The Christmas Parties Thread

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Have you started yours yet?
Mine start on Thursday and I have 4 next week.
Last year I remember saying that I had noticed that the guests were really into the current charty stuff more than they had been in previous years.
If I remember correctly, one of the guaranteed floorfillers was Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger. It never failed me.
Judging on my past couple of months of gigs, I think it's fairly obvious (depending on the guests in attendance) that this 'Gangnam Style' thing is going to be one of, if not the guaranteed floorfiller. What do you think?

Is it worth making this thread a sticky?
Thought it might be a good idea to put all of our Christmas Party reviews in one place?

[Shaun]

Thread 'stuck'. :beer1:

My first party night was last night. I've been doing this group for the last 5 years - predominantly 40 to 60 year olds, who are really into their 70s and 80s music. Historically even the likes of moves like jagger and I gotta feeling have been Luke-warmly received with this crowd in the past. Last nights biggest Floorfiller....Gangnam Style. :eek:

[Daryll]

Well I must be lucky , plenty of gigs in December , but no X-mas party's , but I expect that the gigs on 22 and 24 December will turn out to be x-mas ones..

Daryll

[DazzyD]

I've no Christmas parties this year as I took a step back from my usual advertising thinking that I'd be ok with the resident gigs I had. But, since they ended, things have been quite quiet for the end of the year although I have New Years Eve and a few bookings in for January 2013 and enquiries are coming in for the rest of 2013.

Maybe I might even attend one or two Christmas nights out myself and be on the other side of the DJ decks for a change!! :beer1::beer1:

(actually, this starts tomorrow night with a cracking night of comedy and several :beer1::beer1: ! Bring it on!!)

[leelive]

We had horrendous snow up here in 2010 and I struggled to get to Ayrshire (90miles) for one gig.
Because of that I decided to do some agency work and was booked for Christmas parties at a local venue! What a mistake.... the pay was dire (1/2 my usual rate) and then we had no snow in 2011.
Decided not to do any more agency work and have taken bookings for a mixture of weddings and christmas parties this December.
My first Christmas party starts on Saturday.... and it will be my second party this year for W.L.Gore (Goretex)
Quite looking forward to it. Though.. not sure if anything can beat doing a gig on the Sunday when the Christmas number was announced in 2009 and the crowd cheered and went wild for "Killing in the Name."
Lee

[Shaun]

I don't do regular party nights at venues, I never have. All my bookings come in directly for December, this has always made it a bit hit or a miss for me. This year is pretty good though.

[dj foureyes]

I did my first Christmas party over TWO WEEKS ago :what: at Stock Brook Manor for Ian Stewart. Xmas parties are getting earlier every year! It was a Charity function and they had 12 tables so they had a competition to see who could sing one line of the Twelve Days of Christmas the best. That was interesting and it put me in mind to come up with my own version of the song, based on that night.
*TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first gig of Christmas my agent gave to me-
12 tables of punters,
11 Hooray Henrys,
10 girls from accounts,
9 raffle prizes,
8 broken glasses,
7 “Dad” dancers,
6 chin-less wonders,
5 requests for WINGS (Little Mix)
4 heckling birds,
3 grooving grannies
2 bitching queens
And a Dj who got home by three!


*May not be totally accurate:)

[surround sounds]

I do ot really do Discos at one venue as such because i find they can mess you around and cancel at the last minute. All my christmas booking come directly through one of my websites and its been really busy with xmas and wedding parties. Also Helium Balloons have done really well this christmas.

[Daryll]

*TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first gig of Christmas my agent gave to me-
12 tables of punters,
11 Hooray Henrys,
10 girls from accounts,
9 raffle prizes,
8 broken glasses,
7 “Dad” dancers,
6 chin-less wonders,
5 requests for WINGS (Little Mix)
4 heckling birds,
3 grooving grannies
2 bitching queens
And a Dj who got home by three!


*May not be totally accurate:)


Love it.......:thumbs_up:

Daryll

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I do not really do Discos at one venue as such because I find they can mess you around and cancel at the last minute.

