New Features for Better Events

Here at ezEvent, we're always working to make sure our event organizers have the tools they need to create events that will help them achieve success and make money. We released several new features earlier this week to help with that effort. Below you will find a brief overview of each new feature. Be sure to check out our Help Center for more in-depth information on how to use all of these features.

Automatic and Custom Fees: The automatic ticket fee feature takes the guesswork out of setting per ticket fees to the buyer! The feature, located on the Customize screen, allows the event organizer to decide whether they want ezEvent to automatically calculate the appropriate fee based on ticket price, if they want to manually enter in their own fee, or if they would not like to set any fee at all. Organizers also have the ability to set custom fees (like parking or shipping fees) that will be displayed during checkout after the ticket total is calculated and will be added to the total amount.

Multiple Event Dates: If you're hosting a play or other event that will occur on several different dates, the multiple event dates feature makes it easy for the ticket buyer to decide which date they'd like to attend. When you're on the Create Event page, you'll now be able to add in more than one date for your event. When you save the page, it will generate a unique event page for each event. Rather than having the buyer search through all of your event listings, they can land on any of the events and when they go to checkout they'll have the option to select which date they're looking to buy tickets to.

Tracking Codes - Google Analytics: Wondering which of your event promotions have been most effective? Enter in your Google Analytics tracking ID to start learning more about how ticket buyers are finding out about your event.

Discount Enhancements: If you're looking to create a discount code for your event, you now have the ability to limit the number of uses per discount code, set up a time frame for when the discount can be used, and set up sequential discounts so that when one runs out the next one will kick in.

Excel Import for Email Marketing: Not everyone keeps their email list in an email provider's address book. To make life easier for organizers who don't, we now allow you to upload an Excel spreadsheet containing all of your contacts so that in one step you can upload your contacts and send them an email invitation to your event.

Host Email Address in Buyer Ticket Email: As buyers place orders they receive confirmation emails. In the past these emails told them to direct questions to ezEvent's support team, however we ended up receiving many questions related to the event itself that we were unable to answer and had to forward on to the event organizer. User will now be given the event organizer's email address so that questions regarding the event can be answered more quickly and more efficiently.

Post-Checkout Host Site Link: Want users to be directed back to your website after they complete their ticket order? This new feature, located on the Customize screen, allows you to add in a link to the order confirmation page that will take customers back to any web page that you specify.

 

We hope you're as excited as we are about our new release! Which feature are you looking forward to using most?

Lessons Learned From the 2014 Academy Awards

The 2014 Academy Awards aired last night and there were many things that happened over the course of the night that event planners can learn from.

Planning an Efficient Schedule 

Award ceremonies like this are known to run long, which is more acceptable when there's good, relevant content filling up that time. That was often not the case at last night's ceremony.

Several film montages about animated features and movie heroes were aired throughout the night, which were nice but didn't really contribute anything to the show. Bette Midler performed immediately after the "In Memoriam" tribute rather than during, which not only took up unnecessary time but took away from what could have been an even more touching tribute. Host Ellen DeGeneres kept the show moving pretty well, but some of the skits, like the selfies with celebrities, went on longer than they needed to and only added to the show's run time.

The one thing last night's show did very well was not cutting off acceptance speeches early, which happens frequently at these shows. The event is an awards ceremony, so the honorees should always get priority over filler content. As an event planner you have to find the right balance between the required content at your event and the extra entertainment. Guests will be bored if they have to sit there for hours without entertainment, but if the entertainment makes the event run long they won't be happy with that either. Detailed scheduling and rehearsals can help you find the right balance.

Feeding Guests at Lengthy Events 

Unlike similar Hollywood ceremonies where attendees get a full dinner during the show, Oscar attendees have to sit through a 3+ hour ceremony with rumbling stomachs. Sure, they'll get plenty of food at the Governor's Ball immediately following the event, but during the event they're left hungry. Throughout the course of last night's show, DeGeneres made a point to continuously ask guests if they were hungry until she eventually brought out several pizzas and served them up to appreciative guests in the audience.

While it's by no means a requirement to serve food at every event, when you're hosting an event this long event attendees will be more understanding about it when their stomachs are happy. Serving hot apps while guests are entering is a great solution at an event that this because it will be enough to hold them over until they get a real meal after the event. It's best not to serve them during the show so that they aren't distracted and don't get unexpectedly caught on camera chowing down.

