New Year’s Eve party meal – to buffet or not to buffet?

19/09/2007

The New Year’s Eve office party is the perfect time for the whole office to get together and blow of some end of year steam. Dancing, drinking and general merriment are all part of the equation. If you are serving food at your New Year’s Eve party the question is do you supply a buffet or a sit down meal? Each will bring advantages and disadvantages to the party atmosphere.

The best thing about a buffet meal service is that people can decide on the amount of food that they want to eat and your set up can be minimal with just plates and cutlery or with a full setting at each seat at the table. A buffet allows you to save money on wait staff and you can centralise the location of all your drinks as well, allowing more room at the table for New Year’s Eve party favours and decorations. You can serve a much larger group of people with a buffet rather than with a sit down meal.

The clean up time with a buffet can be longer but it can be done right at the end when there are no guests to get in the way of the wait staff and caterer.

The advantage to serving your New Year’s Eve party guests at the table is that it adds a little bit of elegance and sophistication to the party. Having a fully served sit down meal also means that there is less possibility of food accidents and drink spills, which can occur with a buffet. If you are planning on having New Year’s Eve toasts and speeches during the dinner service then the sit down option is best. People walking around getting food during the speeches allows for distractions and noise.

It also depends on the guests that will be attending the New Year’s Eve party. Your office staff may be more aligned to the buffet option rather than the sit down option or vice versa.

Remember to check with your guests if they have any food allergies or special dietary requirements and ensure these are communicated to your venue or caterer.

Decide on the type of dinner service by the type of atmosphere you are trying to create for your office New Year’s Eve party. What ever you decide should help to foster a fun, enjoyable and memorable night for all involved, including you.