Five Questions

>>It's November and the party circuit is about to come alive, particularly with company holiday gatherings, and it's quite possible you'll see Sheryl Ferrie out there. She's spent five years at Destination Planning helping clients put on everything from six-figure galas to three-figure office parties. Anyone who has helped plan his or her company party knows the process can be challenging with all of the logistics, such as finding a venue, caterer, entertainment and accouterments. Then there is the fear of arranging a party that flops. If you haven't started planning, here is some information to get you going.

1. Where should companies begin when they're planning a party?

When I go to small businesses, I ask them, "Have you asked your employees what they want to do?" A lot of times the owner will say, "We're going to do this." For example, they'll have a sit-down dinner, but employees want to bring their families or children [and they can't].

Typically there are two ways to go. One is a nice sit-down dinner. [Businesses] pick a nice restaurant or go out on a boat or have an office party with a caterer. Then there are the [businesses] that say, "We live in Florida. Let's do something fun." They'll go to the beach or out on the trolley, going from restaurant to restaurant, maybe having cocktails.

2. When is the best time to start planning a

holiday party?

I think September or October is really good. But the trend happens to be planning the party in the short term. I think people are watching their dollars. I think they're so busy doing their other business that this is the last thing on their minds. And then all of a sudden they say, "Oh, yeah, we'd better plan a party."

3. If a company hasn't planned its party yet, is it

too late?

It depends on the type of party. If they're planning in November and they want to do a large party, they're not going to get the best caterer, they're not going to get the best musician, they're not going to get the best décor. But there's still time.

4. What are some of the party trends this year?

The holiday season down here is very different from up North. Some of the organizations don't even call it a holiday party; they just say it's an annual party. That's why we have gotten away from all that red and green. When you're down here you start your own traditions. [Décor-wise] it's all about metallics this season. We're really going metallics with lighting, doing the crazy Christmas trees-fuchsia, lime, copper, silver, gold and turquoise ornaments. Everything is very modern looking. The parties themselves have changed. Instead of doing a party, some companies will perform community service, where employees put together something at the hospital and visit the kids, for example.

5. Should companies leave their parties to the experts like you?

Everybody thinks they can plan a party, which nine out of 10 times they can. People will call us about consulting. I say, "Tell me your budget." I've done parties for $100,000 and I've done parties for $500 or $1,000. Consulting is a big part of what we do.

-Interview by Phil Borchmann