I would have said the same thing around 3 years ago. I had a residency at another local hotel and despite having a contract signed and cancellation fees understood etc etc, they still tried to get out of them everytime and couldn't understand why I wouldn't 'let them off'. One of the comments in my final year with them (before I decided to tell them where to go because I had already lined up another residency) was when they cancelled a booking 2 weeks before I was due to do it. The cancellation fee in my Terms & Conditions at the time was 100% of the agreed fee should be paid if the booking is cancelled 2 weeks before the date. The General Manager called me personally (I worked with them for nearly 5 years and never had the misfortune of ever meeting him or speaking to him, even at the FREE staff parties I did for them)...He said to me "You're not being very flexible are you with regards to the cancellation charges". I said that I was a small business unlike them and that I bet they had cancellation charges to which he said agreed. I also said that in my 2 previous years with them, I had not had cancellation charges on my booking forms with them and that I had suffered for it. I also pointed out that they had cancelled a number of bookings on me in the past and that they weren't easy to fill at such short notice. He then more or less told me that I was lying and said that he found it very hard to believe that at that time of the year (Christmas period) it would be hard to get bookings..... (He should read THIS thread today). He then agreed to pay them and sent me an email saying he had agreed to pay them but would also need to re-think the Disco Entertainment situation in the new year. I had already sorted something out as I wasn't happy with the venue and also with the idiot of a C&B Manager who thought she knew how to do my job when she couldn't do her own. She and the General Manager both left in the new year and went to work at the same hotel. I moved across town and have been happy since.

What I am getting at (very slowly ha ha) is that not all hotels will cancel on you or refuse to pay cancellation charges. I am with a hotel now and it's as good as gold. I have a signed contract with them and they have yet to cancel anything on me. There may be a date towards the end of December that isn't 100% confirmed as yet that may not go ahead but I have that pencilled in as 'To be confirmed' anyway. Once you find a decent residency, in my opinion it's worth bending over backwards for them because as I said, at this time of the year they are worth their weight.

[JAMdisco]

I had a wedding on 1st December - best gig in a long time - review is on good gig, bad gig thread.

Next up
Friday 7th - Xmas corporate at David Lloyd (also a Michael Buble tribute so a few nice breaks (plus free meal that clients are paying £30 for lol)
Saturday 8th - Xmas party at local pub
Friday 14th - Xmas party - at local pub
Saturday 15th - Wedding at Tickton Grange, Beverley
Sunday 16th - 9th birthday party (3 hours)
Friday 21st - Xmas Corporate party at Ellis Patents in Malton
Sat 22nd - 40th Birthday party with plenty of Xmas song requests
Thu 27th - Wedding reception
Fri 28th - Local pub disco
Mon 31st - NYE disco

I'll post reviews on here from now on....

To say that the last 3 years I've gone through another DJ for Xmas - this year is all my own work and more gigs than ever :)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I've now done 5 Christmas parties already and all of them have been really good (and quite different from eachother in their own ways).
I've just picked up another couple where I will be working on behalf of someone else. I don't usually get to do this so the networking during the year has paid off and it looks likely that we'll do a lot more together. This is my busiest Christmas ever. I have 4 dates where I have had to get someone else in but generally, the rest are all mine and although it's knackering you have to take it all whilst it's there.

Last night was a good one and saw me out of my comfort zone in that I was playing mainly 50s, 60s & 70s for a large group of the older generation who were all suited and booted for a black tie event. I had a massive list of pre-requests from the organiser and played as much as I could. They seemed to really enjoy themselves and had a lot more energy than I expected. I was booked until Midnight so thought it was a bit strange around 11.00pm when it started emptying out pretty quickly. It was when the organiser came over and told me that she had forgotten to say that she had told everybody it was an 11.30pm finish! There were 120 guests but by 11.15pm there were probably around 40 left. By 11.30pm everyone had left the room to get their taxis and it was just me and the bar staff, the organiser and a couple of her friends. I carried on playing until they left around 11.45pm.

That makes it sound as if it was a rubbish night but it really wasn't. They were up dancing or singing along at their tables and having a right old laugh.
One guy in his 80's (so I was told) asked me for Lady Gaga during the evening and judging by the other requests for much older and traditional stuff, I didn't think it would work but I put 'Poker Face' on as requested and he did his moves on the dance floor to the amusement of the rest of the guests. He received a massive round of applause before I went back to the older stuff.

