South Africa Event Planning

Bidding farewell to a friend, family member or colleague is usually a sad affair. However, the farewell party gives those nearest to them the opportunity to say their goodbyes in a dignified and even fun way. The style of the party depends on whose farewell it is (e.g. your best friend versus your boss), when it will be (time of day and year) and the number of guests that you expect. Whether you have a champagne breakfast, drinks after work, a huge party or a glamorous sit-down dinner, your farewell party will be very meaningful to the person leaving.

It is suitable to throw a farewell party for someone when they are leaving your company, department, town, country or club. You should know the person well enough to ensure that the party includes elements that will be meaningful to them (such as personalised speeches and recounting of real experiences shared with them). Avoid a generic get-together as it simply will not convey heartfelt regret for their leaving.

Advantages

Having a farewell party for someone means:

• Making that person feel loved (or liked), special and missed when they are gone.
• Having the opportunity to gather friends and family or colleagues together after possible times of separation.
• Boosting the morale within an office environment.
• A good excuse for a party.

Food and Beverages

Because the focus should be on spending time with the person (or people) leaving, the food and beverages should allow for mingling. So, a barbecue, cocktail bites or finger snacks are ideal, as people can enjoy this while walking around and chatting. If you specifically want to serve a hearty meal, ensure that your guests are encouraged to move around before and after sitting down to eat.

Farewells often include saying a toast to the person leaving, wishing them well for the future. So, it may be wise (depending on how appropriate to the setting it is) to make sure that champagne is available to guests.

Entertainment

Instead of a band or something that will distract the guests from the subject of the party, consider including games that focus on them. These can include ‘general knowledge’ questions about that person (Where were they born? What is their favourite food? And so on) or one in which people have to elect them as “the most likely to…”. Ensure that the games are kept fun and positive, not becoming insulting or offensive in any way. Then, such fun and humour can be followed by playing popular music and dancing the night away, if the situation allows.

Farewell speeches are a great way to make the person feel valued. However, too many of them become tedious. Rather, limit the speeches to two and give the speakers time limits (3 to 5 minutes is usually ample time). These should be sincere, but not gloomy or negative.

Venue

Farewell parties are often surprise events, unknown to the person leaving. Therefore, the venue will need to be a place that they would naturally visit without it rousing too much suspicion. For this reason, the farewell party is often held in the home, office or a favourite restaurant. Whether a formal or informal venue, your choice will depend on 1) your budget, 2) the capacity of the venue (including space for gifts, dancing, and so on), 3) the proximity and availability of the venue and 4) whether the style and décor (if established) suit the sort of occasion you envision.

Tips

• If the farewell party is for a member of staff, try to ensure that management is present and part of saying goodbye.
• Be kind and gracious to the person, even if they are leaving under dubious circumstances or there are personal differences between the two of you.
• Consider asking people to put money together, rather than gifts, particularly if the person is leaving the city or country and cannot afford to have even more baggage.

Photo Courtesy of Rachel Capps