If you are planning a staff Christmas party in London, the chances are that those coming are going to be a diverse bunch. For every born-and-bred Londoner, there are sure to be just as many (or more) people who are from elsewhere in the UK or even overseas.
While every London Christmas has some influences from overseas, such as the Norwegian pine tree in Trafalgar Square or even the way Coca-Cola designed the modern manifestation of Father Christmas, there are many ways of ensuring your Christmas party captures a true London theme.
Thankfully, that doesn’t have to include the classic pre-catastrophe Eastenders phrase: “This is going to be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had.” Instead, there are many ways of making this a happy time.
You might go for some classic London themes in your party invites, for example, showing iconic elements like red buses, the Tube signs, the Christmas lights on Oxford Street, or Beefeaters from the Tower.
However, the most important thing will be the food. Christmas meals usually include some pretty ubiquitous stuff, like turkey with stuffing, roast potatoes and figgy pudding, but how about your party blending the festive with some traditional Cockney fare?
That’s where our Christmas menu comes in. There’s traditional London pie and mash, but with a festive tweak. You can have a turkey, ham and stuffing pie, with the vegetarian alternative of a Christmas veggie pie with hints of nut and cinnamon. All this comes with not just the mash, but side choices including peas, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and gravy.
Having all this served up from a converted London Black Cab means you can enjoy a true London theme in your party, making the real-life Cockneys feel at home and the rest enjoy getting the real deal.
There are many other things you could do to take that London theme a bit further. While some people might want to wear Christmas-themed clothes like Santa hats, elf outfits, or reindeer antlers on their heads, you could try a London-themed fancy dress party. Imagine turning up as a pearly queen, a city gent, or as a character out of a Charles Dickens novel.
A great reason to run your party this way is it offers a great break from the norm. So often Christmas parties are dull affairs with people talking shop, or spending time with people they hardly know. But by adding in a theme, you can generate some fun and also create a few talking points.
For instance, with your Londoners and non-Londoners mixing, you can generate a few interesting conversations about how Christmas is celebrated in different places, especially if anyone present is from overseas.
Of course, there may be some who will happily tell you how lovely it is in somewhere like Australia where Christmas Day is partly spent on the beach. But while they may have the sunshine, they certainly won’t have the long history of a city like London, or its characteristic food to enjoy at any time of year, but this time with a special festive flavour.
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