What made this good aswell is the reception I got. It was a pleasure to entertain them all. They were very polite and most of them made the effort to come up and thank me and shake my hand and wish me a happy Christmas before they left. The organiser said she would be contacting me again for future functions and also for next Christmas so that was good.
One lady in particular was very polite and also very apologetic. The reason being was that she asked for 'Mustang Sally'. I said I'd play it for her no problem but then 10 minutes later she came over with her coat on and said "I'm ever so sorry but I have to go because my husband doesn't feel too good. Sorry for mucking you about". Bless her. I asked if she wanted me to play it before she left and she just smiled and said "Thanks for an excellent evening" and then left.

I really enjoyed it. It felt like (and this will sound silly) I was doing a childrens party in a way where I didn't have to impress them. They just wanted a good time. There were no 'Too Cool For School' teenagers or 20-somethings who turned their noses up if they didn't like or recognise anything that was played. They just went all out and had a laugh and dance.
I'd rather do more of these types of gigs than ones where everyone tries to get as much booze down their necks and has a moan if something they request doesn't get played within seconds.

[SoundONE]

I was doing a childrens party in a way where I didn't have to impress them. They just wanted a good time. There were no 'Too Cool For School' teenagers or 20-somethings who turned their noses up if they didn't like or recognise anything that was played. They just went all out and had a laugh and dance.
I'd rather do more of these types of gigs than ones where everyone tries to get as much booze down their necks and has a moan if something they request doesn't get played within seconds.

Had a 3-4 like this in the last couple months so know exactly what your saying there awesome!! totally agree.

[djdave01]

so far, ive only got 2 actual adult christmas parties in December. Ive got a couple of 40th birthdays and a golden wedding anniversary as well.

Noticed a slump in school parties, last year we did 8, this year 2 :(

[Ryu]

Had my second gig of the season last night and had great time, covering a walk in for the good folks of Corabar, in a hotel near Canary Wharf. Few minor issues regarding the equipment, had a dreaded sound limiter, a booth designed for people far shorter than me and the wrong lead for my Mic...fortunately the night provided an opportunity to meet Steve who was massively helpful and accommodating, helping me out with a makeshift laptop raiser upper (CD flightcase), the right lead for the mic and best of all...a solution to the sound limiter problems ;)

It was also a chance to see a far more established and experienced outfit at work as I visited the other two rigs in the venue that night, and it was a hugely impressive operation.

As for the night, had great rapport with the crowd early on, who were in good spirits, bouncing around to We Found Love, Gangnam style and...oddly...Cotton Eyed Joe. Lots of fun.


In fact only drawback of the night was my sat nav giving me a tour of London on the way home, even so, the Christmas lights were nice to look at!

Thanks to Angela and Steve for your help and the opportunity, more than happy to help out however I can in the future!

[Corabar Steve]

Good to meet you too & thanks for the help.
As for the night, had great rapport with the crowd early on, who were in good spirits, bouncing around to We Found Love, Gangnam style and...oddly...Cotton Eyed Joe. Lots of fun.
Did they recover from / forgive you for deafening them at the start?

[Ryu]

Good to meet you too & thanks for the help.Did they recover from / forgive you for deafening them at the start?

:D I think so, although I suspect dogs across London are still hearing it. Rule of thumb...check volume levels before switching on microphone!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I am here to confess.

Last night, due to requests, I played Gangnam style twice and the second time mixed it with Y.M.C.A. :o

[Ryu]

I am here to confess.

Last night, due to requests, I played Gangnam style twice and the second time mixed it with Y.M.C.A. :o

Although I have only 2 gigs to speak of, there's been a bit of a return of cheddar dance songs mixed in with the pop dance this year...probably all down to the Korean fella and his 'style'...

I went for the Sexy and I know it into Gangnam mix, works a treat.

[Excalibur]

I am here to confess.

Last night, due to requests, I played Gangnam style twice and the second time mixed it with Y.M.C.A. :o

Go in peace my Son, your sins are forgiven. :angel: Three times for me. :o:o:o:o











And Barbie Girl twice. :sick:

[Ecstatic Events]

4 CP's for me so far. I've noticed that guests are not that keen on the Christmas anthems (I cherry pick about 5 or 6 If the opportunity presents itself)

I dropped Mariah late last night after a mini party set and heard a guest mumble "aaah :Censored: off!' I laughed and purposely finished with Band Aid to please my guest (went down well :p)

I have 40th tonight to break things up a little

Anyone else finding the christmas shizz just isn't working?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I haven't really been playing any Christmas tunes and if I have it's either been in the background playlist during the meal or right towards the end. I have had no requests for Christmas tunes either as yet.
Last night I had a large younger crowd who were all up for mainly current stuff and it was packed from the first track.
Bit of a change for me tonight with a 70th Birthday for me and a Christmas party elsewhere that is being covered.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Anyone else finding the christmas shizz just isn't working?