Making Sure Presenters are Prepared 

One of the most important things to do when you have several presenters at an event is to make sure they rehearse. Doing that will help prevent embarrassing blunders such as John Travolta's horrible pronunciation of Idina Menzel's name (who is Adele Dazeem?), or Bill Murray incorrectly stressing that he was presenting "the 2013" award for cinematography. While going through rehearsals, it will be obvious if guests need help with pronunciations or if the teleprompter timing needs to be adjusted. If a presenter can't make it to the rehearsal, make sure they get the script in advance and ask them if there is anything they need help with. Of course, you can't expect that even the most rehearsed presenters won't get nervous and make a mistake, but planning in advance will help prevent blatant errors.

Avoiding the Stress of Event Planning

Many people assume the life of an event planner is glamorous because they get to spend other people's money and throw fun parties. What they don't realize is that there are tight deadlines, strict budget guidelines, inevitable last minute changes, and clients expecting big things. As the event date gets closer and plans need to be finalized, event planners are dealing with an extremely busy schedule and can be left feeling drained by the end. How do you go about hosting an unforgettable event without burning yourself out? Follow these tips:

Prioritize

An event planner's to-do list tends to grow as the event date gets closer. In order to keep from getting overwhelmed by increasing demands when you have a decreasing amount of time, start each week by planning and scheduling your top priorities for each day of that week. Make sure the top priority tasks for the day get taken care of, and everything else that gets accomplished will just be an added bonus. New time sensitive priorities are likely to come up, but when you know what your daily and weekly plans are it will be a lot easier to accommodate without feeling overwhelmed.

Delegate

Event planners can't do everything on their own. It's just not possible. While you may be the person in charge, it doesn't mean you have to handle everything yourself. When the initial planning begins, make a to-do list and divide it up amongst your staff. Larger tasks can be given to several people if needed to get things done more efficiently. Keep the lines of communication open with everyone to ensure that they're ok with their workload and are able to meet their deadlines. If someone starts to fall behind, you'll know who may have some extra time to help give others the support they need. If you have a competent team you should feel safe trusting them to get things done.

Keep Things in Perspective

It's important to remember that if a mistake is made, you're probably going to think it's worse than it is. The attendees at the event don't know what you have planned, so if something small isn't quite right you're likely going to be the only one who notices. If you're a good planner you'll have a backup plan ready, so rather than spending time worrying about what went wrong you can focus on making the change and knowing you had it under control. 

Event planners also tend to forget that events are not a life or death situation. A holiday party or conference is not worth giving yourself a heart attack over. If something goes wrong, it's most likely not going to cause major or lasting problems. Maybe a client will be upset but when guests leave happy because the overall event was great, the client will likely forgive you. You may feel awful about it when it happens, but you'll survive and can take it as a learning opportunity. If the client doesn't forgive you, then so what? Sometimes people lose clients. There will be more, so you can't let it get to you.

Find Time to Relax

The most important thing to do when planning an event is finding time to relax. It may seem like you need to work nonstop or you won't finish, but that's usually not really the case. Planners are typically the hub of communication, so often it's hard to get away from all of the people coming to you with questions or approval requests. Set specific times of the day to check your email and don't look at it aside from those times. If you have a lot of employees, set open office hours so that when you sit down to work you know you won't get interrupted. Turn off your phone when you leave work for the day so that you're not tempted to keep working. If you give yourself time away from the job, you'll sleep better and will be able to come back to work the next day feeling recharged and refreshed, which will increase your productivity.

Use Technology for More Engaging Events

Keeping participants engaged during a conference or other live event is an important task. Guests will have a much better experience if they get to participate and be active instead of just being talked at. As the world becomes more digital, opportunities for attendee engagement have widened, and there are many tools available to help you out.

Hashtags are a great way to get attendees involved on social media. Before the conference, create a hashtag that's unique to the event. Include the hashtag in your promotional materials before the show and explain how and when to use it. Doing this gets attendees to interact with each other and with you. There are a ton of ways you can utilize hashtags, including:

• Holding contests on social media sites where the participant needs to include the hashtag in their post to win.
• Having guests submit questions to speakers and panelists via Twitter with the hashtag included in their tweet. If you have the budget, you can set up a screen so that attendees can see the tweets show up in real time.
• Having guests post pictures from the conference on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag included in the post.  

As the event organizer, you are able to watch all of these interactions happen and find about what people are thinking about the event. People who didn't attend the conference will see also be able to see the posts, which is free publicity for you that could help gain attendees for your next event. It's pretty much a win-win.

Another way to engage guests during events is to use polling programs. There are many options available online that allow you to propose a question to your guests and have their responses show up within your presentation in real time. Attendees will love the opportunity to pull out their devices and voice their opinion. A speaker can ask about points on the current topic and use the results for an immediate response or to determine the audience's preference for further topics, which keeps the crowd interested. If you're doing awards or choosing a winner for a contest, attendees can vote for their favorite option, which makes them feel that they had an impact on what happened.

