Office Christmas parties go full steam ahead despite economic picture
Despite tightened belts in a challenging economy, several prominent venues in Tallinn held lively corporate Christmas events last week, as elsewhere, traditionally the final few days of the office Christmas season before the more family-based wind-down starts.
When "Aktuaalne kaamera" visited the Fotografiska restaurant in Tallinn's Telliskivi district, mushrooms were being carefully cleaned with brush strokes, the oven roast sliced, and the potatoes being blowtorch-seared. Classic flavors never go out of style, the restaurant's CEO, Margit Aasmäe, said.
"We want novelty and excitement, but the sense of recognition comes from the flavors of our childhood. All the more so during the holiday season," Aasmäe said.
Two tables are set in the first-floor hall, even though there is plenty of space. Bookings have become smaller because companies are saving, she noted. "There are fewer large parties, but celebrations still take place. More flexible ways of celebrating are found, because Christmas won't go uncelebrated either," Aasmäe added.
Meanwhile, at the Eesti koolitus- ja konverentsikeskus conference center, a total of 1,600 guests from different organizations were to congregate on Friday, divided among more than 140 tables. This type of large-scale Christmas extravaganza is quite common for corporate events.
"One might think that Estonians want privacy and don't want to interact with strangers, but this format proves the opposite," noted Karin Vene, business manager at the center.
With that number of guests and four musical acts to appear one after another on stage, there was plenty to organize.
"A lot of things could go wrong; for example, today we have an ABBA tribute band coming from England on stage, and their flight got delayed, but they are already here now," Vene said.
Over at the Lillepaviljon in Pirita, tables are set up for a major real estate firm celebrating a successful 2025.
The caterers, however, have had a tougher year. "There is more competition between ourselves. You could state that budgets have indeed fallen by several tens of a percent, though that does not mean the content is somehow weaker," Tõnis Vaikmaa, operator of the Lillepaviljon, noted.
One silver lining is that the end of Christmas and the New Year in no way spells the end of the high season, as winter events carry on. "January is practically sold out at the Lillepaviljon. The month may start off a bit slowly, but the second half will be very intensive work, just as in December," Vaikmaa said.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mari Peegel
Source: 'Aktuaalne Kaamera'