Yep, for about the last 10 years..:D

I normally chuck Mariah in towards the end and play Xmas background music while people are eating.

I tend to find that people on the whole are not into it, but if you don't play it, there will be a middle aged woman who will complain bitterly that you have spoiled her Xmas party as you didn't play any Xmas music.

I also use "It's the most wonderful time of the year" as a playout song and this seems to work well with all ages. I think it was featured on a TV ad a few years ago?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Darren, your post is almost a carbon copy of what I do.
Totally agree with the comment regarding the middle aged woman (not meaning to sound sexist but it's always the case) that will maybe moan that you haven't played any Christmas tunes.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Darren, your post is almost a carbon copy of what I do.
Totally agree with the comment regarding the middle aged woman (not meaning to sound sexist but it's always the case) that will maybe moan that you haven't played any Christmas tunes.

I met her at my very first gig many moons ago :o

She came up about 15 minutes into my set before they'd even had their dinner and started moaning about how it was a Christmas party and I wasn't playing any Christmas songs.

[Excalibur]

Last night was a good one and saw me out of my comfort zone in that I was playing mainly 50s, 60s & 70s for a large group of the older generation.

Heaven dear boy, heaven. :D You'd have enjoyed mine last night as much as I'd have enjoyed yours. ( Funnily enough, it seems we both enjoyed our gigs more than we'd have expected initially. )


Yep, for about the last 10 years..:D

I normally chuck Mariah in towards the end and play Xmas background music while people are eating.

I tend to find that people on the whole are not into it, but if you don't play it, there will be a middle aged woman who will complain bitterly that you have spoiled her Xmas party as you didn't play any Xmas music.

I also use "It's the most wonderful time of the year" as a playout song and this seems to work well with all ages. I think it was featured on a TV ad a few years ago?


Darren, your post is almost a carbon copy of what I do.
.
Oh crap, I'm a clone. :( Apart from normally using White Christmas as a playout.

[soundmaster mobile disco]

Got my first christmas party night of the season tonight,im in the xmas mood,lets hope its a good festive period

[Corabar Steve]

I normally chuck Mariah in towards the end and play Xmas background music while people are eating.

Really? I do the opposite AIWFCIY is usually the last song of my background set to lively them up before ging into Party Rock Anthem, I Gotta Feeling, I Don't Feel Like Dancing, or Dance The Night Away (depending on the crowd) & then into the party set, with Slade, Wizzard & the Pogues towards the end with one of those three as the final track

[lazersounds]

Really? I do the opposite AIWFCIY is usually the last song of my background set to lively them up before ging into Party Rock Anthem, I Gotta Feeling, I Don't Feel Like Dancing, or Dance The Night Away (depending on the crowd) & then into the party set, with Slade, Wizzard & the Pogues towards the end with one of those three as the final track

I'm with steve on this one, I also kick off with All I want for Christmas, gets the atmosphere going :)

[dj foureyes]

I'm just about to do a Chrimbo party/ Las Vegas theme night and the organiser told me beforehand to dress smart as the theme is to dress to impress. How come I'm the only berk wearing a tux?:confused:

[Corabar Steve]

I'm just about to do a Chrimbo party/ Las Vegas theme night and the organiser told me beforehand to dress smart as the theme is to dress to impress. How come I'm the only berk wearing a tux?:confused:
Because too many people can't be arsed to make an effort these days

[Corabar Entertainment]

I'm just about to do a Chrimbo party/ Las Vegas theme night and the organiser told me beforehand to dress smart as the theme is to dress to impress. How come I'm the only berk wearing a tux?:confused:

'cos you're the only berk who owns one? :p;):p;)

[dj foureyes]

They've just sat down to eat and I've just been told that the Rat Pack style of music I was instructed to play as background music is ":Censored: depressing.
. Play something lively"............this is going to be a lonnngggg night.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Oh dear. Doesn't sound like they're entering in to the spirit of the event. :(

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I'm with steve on this one, I also kick off with All I want for Christmas, gets the atmosphere going :)

I like to build into the Xmas tunes. Starting with Xmas songs is like starting with Y.M.C.A or similar.

