Organising the workplace Christmas do can be a bigger task than people realise when they volunteer to do it (or get volunteered to do it). Planning the holiday party involves a lot of small details, and it’s best to have them sorted with the venue well in advance.

To ensure none of these details slip through the cracks, we’ve made a list of questions to ask a Dublin venue during your initial planning stages, before the contracts come out. Take a five minute phone call to ask these questions now, and when December rolls around you’ll have everything sorted already – all you’ll have to do day of is relax and enjoy the Christmas party with your colleagues.

Start looking earlier than you think you need to

Most Christmas party enquiries in Dublin land in October, and by then the best dates are already going fast, so September is the best time to start your search. Fridays and Saturdays through the first three weeks of December are always the first to fill, and mid week dates follow quickly after.

If you know which date or even which week you want, get in touch now. Even a provisional date goes a long way to keep your options open.

Is the space private?

Every venue is different, and spaces advertised for events can have varying degrees of separation from the main crowd or other groups. If it’s important to your group to have the room to yourselves or a private bar, be sure to clarify the specifics on the front end: Do we have exclusive use of the room? Does it include its own bar? If you can pop by in person, having a quick tour of the event space can also be a great way to visualise how the space will work for your party.

What are the minimum and maximum numbers?

Maximum capacity numbers tend to be more prominently advertised, but it’s important to ask about minimum numbers for an event space as well. Most venues have both, and the minimum numbers tend to be higher on the busiest dates.

For example, our Blue Room usually accommodates events of 25 to 50 guests, but during key dates in December we open our additional event spaces for smaller groups when our biggest space is needed for groups of 40 or more.

How does the menu work?

Ask how many courses are included, whether the menu is fixed or has choices, and when you need to send final selections. If the venue offers choices, they will likely request them a week or more in advance, so ask your team about these preferences early.

Dietary requirements are also important to address early. Most kitchens will have no problem managing vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free options as long as they have all the information with advance notice. Ask your team if anyone has allergies or dietary restrictions, and ask the venue whether the kitchen can flex the menu slightly if your group has particular needs.

How does the bar work?

It’s good to decide early how you want to handle drinks – money behind the bar, a reception drink on arrival, a tab with a limit, or leave it entirely to guests – then check with the venue about what options they offer.

Ask whether a tab can be capped, how it’s settled at the end of the night, and whether wine can be pre-ordered for the tables. Getting this all sorted in advance will have you free to mingle and enjoy the party – not stuck at the till all evening!

What is the music policy?

Especially in older buildings, it’s important to address what type of musical entertainment they can accommodate. Many of Dublin’s most unique venues are protected structures, which limits what they can do with amplified sound  –  meaning if you’re planning for your event to have a dance floor and a DJ, be sure to ask the venue about it early!

Schoolhouse, for example, is a protected historic building, so we can bring in acoustic live music such as acoustic guitar and vocals, and our Blue Room has a surround sound system to connect your own playlist to. There’s also a television with an HDMI connection if you’d like to run a slide show. But for the comfort of our hotel guests, we’re not able to accommodate DJs, amplified live music, or outside sound systems.

When can you get into the room?

If you are bringing decorations, name cards, a cake or anything else that needs setting up, be sure to find out what time you can access the space.

At Schoolhouse, we open the room for you thirty minutes ahead of the event for setting up, and we can provide quality tablecloths upon request. If you want to go further with the styling, we can recommend a great local florist to help make the space really shine.

What is the deposit and the cancellation policy?

Ask what the deposit is, when the balance is due, and what happens if your numbers drop between now and December. People’s plans change quickly during the holiday season, so it’s good to have a plan for if a few people cancel last minute.

In case of bigger contingencies, it’s always wise to clarify the cancellation terms before signing anything. Most venues will be happy to discuss these things up front.

How will people get there and home?

Think about where your group is coming from. A venue that suits the office may not suit the people travelling in from further out.

We are in Ballsbridge, a few minutes from Lansdowne Road DART station and a straightforward walk or short taxi from the city centre, which keeps things simple at both ends of the evening.

Can guests stay the night?

A hotel venue offers a far more convenient ending for the night than the hassle of getting a taxi, especially on a weekend night in the holiday season – no small task in Dublin. Ask whether accommodation rates are available for your group and until when they are held.

We have 31 cosy and comfortable guest rooms on site, so if your party guests aren’t keen on standing on the street checking their taxi app, they can just walk upstairs at the end of the night, and wake up to a full Irish breakfast in the morning.

Christmas at the Schoolhouse

Our Blue Room takes its name from the aquamarine and indigo shades running through it, and it is genuinely unlike anywhere else in Dublin. The original vaulted ceiling is still overhead, there is a fireplace crackling away through the winter, and the whole room was a classroom in a building that opened in 1859.

We host Christmas lunches, evening dinners, corporate celebrations and smaller family gatherings through the season, with seasonal menus, drinks receptions and a team who will walk you through the planning.

Have a look at our seasonal celebrations page for menus and details, or email [email protected] to check availability for your date. December fills quickly, so the sooner the better.