The end of the year is approaching, and with it a host of parties and convivial team meals. Later, with 2025 behind us, it will be the turn of New Year's greetings, with events that are more outward-looking, for customers or partners. " The end-of-year festivities are also the start-of-year festivities. Our exceptional Parisian venues - the Salle Wagram, the 3 Mazarium at the Institut de France, the Palais des Congrès de Paris-Saclay - get a second lease of life in January for launch parties designed to raise the profile of the brand. "Delphine Bouclon, Head of Business Development and Strategy at Châteauform'.
But for companies, it's probably already far too late to worry about their organisations, and the professionals agree on one point: anticipation is key. " Reservations for Christmas dinners and parties are usually made in September-October.says Maxime Eduardo, co-founder of the events platform Naboo. After this period, the focus shifts to events in the first quarter of the following year, in particular the ski seminars. "Olivier Vieira, Sales & Marketing Director of the Sofitel Paris Baltimore Tour Eiffel, which this year launched an exclusive banquet offer for the festive season, also bears witness to this: " Bookings begin in late September or early October, as space is in high demand for both December and January. ".
A good 2026 resolution for companies that missed the kick-off this year: Laurent Gabard, CEO of Rejolt, recommends taking "the first step". from September "You'll be able to take advantage of a wide choice of venues and attractive rates. But there's a long way to go between theory and practice, and procrastination sometimes - or always - wins out over anticipation. " Companies often start very lateobserves Laurent Gabard. For us, the events are spread evenly over the two months, with a number of them being postponed from December to January due to lack of space. ".
On the other hand, this bottleneck may benefit certain players who have recently appeared on the events radar, such as Halle Flachat, opened at the end of September in Asnièreswhich is positioned as a fallback plan for latecomers. " At the end of the year, a large number of companies are giving us the opportunity to discoverexplains Tom Gargonne, the founder of the venue. Some come knocking on our door a week in advance. There aren't that many events like ours, just ten minutes by train from Paris or La Défense, with parking nearby and a capacity for up to 375 people. All this in an atypical venue, still in its original state. ". As well as offering special menus for the occasion, Halle Flachat is also using its usual food court model, with digital ordering and a fixed budget per guest to be used in the various corners of the hall.
At any rate, the window of opportunity for finding dates is narrowing. The Christmas festivities are concentrated on Tuesdays and Thursdays in December, which are the most popular dates for companies keen to preserve their employees' work-life balance. If the day is important, so is the choice of venue. " Companies are careful not to mobilise employees too late at night, or too far from home", remarks Laurent Gabard. "For end-of-year events, there's a need for proximity. "Delphine Bouclon explains, pointing out that Châteauform is meeting this demand with 15 locations in Paris and 25 more around the capital, in addition to its regional outlets in Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux.
Playing virtually at home, with a unity of place, time and action: the Les Lumières hotel in Versailles takes advantage of its proximity to the headquarters of General Electric, Thales, Safran and Dassault to attract gala dinners and cocktail parties during the festive season. " Many executives from these companies, as well as those working at La Défense, live in the west of Paris. So it's convenient for them to come here "explains Clément Gohin, the school's general manager.
While this development is taking place against a backdrop of widespread teleworking, another trend is also emerging. On the menu for end-of-year events, moments of conviviality before meals, sometimes neglected in favour of catering alone, are once again taking centre stage. " Employees are still very attached to end-of-year meals, but from a new perspective, one that is much more focused on people. In other words, there's more time for sharing, over an aperitif before dinner for example, and less for show-offs. "says Laurent Gabard. As Maxime Eduardo at Naboo points out, "formats are also changing significantly. a few less big parties and a few more end-of-year meals ".
With this in mind, is the 2025-2026 winter season looking good for the industry? " We feel that these are important times for companiesexplains Thibaut Couvrecelle, co-founder of the restaurant. Bonhommein the Xe arrondissement. We have even more requests than last year, with the first ones coming in July and August. And as the last three Thursdays in December are the most popular dates, some events have been moved into January, which we didn't have last year. ".
With a total capacity of 80 covers, and the possibility of setting up three large tables for 10 to 21 people, the latter in a private room, this restaurant can take advantage of this diversity to host both sit-down meals - with three offers ranging from the seasonal menu at €50 to the tasting menu at €80 - and cocktail parties. " In this format, we offer our menu in small plates, a user-friendly format suitable for Secret Santas, for example. "says Thibaut Couvrecelle.
Thanks to its visibility of event spending, Rejolt estimates the average budget for a meal to be in the same ballpark as last year, i.e. " around eighty to one hundred euros per person if we want to do something really good".says Laurent Gabard. However, while the festive season remains a special time to bring teams together, the general mood is not immune to the prevailing gloom. In a complex environment with tighter budgets, Châteauform has seen an unusual slowdown in bookings. " For the first year, we didn't have too much visibility on the end of the year before the All Saints' holiday. "says Delphine Bouclon, " even if things picked up again after that ".
Between managerial pragmatism and the human imperative, the balance remains fragile. But event professionals are hoping to tip the balance towards a long-term vision: investing in moments of sharing today means preserving the commitment of teams for tomorrow. " In times of crisis, it is even more important to bring teams together to reward them for their efforts, thank them for their involvement and keep them engaged. These end-of-year events celebrate successes and provide a positive impetus for the year ahead. "says Delphine Bouclon.
For the festive season, Châteauform is offering a wide range of events to suit all tastes and trends. Firstly, in its Parisian venues, it is offering more intimate dinners and evenings, from 10 to 80/100 people, with a Christmas-themed decor. At the same time, for SMEs or larger groups, the group is offering its Parisian event venues such as its houses for reward seminars to the green for more festive evenings. This year also sees the launch of a 'Christmas Tree' offer, organised at weekends both in Paris and in the green houses, where employees and their children can get together as a family.
However, the desire to control budgets means that companies with tight budgets are increasingly opting to hold events on their own premises. Either by relying on good souls in-house for a 'home-made' Christmas, or by calling in a caterer. A trend that is also benefiting Châteauform through Nomad, its caterer capable of working in prestigious venues such as the Château de Versailles, as well as on company premises. " We offer turnkey solutions for end-of-year festivities, where everything is managed from A to Z by Châteauform: decoration, logistics, entertainment and trusted partners. "says Delphine Bouclon. She adds: " We don't always realise it, but organising a great party in-house takes a lot of effort. ".