[Excalibur]

I like to build into the Xmas tunes. Starting with Xmas songs is like starting with Y.M.C.A or similar.

Agreed totally. Gentle ones early doors, Slade, Wizzard , Maria et al come far later.

[JAMdisco]

I did a corporate Christmas party for David Lloyd (fitness club) and got the booking through a regular at my Thursday quiz night.

I was asked to be there for around 5:30pm as they also had a Michael Buble tribute and they said he may want to use my speakers so would discuss this when he arrived.

Anyway, I got there early (as usual) - and was setup by 5:45 - no sign of the tribute act yet and I was due to start at 7pm

He arrived at around 6 and decided to use all his own gear (I much prefer this) and he was ready to go and sound-checked just in time for 7pm.

As I knew a few of the crowd (from the quiz night) they asked me to sit with them - so I put 'Now That's What I Call Christmas 2012' on automix for the background music and had the full 3 courses (the organiser had promised me this before the event by the way...)
The food was average to be fair and I would have been greatly disappointed if I'd have paid the £30 that everyone else paid...

The evening itself was a good night with a mix of standard party songs mixed with Christmas songs and a few requests.
The Buble act was quite good but didn't just do Buble songs which didn't impress some of the die-hard fans but he had most of the crowd up mainly.
All finished for 1am on-the-dot and an easy load out. The only thing was, no-one told me you had to either swipe a card or input a code to get out and most of the staff had left. I finally managed to find someone who told me what it was, then I was off and home 15mins later (I do like these local gigs)

[Mark Wild]

]I'm working for bestpartiesever again this year via David McPhail for the 3rd year running, love doing this as I rarely get chance to play to a bigger crowd as a wedding DJ :D Here's a little montage from Saturday night :beer1: Hope you're all having a good Christmas run so far !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVAtv-wQu-M

[SoundONE]

Very good Mark,

How was the event arranged, as there seemed to be quite a few there.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Looks like a great gig Mark.

[sxboy]

Excellent, well done that man!

[Ryu]

Well, that's my pre xmas work complete, and after "The Worst Load Out Ever" I am quite pleased about that.

Had a real mixed bag this Christmas, playing at venues across London, Reading, Watford, Newbury and Oxford. There's been a lot of Driving, I've been super reliant on Sat Nav, but, I reckon I must have taken in pretty much all the major tourist attractions in London bar Downing St and Buckingham Palace! I've had a great time, and, in covering work for a few different Multi Ops, I've done a bit of useful networking too. Have some Iphone pics to share below. I don't think I've used the same set up twice all Christmas, due to taking on work at a variety of venues.

1st Up was my night covering a Walk in for Corabar Entertainments. Great Crowd, nice location too
1508115082

Next two nights, in Watford and Oxford, didn't get any photo's, so after that...Reading for an Egyptian Themed corporate. Really good themeing, I tried to compliment the overall theme by lighting the booth orange and red. Busy Dancefloor all night too.
150831508415085


Saturday's was a 40th at Hotel in Newbury, with a weird set up area. Didn't like being so far from my gear and my booth was up on a ledge, with the speakers at a lower level on the dancefloor, though the speakers sounded good that night, for some reason. Crowd thinned really quickly, despite playing music from about 5 different decades, trying to keep them all happy....the most successful bit was the last half hour, where I played about 5 Oasis tracks, Place your hands by Reed and Whole Lot of Rosie by ACDC. The Birthday boy loved that and got some nice feedback for it.


