The office Christmas party always seems to arrive two weeks earlier than everyone is ready for. One minute it’s a distant date on the calendar, the next you’re chasing up dietary forms and trying to find a caterer who still has your date free.
Good caterers in Perth book out fast through November and December. If you leave it too late and you’re choosing from whatever’s left, not what actually suits your team.
In this guide, we’ll explore when to book, what you need to work out first and how to choose a menu that covers every dietary need without creating more work for you.
When To Book Your Office Christmas Party Catering
December is one of the busiest months of the year for Perth caterers, and office parties make up a big share of that demand. Nearly every company wants to organise their Christmas party across the same few weeks in mid-to-late December. The earlier you lock in a date, the more choice you keep: full menu range, your preferred time slot and a caterer who isn’t juggling three other bookings around yours. Leaving it open “until we sort the headcount” is the most common reason office parties end up settling for less than they originally wanted.
The Ideal Booking Window (6 To 8 Weeks Out)
Kitchen and staffing capacity is fixed, caterers can only run so many events a day, and in December every slot is filled. Booking six to eight weeks out gives you the best chance of the full menu range and your preferred time slot. Popular dates go first. The last working Friday before Christmas is usually gone well in advance. If your party date is fixed, don’t wait for a final headcount to lock your caterer in. The date and the numbers can move separately.
What Happens If You’re Booking Last-Minute
Leaving it late generally won’t mean you’ll go hungry, but it will mean fewer options. Some menu formats need more notice than others, so a fully customised dietary spread may not be possible on short notice. Buffet slots tend to book out before platter delivery slots, because they need more on-site setup. If you’re already into December and haven’t booked, it’s still worth calling. Caterers hold some flexibility for exactly this, and a phone call will tell you more than guessing.
What To Work Out Before You Contact A Caterer
Three things speed up your quote more than anything else: headcount, dietary numbers and requirements, and where your event is taking place. Caterers quote faster and more accurately when these are settled upfront, and you’ll avoid the back-and-forth that eats into your booking window. It’s worth going over with your team before you pick up the phone or send an enquiry to ensure you get an accurate quote rather than a generalised placeholder.
Final Headcount & Dietary Numbers
A caterer can’t price accurately on “roughly 30 people.” Christmas parties also widen the guest list further than a normal office event, partners, interstate staff, clients dropping in, so dietary numbers matter more here than at almost any other event on the calendar. Before you request quotes, send a quick dietary requirements check to the team. It takes five minutes but saves a round of back-and-forth once a quote’s in front of you.
Where The Party’s Happening (In-Office, Boardroom, Offsite)
The venue decides the menu format as much as your budget does. In-office means catering delivered to the break room: low fuss and easy for drop-in attendance. A boardroom suits a seated buffet with proper setup. Offsite, at a hired venue, changes delivery windows and access arrangements, so its best to confirm those details with the venue before you lock in a time.
Budget Per Head
Think in terms of format, not a single number. A casual grazing spread sits at one price point, a full buffet lunch at another and festive extras like drinks or dessert are added on top. Our catering menus have current per-head pricing across different formats, worth checking before you request a quote. Decide the format that suits your event and check it against your budget, rather than picking a number and working backwards from it.
Menu Options For An Office Christmas Party
Three formats cover most office Christmas parties: grazing platters, a shared buffet and festive extras that make the day feel like an occasion rather than another team lunch. Which one suits your event comes down to the venue and headcount decisions you’ve already made, a casual open-plan office leans towards platters, a boardroom or offsite party leans toward a buffet. None of these are mutually exclusive either, plenty of our corporate clients run a buffet as the main event with a grazing platter on the side for people dropping in and out throughout the afternoon.
Grazing Tables & Finger Food Platters
This is the lower-commitment option, with no seating plan required it suits open-plan offices and casual drop-in attendance through the afternoon. It’s also the easiest way to cover a wide dietary spread without extra admin: a handful of platters across gluten-free, vegan and standard options sit on one table and everyone serves themselves. Our platter catering page runs through the full range if this suits your event.
Shared Buffet Lunch
A buffet suits a seated, sit-down occasion, a boardroom lunch or a larger offsite party where people are staying put for the meal. It also gives you more control over labelled dietary stations, a clearly marked gluten-free or vegan section, which matters more with the wider guest lists Christmas brings. Our full range of buffet packages and inclusions can be found on the catering menus.
Festive Extras: Desserts, Drinks & All-Day Coffee
A few additions turn a team lunch into a Christmas party: a festive dessert option, all-day coffee and tea service if the event runs into the afternoon, and drink packages where the venue allows it. Confirm with your caterer which seasonal extras are running this year, as offerings can change and it’s worth locking in early.
Why Dietary Coverage Matters More At Christmas
Office Christmas parties bring the widest mix of guests of any event on the calendar, your usual team plus partners, interstate visitors and the occasional client. That’s exactly where dietary gaps show up, not at a weekly meeting.
Temptations Catering treats dietary coverage as standard, not an afterthought. Coeliac-safe cross-contamination protocols and a full range of gluten-free, vegan and allergy-safe options can be built into every menu at request. Our kitchen is built around dietary safety with Clear Prep, our dedicated allergen-safe process, implemented and two Food Safety Supervisors on site to ensure we meet Food Safety Standards 3.2.2A and 3.2.3.
What A Stress-Free Booking Actually Looks Like
A stress-free booking means nothing’s left for you to manage on the day. Delivery, setup and pack-down should be included as standard, not quoted as an add-on.
That’s been the Temptations Catering approach for over 30 years of catering Perth offices: show up, set up and clear away, so the only thing on your to-do list is enjoy the party you’ve organised.
Wrapping Up
Booking early, knowing your headcount and dietary spread and choosing a caterer who handles the full day are what separate a stress-free office Christmas party from a last minute scramble. Aim to book well in advance, and confirm dietary numbers before you request a quote rather than after. A grazing spread suits a casual drop-in party, a buffet suits a sit-down lunch and either way it’s worth asking upfront whether setup and pack-down are included before you compare prices.
If you’re ready to lock in your office Christmas party, view our full range of corporate catering options or get in touch with our team to request a quote for your preferred date.