A farewell party can be held on a multitude of occasions, for example when someone leaves their job, moves abroad or leaves a business they have been in for a long time. Organizing a farewell party is not very different from organizing other types of parties, except that you need to consider the most suitable way to honor the person who will have to leave us.
Steps
Step 1. Choose the place to hold the party
It could be an office, a restaurant or even your home, it basically depends on the person you want to celebrate. For a family member who will have to go abroad, the home is a good choice, while for a colleague who is retiring or changing jobs, the office or a restaurant are probably more suitable places.
Send out invitations well in advance so guests have time to organize
Step 2. Create decorations
One of the most commonly used decorations is a banner with the words "Goodbye XXX (name)". You can also create themed decorations that recall the goodbye motif:
- Make small ships or paper planes for those traveling overseas.
- Make small clocks, work schedule cards, or similar work tools for retirees.
- Create decorations that represent the country or culture of the place the person will be moving to.
- Streamers are always a good idea for decorations, you can choose to use the birthday party's favorite color, or symbolically represent something that recalls farewell.
Step 3. Plan the food for the party
Unless it's a dinner at the table, appetizers will do just fine. If it is a person moving abroad, the only gastronomic variant you could possibly consider is typical food from another country. Try to choose dishes that the birthday boy likes.
Step 4. Organize the guests who want to give a speech during the party
This could be speeches praising the person being dismissed, or speeches about how the person enthusiastically contributed to their work or how colleagues spent time with them, etc. Ask invitees not to go too far to avoid getting into irrelevant issues.
Make sure you give the birthday boy a chance to respond if he wishes, but without forcing him
Step 5. Plan a farewell gift
On occasions like these it is normal to want to give one or more gifts to the birthday boy.
- For those who retire there are the classic corporate gifts, but it would be preferable for the guests to give something pleasant to those who take their leave.
- In the case of a trip, find something useful to help the person with their transfer.
Step 6. Take lots of photos to remember the occasion
You can email the person the best photos to remind him of the event and everyone who attended.