There are also numerous phone apps that have been designed for employee engagement at events. Within these apps you can not only embed your floor plan and schedule, but you can include social media channels, photo galleries, speaker profiles, and messaging systems so that guests have a variety of different ways to connect and stay updated.

Have you tried any of these at your events?

Prepare the Right Food for America's Most Popular Sporting Event

The Super Bowl has become one of the biggest events of the year, with viewers around the world gathering to watch the game, the halftime show, and the commercials. For many people though, the the big game is about one thing: food. If you're hosting a Super Bowl event, don't expect that serving any old food will be accepted by guests. What you serve matters! There are foods that are acceptable for a Super Bowl gathering, and some that just don't belong. 

Here is a list of the most popular foods to pig out on during celebrations for this major football event, and some recipes to go along with each to help you prepare the perfect menu.

Chips and Dip 
The great thing about chips is that you don't have to make them. Buy a few different types and pair them with a variety of dips, such as salsa, guacamole, 7-layer dip, an aioli, hummus, or even a bruschetta. People will appreciate the variety of flavors over the course of the long game, and everyone will find something they like.

Recipes: Seven-layer dip; Queso dip; Easy Guacamole; Caramelized Onion Dip

Pigs in a Blanket
These appetizers are not only cute, but they're easy to make and safe to eat.Whether you make them classic style or throw in some bacon, they're sure to be a hit.

Recipes: Crescent Dogs; Neely's Pigs in a Blanket; Bacon-Cheddar Pigs in a Blanket

Wings
Wings have become a must-have for Super Bowl parties. These saucy snacks have grown popular due to the wide variety of flavors, their practicality (they're accessible, deliverable, and inexpensive) and the fact that they go so well with beer.

Recipes: Classic Buffalo Wings; Baked Chicken Wings; Hot Wings
 
Pizza 
Super Bowl Sunday is pizza's biggest day of the year. It's a food you can easily get delivered that you know everyone will enjoy. If you'd rather not have to wait for your order, it's just as easy to make on your own. In either case, as long as you offer guests a variety of toppings to choose from, they'll be happy.

Recipes: Basic Pepperoni Pizza; Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza; Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Game-Day Desserts
After eating all of the savory foods of the night, it's nice to finish up the fourth quarter with a sweet snack. The best part is that you can dress up your desserts to match the theme of the night and use them as decoration before you chow down on them!

Recipes: Oreo Football Cookies; Pull Apart Touchdown Cupcakes: Peanut Butter Football Cookie

Beer
We know that beer isn't technically a food, but it's not the Super Bowl without it. It's heavily advertised during the game, so if you don't have it you'll constantly be reminded that you're missing out on something. Plus, there's nothing like cracking open a can and taking that first sip as the ball is kicked off.

We aren't going to suggest that you attempt to make beer this late in the game, so you can just pick up something from one of the many brands that are heavily promoted during the game.

Get the Word Out: How to Effectively Promote Your Event

Event planners have a lot to think about when putting together an event, but one of the most important parts of the event planning process should be publicity. You could put together a gorgeous event page in preparation for the event you've spent so much time, money and energy planning, but if no one knows about it you're not very likely to sell tickets. Luckily, ezEvent's publicity tools make it simple to spread the word and get your tickets sold!

The methods you use to promote your event will depend on the event's purpose, the likely audience, the best ways to reach that audience, and your promotional budget and resources. Below are a list of popular marketing channels that you can use to get the word out about your event and how ezEvent can help you utilize them.

1. Social Media

Social media has a vast reach, with nearly one in four people worldwide having an online social presence. For that reason, social media should be a primary weapon in your arsenal for generating buzz for your event. Facebook and Twitter should be your primary tools, as they're designed for spreading a message. Having a Facebook page, rather than a group, allows your posts to appear in News Feeds every time you update the page's status. On Twitter, you can create a hashtag for the event (or use a popular existing one) and ask for retweets of the most important information. No matter which vehicle you use, make sure to post your event link consistently in the time leading up to the event. You should also vary your posts with different types of content, including event information, contests, and pictures that showcase what guests will see at the event. Since everyone uses social media differently, the repetition and varied content assures you'll engage as many people as possible.

ezEvent's Share Your Event tools allow you to like your event on Facebook so that your friends can see it, tweet the link, publicly recommend it on Google+, or share it on LinkedIn. With one click of a button, you also have the capability to create a Facebook event page that has all of the information you entered on your event page along with a Get Tickets button that links back to your page.

2. Email

Email marketing is effective because you can directly reach people you know are interested in your event or the general type of event you're hosting. Email marketing is permission-based, meaning the people on your email list have told you they want to receive messages from you, so these people are very likely to buy tickets to your event. People also check their email constantly, wherever they are, and that allows you to stay connected to them. To get people to open the email you send, make sure you include a great subject line that is clear what the contents of the email are.

ezEvent allows you to email out your event page to everyone in your contacts list. Simply type in or import your contacts, enter in a subject line, add in a custom message and click send. It's that easy.

