The end of the year is a perfect opportunity to tie up loose ends and welcome new beginnings. Here are 11 ideas for celebrating the end of the year at your dance studio with some fun and novelty.
Awards Ceremony
Who doesn’t love feeling valued and accomplished? End the year with some positive emotion by honoring your students for their hard work and dedication. You can have a silly award ceremony where everyone gets an award based on what they bring to the studio (like the silliest or most likely to wear pink). Or, you can give more serious awards and honor people who had perfect attendance, were most improved, or reached a major milestone like a 5-year, 10-year, or 15-year anniversary.
Thank You Gifts
The end of the year is a time for giving and showing people how much you appreciate them. Make your customers feel special by giving them thank-you gifts. Remember, it’s the thought that counts. Consider giving everyone a special handwritten thank you letter with a small thank you gift like a gift card or a treat bag with snacks and candy.
Holiday Party
You could consider having a holiday party for celebrating the end of the year at your studio. You can keep it simple and gather people for a secret Santa game and some desserts, or you can go all out and make it a formal event and take it to a restaurant or dining hall.
Parents Night Out
Want to have a simple end-of-the-year celebration? Consider having a parents’ night out. You can entertain your clients and give their parents a night off. Everyone will be happy and have fun!
Gratitude Display
If you don’t have the time, budget, or energy to plan an event, consider doing a fun activity. For example, you can create a gratitude display within your studio. To create the display, dedicate a certain area for it, and have people write what they’re grateful for on notecards or cut-out paper. Then, post the cards on the display, and give people an interesting art piece that can inspire nostalgia and warm feelings.
Holiday Food Drive
Want to give back to the community? Consider having a food drive. You can keep it simple by asking for donations and coordinating the drop-off. Or, you can go all out and have people in your studio volunteer to help organize the food and even deliver it to the families in need.
Wrapping Party
Another option is to have a wrapping party. Ask for toy donations, and then have a party where everyone gets together to wrap the presents and learn more about who they’re going to. This is a great way to help people come together and get a feeling of meaning because they’ll be giving back to others.
Dance Party
Consider throwing a dance party for your studio. If you have a dance studio, consider doing something to make it unique. For example, teach a popular TikTok dance, or mix up the music to see how people freestyle. You could even make it a glow-in-the-dark party by turning the lights out and giving out glow-in-the-dark items for people to wear.
Game Night
Want to bring families together and get to know each other better? Consider hosting a game night. You can plan “minute to win it” games or keep it simple with board games. You can offer some light snacks and desserts or make it a pizza party.
Wishes Tree
Another unique activity you can do is to create a wishes tree. For example, you can create a 2D tree made of paper or buy a live tree to bring into the studio. Then, have people write down their wishes or goals for the upcoming year on a tag and have them hang it from the tree. This may also give you a good idea of what your clients are working towards, and you can incorporate their wishes and goals into your plans for the following year.
Open House
Want to prepare for the next year and get new clients in? Consider hosting an open house. You can offer 15-minute instructional classes and demonstrations every hour to excite people. Have your current clients bring their friends and family, and consider offering referral bonuses. This is your time to shine, so make a great first impression. Also, try to get the contact information for new leads so you can follow up with them in the new year.
The Bottom Line
There are many ways to celebrate the end of the year, but the most important thing is that people have a great time. Use this list to spark some ideas, and then add your creative flair to make celebrating the end of the year unique to your studio.