The company holiday party has one job: people who spend the year in separate departments, on separate floors, in separate time zones on separate video calls, spend one evening actually talking to each other. Most of the time it ends with each department at its own table, looking at its phones.
Entertainment can fix that, if it is the right kind and booked at the right time. Here is what I have learned doing these in Las Vegas.
The December calendar problem
Holiday parties cluster into a few weeks in December, and most of them want a Friday or Saturday. Venues, caterers and entertainers all get booked for the same handful of nights.
- Book 30 to 90 days ahead. If you are reading this in October, you are in good time. In late November, you are choosing from what is left.
- Weeknights are easier. A Tuesday or Wednesday in early December is far easier to book — for the venue and the entertainment.
- Consider January. More companies now hold a “new year” party in January instead. Better availability, better rates, and people are not exhausted from four other parties that month.
Which format fits your party
| Your party | What works |
|---|---|
| Office party, 20–80 people, standing | Strolling close-up magic for 1–2 hours |
| Restaurant buyout or private dining room | Table to table during dinner, or a short seated set after |
| Ballroom dinner, 100–500 | Strolling during cocktail hour, then table to table |
| Client appreciation dinner | Seated parlor set after dinner — one shared moment |
| Team of under 60, seated | A 30–45 minute parlor show |
For most holiday parties, strolling magic during arrival and cocktails is the best single investment. It works the room while people are still standing in their usual groups, which is exactly when they need breaking up. If you want the details on each format, see which kind of magician your event needs.
Timing the evening
Put the magic at the start. The first hour, while people arrive and get a drink, is when they are most awkward and most in need of something to do. That is when strolling magic does its best work.
Keep it away from the speeches. If leadership is going to talk, finish the magic before or start it after. Nothing competes well with a microphone.
Mind the open bar. Two hours into an open bar, a room is louder and less patient. A good performer adjusts, but a seated set works best before the bar has done its full work, not after.
Getting departments to mix
This is what strolling magic is genuinely good at. I walk up to three people from accounting and two from sales who have stood next to each other for twenty minutes without speaking. I borrow a ring from one and a card from another. A minute later, the ring is somewhere impossible, everyone is reacting, and they are talking to each other about it — not to me.
Tell me in advance if there are particular groups you want mixed, new hires you want welcomed, or a leader who needs to be seen as a good sport. I will make sure it happens.
Keeping it appropriate
A company party has a wide audience — new hires, senior leadership, partners and spouses, sometimes clients. My material is clean by default and adjusted to the room. A client appreciation dinner and a team party after two hours of open bar are different briefs; tell me which one it is.
Practical checklist
- Date, start time and how long the party runs
- Venue, and whether it requires a vendor insurance certificate (most hotels and many restaurants do — I carry $100,000 and send it directly)
- Roughly how many guests, and whether they will be standing or seated
- When the speeches or awards are
- One contact name and phone number for the night
Cost
Corporate events in Las Vegas start at $1,500 with me; Los Angeles at $2,000 with travel included. December dates are the most in-demand of the year, so the earlier you book, the more choice you have. Full breakdown on the price guide and the corporate events page.
Check your date
Send me your date, venue and guest count below. I will tell you straight away whether I am free — and if I am not, I will tell you who else I would trust with it.
