This is the second year we are doing this law firms xmas party. It was located at the Capital Club so there was a lot of traffic on the street due to Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose so a lot of folks came late. I came 2 hours early since I know I have to take my gear up 17 floors. It is a lot of work to get all the gear up there but the views make it worth it. The first two hours it was all Christmas classics. Everything people would hear when they were young then at the tail end I would do the covers of todays stars of doing of the classics.  During that time the staff was serving appetizers and cocktails were being served. Then we made the annoucent for dinner;

Then it was game time! Game contest was to get whip cream in their mouth. Participants would put whip cream on their wrist and slap their forearm then try to catch the whip cream with their mouth. They had a few rounds of that.  On the spot, I was able to find the jeopardy sound and a drum roll with limite internet access but made it happen.

After it was dance time. We were all about the 80s, funk and disco. This was my 3rd time being a Capital Club and the staff was very helpful and super nice. Capital Club has one of the best views of the city plus a great staff and fabulous food so it’s a good place to have a function.

 First and foremost you need to make sure you have a hip spot to have the holiday party. You don’t want to be the boss who has their functions at the work spot. I had a boss who had the xmas parties where we worked. Employees were encouraged to bring something for a potluck. It was so lame that I would not even attend even though it was during work hours. You don’t want to be lame as Mrs. R@#$# whoops did I almost say that outloud. Anyway my other  bosses made  the effort to find a spot so we can gather. When you are at work then it makes it hard to truly enjoy yourself at a holiday party if you are at work place. Going elsewhere brings more excitement to the staff.

 Once the place is selected then you have provide the vibe and that is set by the dj. What does the dj play? Some corporate events require all xmas songs during the dinner portion of the night. Others would want a mix of xmas music with some pop appropriate music that will get people dancing. Alcohol does help people let loose on the dance floor but its not mandatory. Its get to get a list from the party organizer so the dj can get a feel of what they are looking for.

One of our favorite spots to eat is Chick Fila and this is the second time we did the company party. Last year it was Newark and this year it was in Fremont Mariott. So what happens at these events?

 We did a gift wrapping game, musical chairs, dance, xmas bingo, raffles, more dancing and some speeches and then give out company swag. These games you try to get as many people involved. We always connect a few microphones so you can have multiple hosts and you have the music ready to go with the flip of a switch. These xmas events are all about celebrating the hard work that goes through the long year and it gives the employees something to look forward to. Corporate events are a good way to build company culture and make employees happy. I can tell that management truly appreciates their employees and truly want to celebrate them. We do like doing parties for other folks in the industry since they are done on the off days. The store is closed on Sundays so there is no excuse to not to go.

I do like setting up for the same company events since you know what they like already and it makes it easy to set up their playlist. Last year we incorporated a lot of Spanish hits and this year we made sure they were lined up with some hot Spanish tracks. Its not all Spanish tracks but you always got to have a little of Christmas songs handy but not all xmas events call for Christmas songs. Some people just want to have party songs which is fine for us.

Recently I have been getting inquiries for Corporate events in the middle of the day. Before this year I would get the calls to do the Holiday party and they had an agenda to follow. Usually at these events employees get recognized and often times they have a raffle to build excitement. The bosses would give some motivational speeches and the folks would have a good time.

These new inquiries recently are for shorter amount of time so about 2 to 3 hours in the middle of the day. I believe more and more companies are doing this. Since the pandemic shut down a lot of activities companies are now having more events to show appreciation to their staff. It does make a huge difference when companies have network and social events for their staff. I worked a day job where my principals would do a lot to bring us together and celebrate us. But the last principal (I am away from that now and ten times happier I may add)  had never showed any appreciation and work was not as fun anymore as it was when we had more functions as a staff.

These corporate events do not need to be fancy. Simple does work. Why not have a catered lunch with a guest speaker with music. Or make it a fun team event and compete for prizes to build up team with an upbeat soundtrack.  It does not need to be fancy or expensive. It makes the work day fun and festive and your staff will appreciate it.

Please call Black and White Affair for your Corporate needs.

