Christmas party spend down 30 per cent in 09

UK employers have tightened their belts this year and are expected to spend an estimated GBP600m on Christmas parties for staff, down from close to GBP 1 billion in 2007 and down 30 per cent on 2008.

But despite the drop in spending, most of the pain is being felt by the party organisers who have had to drop their unit prices by nearly the full amount of the fall in spend.
Some notable companies including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, The Guardian and the BBC have allegedly cut out staff parties altogether while the two per cent drop in employment has reduced the number of people who are available to go to the parties.

In other words, for those having a party the volume of spend per head is unaffected. So the revellers should expect to have had just as good a time as they had last year or the year before, said the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

So don’t be surprised to see nearly as many people looking lively this year, despite the recession. Next year may be worse as we think that the economy could well get tougher in the new year, with higher VAT and very little uplift in salaries putting the squeeze on disposable income.

The cebr said its own tradition is to have its Christmas party in the New Year. It said: “It is easier to book a good restaurant, prices are more competitive and we all feel a little less partied out in January. Who knows, we may be starting a trend.”