Finally, last nights gig was on the prestigious HQS Wellington, dry docked near Embankment. The Venue is pretty cool, but a nightmare for Load in and Load out. 20 mins out front to unload, then 6 different staircases between the car and the set up point, 2 decks below. Managed to get unloaded nice and quick....before realising I was outside a loading bay....and got a nice £65 parking fine for my troubles. a Big school boy error and I was furious....ah well. Got the gear in and set (minimal kit required, thank goodness, and set on the Rooms own Podium, which was about Head High for folks on the Dancefloor.
Headed off up Fleet Stree and beyond and did a little Christmas shopping before heading back for background music. Got them toe tapping, and when it was time to really kick off, it was a stampede to the dancefloor which remained stacked for most of the night...playing firstly a wedge of new/recent stuff like Minaj, Murs, Azealia Banks, Rihanna, then onto 80's funk like Chaka Khan and Cameo, before a propper soully set at the end with Wilson Pickett, James Brown and Arthur Conley. Got some lovely comments from the guests who headed off happy.
Then I looked outside to get ready for load out. And remember that you get low tide. The Boat, which on the load in had a horizontal Gangway onto the boat, now had a 30ft climb to get back up to Street Level...I looked quite a bit like Lee Evans after a 3 hour Stand Up show by the time I was done, puffing and sweating like an ashmatic warthog. I've tried to get a bit fitter this year, and I reckon I shed a good half stone on last night alone.
Anyways, some photo's again, including the Boat's hull and where its docked, the Set up and the Crowd having a boogie.

150881508915090


now time for a few parties where I get to be the drunken guest and a very merry Christmas with my family.

Thank you to MDD Forum for all your help and advice in 2012. I've tried to offer a bit of my own where I can and will continue to do so.

Particular thanks to Neil (Deckstar Deluxe), Dave (WWDJ) and Angela and Steve (Corabar) for the opportunity to work with/for you and your Customers and for any referrals you've sent my way, I hope I've represented your businesses well and that, for what it is worth, I'll gladly offer and share work that I can, wherever possible.

Merry Christmas:beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1 ::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1: :beer1:

[Corabar Steve]

:like:

[Shaun]

Final Christmas party of the year this evening (High School). Then just two more weddings to go before the end of the year, and that's me done. Yaaay!

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Ryu, I enjoyed reading that..thanks!
I know exactly what you mean about the loading in and out on those Thames cruises. Nightmare isn't the word really.
I've had the past two nights off luckily because I have had the dodgy stomach thing. It actually started during the last hour of my gig on Sunday and I was getting very nervous at to whether I would make it through that final furlong but I managed it and was then up all night which wasn't nice.

So, a very quick run down from me on last week's parties and then I'll go into hiding again :(
Back on it tomorrow night with another Christmas party and then 2 gigs on Friday with one in the afternoon for the school I do every year and a wedding in the evening. Still nothing on Saturday but it seems to be the common thing according to other DJ's I have speaking to. Probably too near to Christmas?

Anyway:
Monday was a Christmas party for 55 people who were all members of a local singing club. It was bizarre but very good actually. We bonded easily and I was inundated with requests from the off which resulted in a busy dance floor all night. Just after they finished their meals (when I'd normally kick in with something to fill the floor), I played a bunch of requests that they had made because they actually sung them in their performances. Stuff like Alicia Keys, Leona Lewis and Neil Diamond was played and they all sang at their tables. It may sound cheesy but it was actually very good.

Tuesday was another party. 120 people and mixed companies. Lots of mainly older people in attendance and the requests were great because there were some that I would normally never play (I actually never think of playing them when I should do really). Again, busy dance floor from after the meal to the last song.

Wednesday was a Wedding. Bride & Groom were lovely and their guests were very friendly too. Lots of children in attendance too and all asking for you know what (PSY). This was possibly the cheesiest gig I have EVER done. The Bride & Groom loved their cheese and there were lots of requests for it. This resulted in a really good night.

Thursday I was working for my old manager at another venue. 150 guests in a big room with a James Bond theme. There were also Casino tables there too. I used my subs with the JBL's and was asked for lots of Chart and Dance stuff. It sounded great through my system. There were 2 other Discos on in the same hotel too and they finished at Midnight whilst I went on until 01.00am. They joined me behind the decks and we had a laugh, did some networking and they commented on how good the sound was which was nice. Lots of dancing all night to mainly Chart & Dance which the organiser had requested. It was funny because once she had left at around 11.00pm, lots of cheesiness and 80s was requested so I went through until the end with that.

Friday I was back in the usual place for another party of mixed companies. I recognised lots of people there and they recognised me too as they were guests from the previous years. It was probably the easiest night so far. No requests at all and everyone just danced to anything that I played.
One problem though was my mixer which I have mentioned before. It started to increase the volume on it's own. Once I turned it down it would go down in volume (obviously) so I'd have to turn it up again and then it would do it again every now and then. I decided during one song to change over to a different channel and that was fine. It was very strange and I kept my eye on it all evening.

