Hungarian corporate Christmas celebrations no to be cancelled

Pandemic forces companies into online Christmas parties. The most popular are gastro programs, quizzes and escape rooms.

Vg.hu reports that offers introducing different online corporate Christmas programs have appeared on the market. The possible program elements are compiled based on the number of guests, age composition and the size of the budget for the event – said Andrea Gáspár, managing director of LifeTraining Kft., which is working with large corporate partners.

There is a huge need for Christmas atmosphere among people working together, to have a meeting where management can say thanks for the past year, the extended working hours and performance in the home office.

But, as she recalled, it was already known in September that traditional corporate parties, festive lunches, dinners, concerts, and even small receptions would not be possible this Christmas. At first, event organisers even thought of hybrid solutions, because the restaurants were still open, but in fact, everyone was sure it was risky to invite employees and customers to a Christmas dinner.

Most online corporate Christmas parties are held in the last full work week before the holiday, with the peak day promising to be December 14th. According to Andrea Gáspár’s experience, the online escape room is at the top of the list, but several companies also present their employees with pop up educational performances, development trainings, theatre performances and concerts.

The majority plan two-hour events, or three hours at most if the program includes cooking.

Virtual wine tastings, gastro workshops and craft classes are typically made from pre-posted ingredients, and well-known chefs and gastro bloggers guide participants. The gastro line is the most popular and also the most expensive due to the costly special ingredients.

Missing Christmas and New Year events is a loss for event venues and traditionally high-traffic restaurants at the end of the year. But creative solutions have also appeared here: the Michelin-acclaimed Laurel Restaurant and Wine Bar, for example, is re-implementing its idea of offering two fine dining boxes from when they had to close due to the second wave,