part of Your Business

Regular team-building sessions are one way to strengthen the bonds within your team, but they are not a shortcut to success. Instead, you need to make team-building part of your team thinking. Think about the team-building potential of routine workplace activities. You can use the four strategies to develop your team’s strength, cohesiveness and effectiveness:

1. Get to Know Your Team

Your team is made up of people with different needs, ambitions and personalities. Getting to know your team, and helping them to get to know each other, can build a happy, trusting team.

Hosting an evening drink is an easy way to start to get your team members mixing and mingling. Attending social events such as cooking classes is a great way to build relationships. People will more likely to open up and reveal more of their personalities in a relaxed setting. We think sharing aspects of your personal life increases your likability, as it shows others that you can be an empathic, compassionate and authentic manager.

2. Work Toward a Common Goal

You can unite your team by inspiring them to get behind a shared vision or goal. Having an identified destination can prevent individuals from pulling in different directions, which is frustrating and ineffective. Creating a plan can provide your people with a written definition of the team’s purpose and goals. You can find strategies for bringing a team together to achieve a particular goal.

3. Develop Strong Team Skills

Your team needs to develop the right skills and competencies to achieve its goals. Developing stronger skill sets, and matching your people to the roles best suited to them, can result in a more able, more motivated team. Chances are, as more and more people work from home or remotely, you could find yourself managing a virtual workplace. It can be hard to get to know team members who have limited meeting face-to-face. Time zones and cultural differences can present challenges when considering team building activities or strategies for virtual teams. It is possible to stay in regular and effective communication with virtual team members, given the wide range of available online tools. However, the key to building an effective team lies more in how its members to meet face-to-face than in the technology they use.

TEAM BUILDING AT OTAO KITCHEN

Team building can only occur when relevant and timely activities that address specific needs are part of your business. One-off exercises can help with this, but they are not a shortcut to success. The purpose of team building activities is to motivate your people to work together, to develop their strengths, and to address any weaknesses. So, any team-building exercise should encourage collaboration rather than competition.

Be sure to incorporate team building into your workplace. For example, get to know your people better, work toward common goals, develop their skills, and make the extra effort to connect with your virtual team. In this way, you'll build a firm foundation of purpose and trust that you can add challenging events appropriately.

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