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The Denver Holiday Booking Timeline
This is the part that costs companies money when they get it wrong. Not the menu: the calendar.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| September | Set the date, get a rough headcount, set a per-person budget. Decide office party vs. offsite venue. Start venue conversations if you need one. |
| Early October | Confirm the venue. Request catering proposals. Ask for itemized quotes, not single per-person numbers. |
| Mid-October | Book the caterer. December Friday and Saturday dates are largely gone after this point. |
| Early November | Send invitations, open RSVPs, collect dietary restrictions in the RSVP form rather than by email later. |
| Two weeks out | Confirm final headcount, menu, timing, and delivery or setup window. Confirm rentals and any bar service. |
| Three days out | Final guest count to the caterer. Confirm site access, elevator, parking, and where the food goes. |
Two things worth knowing about December in particular. Weeknight parties (Tuesday through Thursday) are easier to book, often cheaper, and attendance is usually better than a December Saturday when people already have plans. And a January party is a genuinely good idea: the calendar is empty, everyone shows up, and you are not competing for a caterer.
What "Upscale" Actually Means Here
Companies searching for high-end or upscale holiday catering usually mean one of four different things. Worth naming which one you mean before you request quotes, because they have different price implications.
- Better food. Composed appetizers rather than trays: beef Wellington bites, salmon crostini, shrimp. This is a menu decision and moves cost per person moderately.
- Service presence. Staff circulating with passed appetizers rather than guests queuing at a buffet. This is the single biggest cost lever and the biggest perceived-quality lever.
- Real tableware. China, glassware, and linens instead of disposables. A rental line, not a food line.
- Production. Stationed chefs, interactive bars, custom builds. A different kind of event and a different budget.
If you have to pick one, pick service presence. A good menu on disposables with staff working the room reads as a more expensive party than an excellent menu on china that guests serve themselves.
Reception vs. Buffet vs. Plated
| Format | Best for | Cost | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passed & stationed appetizers | Mingling, mixed departments, client-facing events | Highest per person | Guests graze more than they would eat at a meal; needs staff |
| Buffet | Most company parties; efficient at 40+ | Most cost-effective | Creates a line; conversation stops while people queue |
| Plated | Awards nights, small executive dinners, speeches | High, and needs a venue | Fixes people in seats: good for a program, bad for networking |
| Drop-off platters | Office-hours party, under 40 guests | Lowest | You handle setup, replenishing, and cleanup |
For a company holiday party specifically, the reception format wins on purpose. The point of the event is that people who do not normally talk to each other talk to each other, and a seated dinner works against that.
What Corporate Holiday Party Catering Costs Per Person
Two worked examples for 60 guests, built from published pricing. Silver Spoons' corporate catering menus start at $18.95 per person with a 15-guest minimum.
Option A: buffet-style holiday lunch, drop-off
| Item | Per person | 60 guests |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate lunch menu, starting rate | $18.95 | $1,137.00 |
| Eco-Friendly Disposables | $2.25 | $135.00 |
| Total | $21.20 | $1,272.00 |
Option B: upscale evening reception, appetizer-driven
| Item | Per person | 60 guests |
|---|---|---|
| The Charcuterie Platter | $11.00 | $660.00 |
| Pepperoncini Italian Brisket Sliders | $8.50 | $510.00 |
| Shrimp Cocktail (GF) | $6.75 | $405.00 |
| Chicken Skewers (GF) | $6.20 | $372.00 |
| Tomato & Sweet Basil Bruschetta (VEGAN) | $4.00 | $240.00 |
| Assorted Mini-Desserts | $3.50 | $210.00 |
| Eco-Friendly Disposables | $2.25 | $135.00 |
| Total, before staffing | $42.20 | $2,532.00 |
The gap is the real finding: an upscale reception costs roughly double a buffet lunch per person, before you add staff, a bar, or rentals. That is worth knowing at the budget-setting stage in September rather than at the proposal stage in November.
Silver Spoons' Client Entertainment packages (The Executive Reception, The Power Lunch, and The Client Happy Hour) are quoted per person with staffing included, which is usually the cleaner way to price Option B. For a fuller breakdown of what moves a per-person figure, see how much corporate catering costs per person.
