Organising a get together for your colleagues is a great opportunity for a bit of internal self-publicity. Get it right and you could be the shining star in the eyes of your bosses, but make a mess of things and you could face a barrage of angry colleagues blaming you for ruining their special night.

Remember that you're unlikely to be able to please everyone – a large number of people all with different ideas of what makes a ‘fun' party are impossible to satisfy

If people do want to contribute ideas, look to invite suggestions as early as possible by asking them to email them to you. You can then sort through the ideas and discuss them with the managers who will eventually be agreeing to sign of the money.

On the subject of money, it's always best to get a commitment for the costs from your Manger as soon as possible. There's no point organising an extravagant evening in a plush hotel when you find out later you only have £10 per head to spend.

It's usually too big a job for just one person, unless you can afford to drop everything else you're doing to concentrates solely on the arrangements. Find a few volunteers who are happy to help with sourcing venues, phoning for prices, sorting out invitations and all the other necessary arrangements.

• The date - It's going to be difficult to find a date that everyone is available, but you're going to have to put your foot down and make a decision based on the day that most people can attend. The earlier you can set a date in stone, the fewer people you will have whinging to you about the fact they already have something booked.

• The venue - Location is key and you want to make sure that a) it's easy for everyone to get to and b) it's big enough to fit your crowd in. Do you want lots of places for people to sit down or a big dance floor for people to get their groove on? Then there's the issue of getting there and back. If it's in a town or city centre you can usually leave it up to individuals to make their own way home. If you're having an out-of-town party then you may need to arrange for a coach to transport people or even provide accommodation for those coming from a long way away.

• The music - Check with your venue what they are able to provide by way of entertainment. If they don't have their own DJ you may have to hire your own – either way, factor this into the costs and always make a few suggestions on the type of music you're looking for. Whether it's a bit of classic 80's pop or some funky modern house, make sure you consider all your attendees tastes.

• Food and drink - Most venues will provide options when it comes to food and the main decision you will have to make early on is whether you're having a sit down meal or a buffet. Both have their advantages and disadvantages so you'll have to make a judgement call on this based on the type of party you're aiming for. Having a set amount of money behind the bar will allow the partygoers to enjoy a few drinks on the company, but there will always be a few people who take advantage of this a bit too much. To stop unfair weighing of the free bar, you could opt to give everyone a set number of vouchers which they can use to purchase drinks. One voucher equals a pint of beer, a glass or wine or a single spirit and mixer for example. To avoid any arguments, make it clear from the outset what is free and what needs to be paid for - you don't want people ordering big rounds of cocktails then being surprised when a hefty bill comes their way.

If you're not in charge of organising the office event, don't gripe about the choices made by whoever is doing it. It's usually a thankless task, because you can't please everyone, so give them a bit of moral support and make up your mind to make the best of it.