3. Utilizing Your Website

When guests look for information about your event, it's likely that the first place they'll check is your website. Links to the event should be placed anywhere and everywhere on the site where it seems appropriate, whether that be on the home page, an events section, announcements section, etc.

ezEvent has several options that make it easy for buyers to access your event page from your website. If you simply want to include your event link, you can copy and paste it from your Event Information page. When your event is created, an HTML code is generated for several types of buy tickets buttons that you can include on your page. These buttons look cleaner than just having a link and make it obvious where the person will be going when they click it. If you have several events going on and you want to promote them all at once, you can use our Event Calendar/Event List widget so that a potential customer can scroll through a map and see which dates have events.

4. Print Media (Flyers, Posters, Newspaper Ads, etc.)

Many people have stopped utilizing print media since the world is so online-focused nowadays, but it can still be a viable marketing option if your target audience utilizes it. Buying ad space in a newspaper that's target audience is the same as your event's is a great way to reach those people. If the event is in a high traffic area, conveniently placed posters and flyers may also help catch the eye of your target. Just make sure all of your print media contain your event link!

ezEvent allows you to customize your event link so that it's easy to remember. Under the Customize section, you can enter in an easy to remember event link so that when someone sees it listed on a poster or in the newspaper, they'll be able to remember it when they have a chance to go online.

Now that you know which marketing channels you can use to promote your events, you'll need to create content that will allow you to effectively connect with your audience. Once you do that, you're sure to have a well-attended event!

Don't Let Winter Weather Ruin Your Events!

Here in Connecticut we woke up to a foot of snow. Being that it's a Friday, there's a high likelihood that many events around the state are going to be impacted. 

If you've been following our blog, you know that when planning your events you should hope for the best and plan for the worst, and always make plans to minimize weather worries. Sometimes, no matter how much planning you've done you're still going to have some last minute decisions to make regarding the status of your event. Here are some questions you'll need to ask yourself and some tips for dealing with them.

 

Should I make backup plans?

If you're planning a winter event, be sure you've considered how it will change if snow threatens to ruin your day. While weather problems like rain or extreme heat may allows for a change of venue, snow is likely to prevent people from getting to your event no matter where it's held. You should always have a "Snow Date" in mind and advertise it in advance. If you're contracting with vendors, musicians, or anyone else, you should be able to work out an alternate event date when you first negotiate your contracts and service orders.

 

Can I still hold my event if there's snow?

If you're able to modify your plans sufficiently to make sure your event is safe and are confident that guests will be able to travel to your event safely, then you can proceed even if there's snow on the ground. This is advisable if the snow ends hours before your event is scheduled to begin or if there's only a light snow expected. If it's still snowing during your event or if a storm could come in earlier than expected, it may not be wise to proceed. Sometimes you may not even have a choice, as your venue could decide not to open or event staff might not be able to get to the venue. If you are able to go on with the event as scheduled, make sure all parking areas and walkways have been plowed thoroughly to ensure guest safety. 

 

Is it alright to simply cancel the event when it snows?

In many cases, the best decision may be to cancel to ensure guests' safety. If you do cancel, make sure everyone scheduled to attend is aware of the decision. Send out a message via email and/or social media saying "This event will be cancelled on account of snow." If it's a paid event, let guests know how they will be refunded.

 

If it's snowing or threatening to snow, how and when should I implement alternate plans?

Making this call can be tricky, and sometimes unpopular, and takes a person or team with confidence in their decision-making abilities. Sometimes there won't be snow early in the day, but major storms threaten to hit during your event. You need to decide if it's safe, financially smart, and worth proceeding. This plan should really be custom to every specific event, but some elements that are common to help making this decision include:

• Who will make the call?
• What safety concerns need to be considered?
• What are the costs/losses associated with cancelling, moving or postponing vs. going forward with potentially smaller attendance?
• When will you make the call? (Some timelines may depend on contracts you've signed)
• Who needs to be notified?

 

What if a presenter/performer is delayed due to the weather?

If you know far enough in advance that your presenter or performer can't make it, it's best to work with your presenter to try to reschedule or make a call for a cancellation. Contractual agreements and ticket sales/refunds will affect how you handle this. If the news comes last minute and you already have an audience at your venue or on their way, you might choose to think creatively about an alternate offering. Do not plan to stall the start of the event for longer that 20 minutes without communicating changes to your attendees.

