UK businesses are going bigger, earlier and spending more on Christmas parties this year

The average corporate Christmas party now attracts 208 guests, up 19% year-on-year, while the average booking has risen to £21,019, up 13%. This is according to new booking data from the UK's largest venue marketplace, VenueScanner's.

With 38,000 people already booked in to attend a Christmas party this year, companies are continuing to prioritise bringing their teams together despite economic uncertainty, the data shows.

Earlier Planning and Midweek Shifts for Festive Celebrations

Other key findings from VenueScanner's UK Christmas party trends report include:

• Thursday has firmly established itself as the main alternative to Friday. It accounts for 30.3% of enquiries, more than three times the share for Wednesday at 9.1%.

• Businesses are planning months ahead with hundreds of Christmas party enquiries coming in by mid-June 2026, with some companies planning celebrations seven to nine months in advance.

• The majority of bookings happen in September and October, 2025 data shows.

• November is already late for Christmas party planning: just 6.7% of annual enquiries arrived in November, falling to only 1.3% in December.

Rebecca Kelly, CEO and founder of VenueScanner, said: "What stands out from this year's data is that businesses continue to see real value in bringing people together. Despite continued economic pressures, companies are still investing in Christmas celebrations. In many cases, they're bringing even more people together than before, planning further ahead and thinking more carefully about the experiences they want to create."

She added: "While the workplace continues to evolve, the need for connection hasn't gone away. If anything, it's become even more important."

The complete findings are available in the full UK Christmas Party Trends Report.