Saturday saw me in my usual room and my other DJ in the other one. Both of us had a great night.
I decided to put in a different mixer just for peace of mind and I put my old Numark in the flightcase instead. It has never let me down and it didn't this time either. Everything went very well. I got a cheer from one table when I walked in to the room as the guests were having their desserts. It was a bunch of people that I knew so I went over and chatted for a while. It was good because it instantly put me at ease. There were lots of 20 somethings at this party and I expected them all to get up as soon as I started but it wasn't the case which was strange. It didn't take long for them to get into it and it was probably only 2 songs but because all of the parties had busy dance floors instantly, it was surprise. As I also mentioned, it was during the final hour that I started to feel quite ill and I started to panic a bit. I was in the middle of 'Love Shack' and thought I'd have to make a dash for the loos. I cue'd up the next track and grabbed a member of staff and asked her to stay nearby. I nipped outside for a minute to get some fresh air and made it back to the decks feeling slightly better. I got through it but was bad when I got home.

I'll spare you the gory details.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Last night (20th December) was the best Christmas party of the lot and one of the best parties I think I have ever done.
I have to say that this year has been busy but I have not had any problems whatsoever with guests at all. Sometimes you'll get someone that will say something like "Can you play something for the oldies?" but I haven't even had that. I actually had one large group last night that asked me if I was back next year as they were going to book again. That was nice.
It was a mix of 4 different companies and a mix of different ages again. I originally thought it would be one of those where I'd be playing to the 2 separate ages groups but it wasn't the case. Everyone danced to everything. The large group were people in their 60's and all dressed in suits and dickie bows and they loved it. One guy in particular who looked the oldest of the lot and a cross between Father Christmas and Uncle Albert from Only Fools & Horses kept coming up requesting tracks. He really surprised me actually as I thought (wrongly) that he'd ask for something old but first he asked for David Guetta & Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over, which packed the dance floor and then Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire which had the same effect.

I had a massive round of applause at the end which was a tad embarassing. I'm not sure why I get embarassed but I do. I finished dead on time with Mariah Carey and the lights went up and they asked for one more so I played REM - It's The End Of The World and they went absolutely mad for it. I would have easily done an extra hour for free for this lot because it was such a good night and I very rarely say that. It was a pleasure.

Got my annual Christmas party gig at the school at 1.30pm this afternoon which is always a good one and then a wedding this evening with a predominantly 80's theme to it and then off until Christmas Eve. Hope everyone is having a great time and steers clear of the bug.
All the best
G

[Daryll]

Got my one and only x-mas part on Saturday night , then NYE and then a few months off to concentrate on other things

Daryll

[dj foureyes]

I had a good un last night. It was for 80 teachers from a school in Twickenham. I did their Christmas party last year and boisterous was the word. Last year involved smashed glasses, vomiting, drunken falling over and the punters were just as bad!:rolleyes:
My introduction at the start of the evening was, " good evening all, after last year I think of you all as my family...........my alcoholic, dysfunctional, delinquent family" which got a big laugh. It really felt that they are a close family and everyone was up for a good time. I tried to finish 10 minutes early because I knew I would get the " just one more" and I was right. I finished on All I Want For Christmas and they were happy with that. :thumbs_up:

[alphawave]

Finished off the year by doing a very easy gig last Saturday playing 12 till 2.30pm....How weird it feels to finish in day light and home at a decent hour!!
Played to a group of 8 year olds roller disco style,so dance/pop music solid then done...So all round a nice way to end the year....Next gig is NYE.....

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

I had a good un last night. It was for 80 teachers from a school in Twickenham. I did their Christmas party last year and boisterous was the word. Last year involved smashed glasses, vomiting, drunken falling over and the punters were just as bad!:rolleyes:
My introduction at the start of the evening was, " good evening all, after last year I think of you all as my family...........my alcoholic, dysfunctional, delinquent family" which got a big laugh. It really felt that they are a close family and everyone was up for a good time. I tried to finish 10 minutes early because I knew I would get the " just one more" and I was right. I finished on All I Want For Christmas and they were happy with that. :thumbs_up:

I'm a teacher and that sounds about right :D

Some of the nights out I've had with folk from work have been worse than my most filthy student days.