2013: A Year Full of New Features

It's that time of year where pretty much the entire Internet makes lists to reflect on what's happened over the last 12 months. Here at ezEvent we've released a ton of great features in 2013, and we're proud to present our picks for the 10 most notable ones (in no particular order):

1) Buyer Payment Options

We know that not everyone likes to pay online. We also know that our event organizers like options when it comes to how they collect their funds. For that reason, we now allow event organizers to choose between several different payment options. These options include ezEvent's Merchant Account for credit card processing, PayPal, and offline payment options such as pay by check, invoice the buyer, or pay at the door.

2) Help Center & Sample Events

ezEvent was designed to be very user-friendly, but we know that people will still end up with questions. To give our users the answers they need, we created a Help Center with 12 in-depth tutorials and 15 example events. If it's inspiration you need for your event page or if you want to master the event creation process, the answer can be found in the Help Center!

3) Merchandise

Selling merchandise is a great way to bring in extra revenue at an event. The problem is, if you go in without knowing how many people are going to buy your items and you produce more than you sell you could end up with a loss. To solve that problem, ezEvent now allows you to sell any and all merchandise alongside your tickets. Custom questions allow you to get into more details, such as what size or color t-shirt customers want, so you know exactly what you need to have with you at the event. Buyers will print off a voucher and exchange it for the merchandise at the event. Isn't that 'ez'?

4) Participant/Pledge Forms

Hosting a walk-a-thon, read-a-thon, or any other "a-thon" event that requires participants to collect pledge donations? ezEvent's particpant/pledge forms make it simple to keep track of the participants and all of the pledge donations they've collected all in one place.

5) Custom Event Header

If you want to grab someone's attention immediately, having an eye-catching image right at the top of the page is a great way to do it. ezEvent's newest feature allows you to upload a custom banner, poster, or other graphic to include as a header on your event page.

6) Attendee Information With Custom Questions

Do you need to know more about an attendee than just their basic contact info? Maybe you're planning for a dinner and need to know if you'll have any vegetarians in attendance. Maybe you want to know how guests heard about your event. No matter what you need to know, you can ask the question with the attendee information feature. Questions can have an open-ended text answer, or guests can select from multiple answers with a drop down box or radio buttons.

7) Ticket Scanning

You've sold out your event and the time has come to let guests into the venue. Our ticket scanning options make the process quick and easy! Whether you choose to scan using a QR code reader, a 2D scanner, or simply by entering barcode numbers into your computer, ezEvent's scanning system allows you to quickly check in guests and make sure there are no duplicate tickets.

8) Post Event Surveys 

Event planners work hard on their events, so it's important to get feedback once the event is over. ezEvent allow you to design a custom survey and send it out to all of your event attendees so you know what they thought of the event, the ticket buying process, and anything else you'd like feedback on.

9) Ticket Dividers

Many events have different categories of tickets or items for sale. Whether it's general admission, VIP, or merchandise, using ticket dividers helps to separate out different ticket groups so buyers can easily find and purchase various items that are on sale. Unlike tickets, dividers are just for display and organization. Not only do they separate your items, but you can even use them to add some extra color and style to your page! 

10) Calendar Widget

Many of our event organizers host multiple events that take place on different dates and times. We've created a nifty event calendar/event list iframe that organizers can post on their websites. When potential customers see a show they're interested in, they can click the buy tickets button and be directed right to the ezEvent page for that specific event date and time.

Keep an eye out in 2014 for more new and exciting features!

The Top 5 Christmas Cookies (With Recipes!)

You leave them out for Santa. You give them as gifts. You enjoy them after (and sometimes before and during) your Christmas meal. Cookies are a delicious highlight to any Christmas celebration, and baking has become as much a Christmas tradition as carols and stockings. If you're anything like me you wait until the last minute to bake because you can't decide what you want to whip up this year. Don't fear! We've compiled a list of the top 5 Christmas cookies (with recipes!) to help you prepare for your big Christmas event!

Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are a Christmas go-to because they're so versatile. They're essentially the blank canvas of the cookie world, which makes them great for people who don't really like sweets. For those who like a more flavorful cookie, they can be dressed up on the inside with flavors like lemon or almond. Sugar cookies are also perfect for decorating. You can cut them into cute shapes and make them your own with frosting, icing, sprinkles, and candies. The best part is you can let your kids do the decorating, and even if they look terrible they'll still look adorable.

Recipes: Easy Sugar Cookies; White Velvet Sugar Cookies; Chewy Sugar Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are like the more flavorful cousin of sugar cookies. They're very traditional during Christmas as they're packed with warm holiday flavors like ginger, molasses, and cinnamon. Like sugar cookies, they're also great for decorating. Typically found in the form of men and women, it's a Christmas tradition to add icing outfits to your gingerbread people. Basically, they brings out the fashion designer in all of us. While they can sometimes be a bit dry, they're a great pairing for a hot drink or a glass of milk.