How Much Food for a Two-Hour Holiday Reception
Holiday receptions are the most commonly under-ordered events of the year, for a predictable reason: they run into the dinner hour, guests treat the food as dinner, and the order was built as if it were a cocktail hour.
| Party shape | Selections per person | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoon office party, 1-1.5 hrs | 3-4 | Guests eat dinner later |
| Evening reception, 2 hrs, 5-7 p.m. | 5-6 | This is dinner. Order like it. |
| Evening reception, 3+ hrs, with drinks | 6-8 | Alcohol increases consumption; add a second dessert |
| Buffet dinner | Entrée + 2 sides + dessert | Plus one appetizer item for the arrival window |
On headcount: use RSVPs, then add 10 percent for a company party. Attendance at holiday parties runs higher than at any other corporate event, and plus-ones appear even when they were not invited.
Staffing: What It Changes
Drop-off means the food arrives set up and ready and your team handles the rest: replenishing, tidying, breaking down, and taking the trash. That is genuinely fine for a 30-person party in the office during work hours.
It is not fine for an evening reception. Someone ends up managing the food table instead of attending the party, and it is almost always the person who organized the event. Staffed service means the table stays full and presentable for two hours without anyone from your company thinking about it.
The practical test: if the party is after hours, if guests are clients or executives, or if you personally want to attend your own event, staff it.
Dietary Restrictions at a Company Party
A company party is the one event where you can actually know the requirements in advance, so collect them in the RSVP form, not by email in December.
Practical coverage for a mixed office: one clearly vegan item, one gluten-free item, and one dairy-free item handles most rooms. From the platter menu, tomato and sweet basil bruschetta and balsamic roasted veggies are vegan; shrimp cocktail, chicken skewers, spiced bacon, and all deviled egg varieties are gluten-free; BBQ meatballs and bacon-wrapped little smokies are dairy-free. The vegan and vegetarian menu covers plant-forward options in more depth.
Two things matter more than the menu itself. Label the table: a card in front of each item does more than a special order a guest never finds. And do not make the accommodation the smallest platter; a single sad vegan tray next to four abundant ones sends a message.
Local Caterer vs. National Catering Marketplace
Most companies planning a holiday party will look at a national marketplace (ezCater, Zerocater, Cater2Me, CaterCow) at some point in the process. Worth being direct about where each one fits.
A marketplace is the better choice when:
- You need a simple drop-off order and you need it fast
- You are ordering for multiple offices in multiple cities and want one invoice
- Procurement requires an existing vendor relationship or a specific payment flow
- The order is routine and interchangeable: a Tuesday lunch, not an annual party
A local caterer is the better choice when:
- The event needs staff on site, which marketplaces broker rather than provide
- You want a menu built for your event rather than selected from a fixed list
- You need one accountable person, reachable by phone, who will be there
- The guest list includes clients, board members, or anyone whose impression matters
- You want a tasting, or you want to change something two weeks out
- You will do this again next year and would rather not re-explain your company each time
The underlying difference: a marketplace is a transaction layer over whoever is available. For a weekly office lunch that is exactly right. For the one event a year where the whole company is in a room together, the accountability of a direct relationship is the thing you are actually buying.
Venue, Rentals, and the Rest of It
- Office party or offsite? The office is free, and it is also the office. An offsite venue costs more and does more for morale.
- Kitchen access. Ask any venue what it actually has. No kitchen means everything arrives finished or held in chafers, which shapes the menu.
- Rentals. Linens, china, glassware, high-top tables. A separate line and a separate vendor unless your caterer coordinates it.
- Alcohol. Check whether the venue requires its own licensed bar service. Many do, which takes the decision out of your hands.
- Non-alcoholic options. A proper mocktail or beverage station rather than soda cans. Cheap, and noticed by more of your team than you would expect.
- Loading and parking. Downtown Denver in December. Confirm the delivery window and the loading situation in writing.
- Trash. Genuinely worth asking who handles it. It is nobody's favorite discovery at 9 p.m.
Planning a Corporate Holiday Party in Denver
Silver Spoons has catered corporate events across the Denver metro for companies including Amazon, Verizon, BMW, Coca-Cola, AdventHealth, Children's Hospital Colorado, T-Mobile, and Western Union, and holds a 4.9-star rating across 249 Google reviews.
Holiday party planning starts with a free 20-minute consultation: (303) 356-9009, or the plan your event form. For the food itself, server-attended appetizers and staffed stations cover the reception format, signature menus cover buffets, and party platters cover a drop-off office party. If you would rather order platters and handle it yourself, how to order party platters covers the quantity math.
If your event is a client-facing lunch rather than a party, boxed lunches and the corporate catering menus are the better starting point.