6 fool-proof ways to make sure your Xmas & NYE events slay the competition

Lights, glamour, action: party season is officially about to peak. Which means one thing – the competition to capture the attention of enthusiastic party people is rife. From now until January 1st, a slew of festive happenings are set to fill up calendars, snowballing into one amalgamated mass of glittering, out-of-office fun. So how do you make sure your Christmas or NYE event stands out from the crowd, and doesn’t go down about as well as a bowl of soggy brussels sprouts? 

Read on for some tips and tricks that are sure to give your festive event a competition-slaying edge, and see those last-minute tickets selling out in no time.   

Go luxe 

Tempt the masses with a last-minute lavishing of luxury, whether that’s a free glass of bubbly on-entry, a goodie bag to take home, or a round of delicious canapes before things kick off. It is Christmas, after all – the time of year where people want nothing more than to indulge their luxe-craving sensibilities, lest they be stifled for another whole year without seeing the light of day. 

Make it a dress-code thing

‘Tis the season of glitz and glam, and there’s a whole niche of people just waiting for the right outlet to let their inner red-carpet king or queen shine. The thing is – sometimes people don’t dare don their glitziest, sparkliest clothes unless it’s an official dress-code type affair. So capture the hearts of these party-loving people by giving your event a theme; say, old school Hollywood glamour or simply ‘black tie’. 

Not trying to draw in a glamourous crowd? Even giving your event a goofy, fun or pop-culture theme could be just the thing to get people talking, and (most importantly) to choose your event over others. It’s all about making an occasion of it, and stating loudly and clearly that this is a super festive event – not just any-old happening that could be taking place any-old day of the year.

Dangle the convenience carrot stick

At arguably the busiest time of year for going out-out, certain events become almost infamous for their ridiculously long queues – whether that’s to get in, go to the loos, or get to the bar. One way you could pip your competition to the party-post, then, is to promise your attendees swift entry and an easy ride-of-it once they’re indoors. Hiring some extra bar staff instead of cutting corners could end up paying off in the long-run, for example. Or offering staggered or early entry tickets so people can turn up at a set time to avoid queues could turn heads just as much. 

When people are expecting Christmas or NYE mayhem, what better way to entice them than to promise a sanctuary of convenience, so they can spend more time partying and less time shivering in the cold?

Top tip: Check out how to manage ticket types and groups with Ticket Tailor for setting up early-entry tickets.

Get tactical with ticket selling

From selling discounted ticket bundles to creating a sense of urgency with countdowns, through to running flash ticket sales – let the gloves come off and sales tactics commence.

We’ve got some articles on that stuff, which might be useful:

• The basics of boosting ticket sales: 6 key tactics to know
• 7 event registration hacks to help boost ticket sales
• How to write event email subject lines - 6 tips for higher open rates

Play detective

When it comes to one-upping the competition, it’s essential to not only focus on your own offering but to do some digging into others’ too. By doing your research to find out exactly what’s on offer elsewhere, you’ll be in a much better position to go that little bit above-and-beyond by offering something the competition isn’t. 

That might be an earlier start or later finish, VIP tickets that include free drinks tokens, fireworks, special cocktails, a dress code (see above) or just plain old cheaper tickets. FYI, using a platform like Ticket Tailor as an alternative to Eventbrite can help you save on ticketing costs, which could, in turn, mean you can lower your prices for customers (or spend even more to make sure your event is better than competitors). Nice. 

Be available last-minute

All-hail the spontaneous party person. This specific breed of Christmas creature has us on tenterhooks ‘til the last minute with blasé messages of ‘I think I’ll give it a miss’. Then the wind changes and it’s they who see our almost sold-out events go soaring over the finish line at 11:45pm on 31st Jan. 

And it’s for this reason that holding back some tickets to sell on the door could just see you outdo your competition at the midnight hour. In other words: being one of the only events with availability left on the night is the perfect competition-slaying super power. And If you plan to sell more tickets on the door in 2023, check out our integration with Stripe Terminal that makes it easy to offer in-person payment in addition to ticketing online.

And that’s a wrap. Ready, set, slay! 🔥🎉