 

Recipes: Classic Gingerbread Cookies; Spicy Gingerbread Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms

These chewy little cookies combine are the perfect combination of things people love: chocolate and peanut butter, candy and cookies. They're textured and crunchy, but have the smooth taste of peanut butter in each bite. They're so good that they're usually the first to disappear from a cookie swap or dessert platter, and you tend to find a lot of people make these because they're so easy to prepare. 

Recipes: Original Blossoms; Red Velvet Blossoms; Nutella Caramel Kiss Blossoms

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate crinkles are, soft, fudgy cookies encased in a coating of confectioners sugar. They're as close to a brownie as cookies get. It's rare to find a cookie made of chocolate during the holiday season, so for chocolate lovers these are a must have. There's also something magical about the way these cookies look like they're covered in snow. Even if it's a green Christmas, you'll still be in the winter spirit when you eat these.

Recipes: Martha Stewart's Crackle Cookies; Peppermint Fudge; Crinkles With M&M's

Russian Tea Cakes / Snowballs / Mexican Wedding Cakes / Butterballs

These buttery little delights go by many names, but no matter what you call them they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious. These cookies are simple to make and are a great gift because they're easy to pack up and actually taste better with time, which can't be said for many cookies. They're also great entertainment. Just imagine how ridiculous people look when they eat them and get the powered sugar everywhere!

Recipes: Classic Russian Tea Cakes; Lemon Russian Tea Cakes

What cookies are your favorite to eat on Christmas?

Host the Ultimate New Year's Eve Bash

New Year's Eve is the biggest party night of the year, so if you're hosting a New Year's Eve event you'll want to make sure it lives up to your guests' expectations! Whether you're staying in and having a few guests over or hosting a big bash, you can make the night unforgettable for everyone in attendance!

To start planning your event, you'll want to choose a theme. New Year's Even in itself is a great theme, and you can use decorations in colors such as black and silver that focus on the year that's about to begin. Glasses that have the upcoming year on them are always popular, and once guests put them on they become part of the decor! Other popular themes for New Year's Eve parties include black tie, casino night, 1920s, and white wonderland. The more lavish you go, the better! If your theme requires a certain attire, make sure to let guests know. No matter which theme you choose, you'll want to  have noisemakers, confetti, party hats, and other items placed around the event space so that guests can interact with them while they ring in the new year. Another great addition would be televisions that are airing the ball dropping in Time's Square, or a projector that's displaying  a countdown to midnight so guests can keep track of the time and count down along with it.

Since New Year's events typically start later in the night, you don't need to have a dinner or buffet. Since guests will be partying all night, it's important to provide them with tasty refreshments to help them make it to midnight. Serve heavy hors d'oeuvres such as tiny dishes of baked macaroni and cheese, chicken skewers, sliders, and stuffed mushroms. Of course, New Year's is mostly about the drinks. If there's ever a night for champagne, this is it. Make sure you have some bubbly to pop open when the clock strikes twelve! You should also consider having other classic cocktails and a signature drink of your creation.

Music is the key to entertainment on New Year's to get people dancing and having a good time. If you have the budget for it, hiring a live band or DJ is an excellent option for your celebration. Just make sure to book far enough advance! There will be many other New Year's events held on the same night, so don't lose out on a great musical act to another party. If you're hosting a large, big budget event, you could also consider hosting a mock celebration similar to the ones you'd see on televised New Year's celebrations. Hire tribute bands and celebrity impersonators similar to those you'd see on tv so guests will feel like they're celebrating in Time's Square without having to deal with the crowds and cold weather!

How to Host a Hanukkah Celebration

"Hanukkah is the festival of lights. Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights."

-Adam Sandler, The Hanukkah Song

Celebrate the Festival of Lights with a Hanukkah party complete with great decor, amazing food, and fun activities. Whether you celebrate by hosting an event on all eight nights or just one big celebration, these tips will ensure that your guests have a great time.

Decor: Hanukkah is observed by lighting one light of the Menorah for each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. Since the Menorah is so important, it should be at the center of your decor. If you don't own a Menorah or want a more decorative one, retail stores like Macy's now sell them. You can also find many creative ones online that you can buy or learn how to make. To enhance your table and other areas around the Menorah, set up linens, plates, balloons, and other decor in the traditional Hanukkah colors of silver, blue and white. You can also hang images of the Star of David, the religious symbol of the Jewish faith. Bags of gelt (chocolate coins) can be placed on each plate. Decorations that are also edible are always a hit!

