Year-End Company Party in Ho Chi Minh City: Budget, Run Sheet & HR Checklist

The year-end party is the internal event everyone looks forward to most — and the one that puts the most pressure on whoever is organising it. The budget has to be approved, the venue has to be big enough, the programme cannot fall flat, and all of it has to happen in a single evening.

This is the full process, written for the person who actually has to do it.

Timing: when should you start?

This is the most common mistake. Year-end party season in Ho Chi Minh City runs from mid-December to the middle of the first lunar month, and within that window:

• Large rooms (30+ guests) in the centre are gone 3–4 weeks ahead
• The best slot — 5pm to 8pm on weeknights — goes first, because most companies hold their party straight after work
• December weekends are effectively full from the start of November

A sensible backwards schedule: start looking for a venue 6 weeks out, confirm and pay the deposit 4 weeks out.

All-inclusive budget by size

The figures below are all-inclusive budgets for a four-hour party, with the 5% service charge and 10% VAT already included — in other words, the number you can put straight into the approval memo.

How to save without cutting quality: hold it in the 5pm–8pm weeknight slot. Many venues discount the room rate in that window (at Avatar it is 30% off), and it is the slot a company party wants anyway. For a group of 30, that brings the total down to around 18,000,000₫.

Three costs people forget when budgeting:

1. 5% service charge + 10% VAT — multiply the subtotal by 1.155
2. Gifts and prizes for the lucky draw or the awards segment
3. A possible fifth hour — a party that is going well usually runs long, so budget one extra hour of room time

The 30-day countdown checklist

D-30 — Lock the budget range and the headcount

• Take the official staff number plus expected guests
• Establish the approved per-person budget
• Settle on 2–3 possible dates (avoid clashing with the annual review meeting or the accounting close)

D-25 — Survey three venues

• Send the same request to all three: guest count + date + number of hours + whether you need a VAT invoice
• Score them against a criteria sheet (see "8 criteria for vetting a venue")
• Visit at least one in person — online photos and reality can differ sharply

D-21 — Take it for approval

• Attach: the three-venue comparison, the all-inclusive quotes, room photos, a draft run sheet
• Present one main option plus one fallback

D-18 — Pay the deposit and get written confirmation

• The confirmation must state: date, start and end time, room name, capacity, menu, estimated total, cancellation terms
• Send your VAT invoicing details now, not on the day of the event

D-14 — Lock the programme

• Who speaks, and for how long (under 5 minutes)
• Whether there are awards, and the list of people being recognised
• Whether there is a lucky draw, and the prize structure
• Prepare the files to be shown on screen: logo, thank-you video, photos from the year, award boards

D-10 — Send the internal invitation

• Include the Google Maps pin, parking instructions, dress code if any
• Create an RSVP form so you get a real number

D-7 — Confirm the final headcount with the venue

• Send the on-screen files across so the venue can prepare them in advance
• Reconfirm the menu

D-3 — Prepare the physical items

• Gifts, prizes, banners, name cards if any
• Assign roles: who greets guests, who holds the invoice, who takes photos, who runs the programme

D-1 — Final confirmation

• Call the venue to confirm
• Repeat the start time in the company chat group

D-Day — Arrive 45 minutes early

• Check the room, the sound, the microphones, the screen, the parking
• Test the files on screen
• Set the seating for directors and invited guests

A four-hour year-end party run sheet

Four mistakes that sink a year-end party

1. Speeches that run too long. Three leaders at ten minutes each is half an hour of frozen atmosphere. Agree it beforehand: one speaker, under five minutes.

2. No recognition segment. A party that is only eating and singing looks the same every year. The awards segment is what people remember and retell.

3. Booking a room that only just fits. Forty people in 80m² is comfortable; in 60m² the whole evening feels stuffy and nobody can stand up to play anything.

4. Forgetting the invoice paperwork. This is the mistake that generates the longest explanation afterwards, even though it is the easiest one to avoid.

Avatar Karaoke — a year-end party venue in District 1

• A single 110m² room for 50 guests (not two rooms joined together)
• Company logos, thank-you videos and award boards on LED walls covering all four sides
• VAT invoicing
• Written booking confirmation
• Free car parking
• 63–65 Pham Viet Chanh, Cau Ong Lanh Ward (formerly District 1), HCMC
• 0915.03.1111 — an all-inclusive quote within 30 minutes

Weeknights from 5pm to 8pm: 30% off the hourly room rate

See our company party packages · large rooms for 30–50 guests · all-inclusive set menus