When you think of Silicon Valley Big tech powerhouse Applied Materials would be in that conversation. They know how to take care of their employees. They seemed so happy to spend lunch together. They had different campuses come to the Sunnyvale location. They did show love to the new employees by giving them an opportunity to talk about themselves and have a shot of a gift card. It was actually a shot to win. They had the option to shoot a basket or go for a soccer goal. But before that even happen they had Boba for everyone and all kinds of catered lunches.

 The host was joyous and kept the event flowing with his dad jokes and his energy. They had several teams compete for the best time. They had five per group and they had to do some activities and they kept track of their time. They had to walk together in unison and knock off an item off a poie. The teams were divided by department so it built more team chemistry. After the obstacle course they went to the basketball court. The team had to do a layup. Free-throw and a three pointer. Once they made the three pointer then they beeped a horn and the time was recorded.

It was a very festive event that I coordinated with the energy with 70s, 80s and 90s music. I put in some K-Pop in there but also threw in some fun Bollywood. It was a very fun time during lunch and a very good way to put some fun in the workplace.

I am always in the Gilroy area but if you go down a little more south for about 11 miles there is a nice little town called San Juan Bautista. It is a pretty town with a nice vibe tied to it.

Black and White Affair teamed up with South Valley Internet for a family fun event. South Valley Internet is spreading its wings and hitting more areas outside of Gilroy and Morgan Hill. It was an easy set up at Vertigo Coffee Roasters. This is not your typical coffee shop. You can get some beer in the shop and have it outside. The outside area did have a fun party vibe to it.

  I loved this event since I was in charge of the music vibe. We went straight old school and kept it like that the whole time. We did some classic 90s hits and sprinkled some 70s rock then had to do some disco. At events like this I don’t want to play the typical songs that all djs play. I know it’s a good night when people come up to me and tell me they haven’t heard these songs in years.

  SVI raffled out a new ipad and Vertigo gift cards. The folks who came enjoyed the home made ice cream and pizzas that they were giving out and people loved the artist who was drawing guests.

If you are having any event and want to make it memorable please call Black and White Affair

When you think of the Double Tree you think of the warm chocolate chip cookies that come when you get your keys of your room.  Not only does the hotel provide good quality rooms but they host events at many sizes. This is the closest hotel to the hotel and it does have plenty of parking. I found staff to be very helpful. I did need some assistance and the bartender was able to get the right staff to help out

  I was doing an event for a L.A. company who was doing an event for their San Jose clients. While I was setting up in the room, there was a bigger room next to mine. They were having a casino night. There had to be like 300 people in the room enjoying the casino night. We did share the same wall and everything worked out well. The hotel coordinated the events so when one event finished the other one was going to start. After both events were done, staff removed the wall and the room got bigger so the Doubletree can  increase the size of a room.

My party had a bar and dancing There was about 80 people at the function that were coming in and out. It was a client appreciation party so they were taken care of with an open bar. We did not have dinner and we went straight to dancing. The hotel has multiple rooms and this one was not as big as the other ones but they had their privacy.

The Sea by Alexander Steakhouse in Palo Alto (https://theseausa.com/home/)

Last Wednesday, I had a corporate event at the Sea by Alexander Steakhouse. This restaurant can hold multiple events at one time. (https://theseausa.com/privatedining/) My group were able to hang out in the outside patio then came in to our room. They also had a trivia team that led the group with a trivia session. I was able to hook up the trivia team into my system so everyone could hear their questions and their music. Once they were done with their trivia session, I had a karaoke machine hooked up to my system. I made sure I brought my 14 channel mixer to plug in my dj controller, two wireless microphones, two wired microphones and a channel for the trivia music.

Let me talk about the beauty of this location. I was able to have dinner during the trivia session and the food was the best I had at any venue. The food just melted in my mouth. The salmon and the roast beef were so perfect. The dessert was picture perfect and it was as good as it looked. At the end of the night a staff member helped me load up my suv with my dj equipment. We even had to take a flight of stairs! The best food and the most helpful staff at the Sea by Alexander Steakhouse in Palo Alto make it an easy choice in the peninsula area. It is a no brainer to have your corporate event (in house sound system and a built in projector) or private event at this venue.