Food: All food served at a Hanukkah meal should be as festive as the decor. Foods served are those cooked in oil, as it represents the oil found in the Temple of Jerusalem. Typical dishes served include fried latkes, braised brisket, and jelly-filled donuts (called sufganiyot). Not only are these dishes symbolic but they're delicious! To mix things up, you can try something new like having a latkes bar with a variety of toppings that guests can choose, including apple sauce, sour cream, horseradish, or tomato and roasted garlic relish. For dessert, serve up some kugel, rugalach, or blintzes. Don't forget some kosher wine!

Activities: The lighting of the menorah can be an activity in itself if guests are at the celebration after sundown. Call up different guests and have each one of them light a candle. The dreidel game is a traditional game played at Hanukkah celebrations. Printable instructions for the game can be found here. Gift giving is also a major part of Hanukkah. Make it extra fun by pulling names from a hat to see who you'll give a gift to, or do a Yankee swap! Since you'll have eight nights of gift giving, the gifts are typically small and inexpensive so you don't have to get too extravagant.

Are You Prepared For Thanksgiving?

While you may not consider Thanksgiving dinner an event, it really is! You invite guests, provide food, and very likely have some sort of entertainment (even if it's just your crazy uncle). Earlier this month we gave you ideas for events you could host or partake in on Thanksgiving. With just a week left until the big day, it's time to start finalizing the details of the most important event of the day - the dinner!

While Thanksgiving isn't a holiday people tend to go crazy with decorations for, you can easily put together a beautiful table at a low cost. Napkins, candles, table chargers, and centerpieces in rich fall colors act as great accents around your plates. If you don't want to buy a centerpiece or aren't craft savvy, try an edible centerpiece! Not only does this type of centerpiece pull the whole design together, but it will bring guests to the table and kick off their meal in a fun way!

Another great item to add is a place card for each table setting. Place cards are great because they're both decorative and functional. You can use an online template to print out a simple one for each guest, or get crafty and make fancier ones like pine cone turkeys. The great thing about place cards is that they help you control where people sit, which helps you manage dinner conversation. If half of your friends are quiet and half are extroverts, mix them together! You can also use them to separate family members who may not get along.

While a nice table display will be appreciated, the menu is what guests really care about. When planning the meal, always remember that this is your event and no one will hate you for taking charge. If you plan out the menu in advance and tell guests exactly what to bring, it will help you make sure you don't end up with 5 variations of green bean casserole! When planning the menu, sticking with a traditional Thanksgiving menu is nice but don't forget to add in your own twist. If you're tired of plain mashes potatoes, try making chive and garlic potatoes or southwest mashed potatoes. Don't want to serve the same stuffing from a box that you made last year? Add in your own fresh ingredients and guests will think you made it from scratch! 

Another important tip is that less is more. Rather than serving 10 different sides along with pre-meal snacks and the turkey, keep the  menu small! Doing that will ensure that everyone can fully enjoy the smaller selection instead of having only a bite or two of each dish. Make some boxes or buy extra Tupperware so guests can take home leftovers. As they leave, they'll be thankful that they get to enjoy the delicious meal all over again the next day!

Holiday Party Trends for 2013

Many companies host end of year holiday celebrations for their employees. If you've been tasked with planning your company holiday party, time is running out to come up with ideas! If you want your party to be up to par with this year's trends, follow the tips below:

Food Should Be Your Focus 

When people think about holiday parties, they often envision a nice dinner. That still holds true, but nowadays people aren't interested in a generic, one-size-fits-all meal. Food should be your priority when planning the budget. Your guests probably aren't expecting caviar and filet mignon, however they'll appreciate you taking the time to create a custom menu with lots of options, including seasonal dishes, especially if you can put a new twist on a classic dish or present them with something new and exciting. Most importantly, don't forget to have options for vegetarians.

Room Decor

Red and green are the two colors the probably come to mind when planning a holiday event, but they aren't at all a requirement. Many event coordinators actually try to avoid the combination to prevent from making it seem like they're favoring Christmas over other holidays like Hanukkah. With that said, using red, especially when it's paired with silver, gold or black, is a classic choice that still gives a nod to the holidays. White and gray winter tones also invoke the same snowy, holiday idea.

Make Seating Flexible

Holiday parties often have table seating for 8-10 people, which means guests only get to interact with a small group of people they're stuck with for the whole night. Parties like this should give guests the opportunity to mingle and catch up with people at the company they may not get to see on a daily basis. A free-flowing setup of high-top tables in various sizes and cozy lounge areas are much more likely to encourage interaction. 

Show Employee Appreciation

A company holiday party should be all about showing your employees that they're appreciated. Many companies hand out awards during their holiday parties to give the event a business focus and emphasize the appreciation message with an optimistic future. Some companies show their appreciation by giving guests a gift, which could just be something simple like an ornament. Even something like putting money into a photo booth so that employees can take home a memento shows employees that you care.

5 Things You Don't Want to Forget on Your ezEvent Page!

Earlier this week, we provided you with information about the five things you don't want to forget when planning events. Now, we're giving you tips about things you don't when to forget when creating your ezEvent page.

First Impressions Matter

If a user looks at your event page and thinks it's too plain or doesn't look professional, they may question the quality of your event. Don't let that happen! Be sure to add in images, videos, and a theme so that potential buyers get an accurate impression of what your event is. If you have a website, you can match your event page to it so customers feel that it's legitimate. The better the page looks, the more attendees you'll get!

Event Details

Potential event attendees want to know what an event is about before they commit to buying a ticket. Use the event details section to provide guests with the event's schedule, entertainment, activities, menu, or any other information you think is important for them to know. Additional information such as the dress code or parking instructions may help you avoid no-shows or late comers. If your tickets have any special requirements (age limit) or extras (items in a VIP package), be sure to provide a detailed explanation that so buyers know exactly what they're getting.

Host Contact Information

If attendees have questions you want to make it simple for them to get the answers they need when they need them. This is why entering in complete and accurate host contact information is so important! ezEvent prefills the Contact Email with the email address entered in by the event organizer on the Sign Up screen. If someone else is the host you'll want to add a new contact by entering in their name, phone number and email address. If the event organizer is the host, it's important to add in all of the additional information so attendees know who they're contacting.

Publicize Your Event

What's the point of hosting an event if no one attends? If you want people to find your event page and buy tickets, you need to promote your event! Use ezEvent's tools to send out emails to all of your contacts, share your event on social media pages, and even create a Facebook event page that has a Get Tickets button linking to your ezEvent page. You can also use our widgets to add buy tickets buttons to your site, and include a calendar or list view of all of your events. Don't forget to include the event link on any signage or flyers you create!

Payment Information

If you have a paid event, you'll want to receive your money after the event. We can only do that if you provide us with your payment information! After you sign up, visit the Account page.Click the Payment tab and fill out the screen that looks like a check. You can also provide your payment information on the Customize screen under the Buyer Payment Options section.

If you complete all of these steps, your event is sure to sell out! If you need some inspiration on how to make your page great, check out our example events page!

5 Things You Don't Want to Forget When Planning Events

Some details of event planning are commonly forgotten, and unfortunately the stress levels of an event planner's job can make forgetting something even more likely. Once your event starts there's no turning back, so be sure these details are on your checklist:

RSVP information

You've spent tireless hours planning an event and no one shows up. Was it because you never included information about how to RSVP? Sometimes planners spend too much time worry about the look of the invitation, and forget to include information on how the guest should respond to it. Always include an address (mailing or email), phone number, and name of who guests should reply to.

The Little Things

Do guests need to fill something out at your event? If so, they'll need pens. Are they eating?  They should have silverware, plates and napkins, as well as somewhere to dispose of trash. If someone gets a small cut, is there a first aid kit or Band-aids available? Little things like these may seem minor, but if you forget them they can cause major problems. Keep a checklist, and make sure you've considered every detail of every item on it. Putting yourself in a guest's shoes and imagining what they'll do with each item or how they'll interact with it can help with that.

Finalizing Vendor Bookings

Have you put down a deposit on your venue or entertainment vendors? Most vendors will not save a date for you unless they have a deposit, so if you haven't given them one you probably don't have them secured. When working with vendors, following up is key. Keep in touch regularly and check in the week before and day of the event to ensure that you're up to date with everything and that things are set as planned. It's also important for you to set up an emergency contact person with each vendor so that if something goes wrong during the event you know exactly who to get in touch with.

Dress Code

Imagine walking into an event wearing jeans when everyone else is dressed in ball gowns and tuxedos, or being the only person who shows up wearing a Halloween costume. The last thing you want to do is embarrass your guests, especially if that's their first impression of the event. If your event has special attire (or even if it doesn't and you want to make that clear), let guests know to prevent any awkward situations.

Closing Down

Some towns or neighborhoods have a noise ordinance in place that would legally require your event to end at a certain time. Not knowing that could cause for an abrupt ending that makes you look unprepared. Be sure that you also designate someone to clean up the event. There's nothing worse than assuming everything will be taken care of and getting complaints of a mess the next day. If the venue is taking care of cleanup, ask them if they have storage space for items you might not be able to take back with you immediately after the event. If they don't have room, you'll need to make special accommodations.

The most important thing to remember is to stay calm! If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, stop for a moment to take a breath. Stressing out won't help anything, so if you follow all of the provided tips and handle things with a level head your event is sure to be a success!