Do kids see you as Santa or Scrooge?
Christmas family gatherings will more often than not be centred around eating, so pubs need to ensure they're making the most of the opportunity by providing a family-friendly environment.
"There is a fear factor if you have young kids that a pub atmosphere will be smoky or that the landlord will tell you to get out," says Coca-Cola's marketing manager Peter Johnson.
But if pubs can make all the right noises externally, they can attract families.
"Use signs outside to tell them they're welcome and that there's a children's menu available, or that there is a wide selection of soft drinks," he says.
Johnson points out that over the Christmas period consumption in the on-trade increases by 8% due to people socialising with larger family groups. And given that the average British household spends £559 at Christmas (according to PR News Wire data) pubs need to make sure they're getting a share of this.
How to encourage familiesl Tell local newspapers and websites what you're doing. Many people rely on these to find somewhere to take the family.
2 Build your own website, giving details of family occasions and what's on offer for the children. Include photos of any play equipment, such as swings in the garden.
3 Create larger seating areas or make sure tables can easily be pushed together for bigger groups.
4 Remember that kids get bored very quickly: ensure the service is quick by employing more staff. A quick service will also encourage people to come back again.
5 Consider the health and safety element and areas where children could be at risk such as if there is a river at the end of your garden or a balcony with low railings that a child could try to climb over. Warn parents verbally or by signposting the danger areas.
6 Some children might like a half-portion of food. This is another way to provide a selling point for your pub.
7 Think about what time of day you want to encourage families: don't try to accommodate office parties and families at the same time, it won't work.
Another essential is a decent soft drinks selection. Britvic's category director Andrew Marsden says that 80% of food in pubs is consumed with a soft drink.
"Remember the soft drinks category is the third biggest in pubs after beer and spirits. Given that people will be travelling around with their families over Christmas, pubs need to ensure they have the right range of soft drinks for both parents and children," Marsden says.
All draught soft drinks should be served in a highball glass with ice and fruit and need to be given the same amount of time and attention as any alcoholic drink.
Parents are quite likely to have a gin and tonic followed by a tonic water - make sure the two drinks look just as good.
Coca-Cola's Johnson says another way of selling more soft drinks is through table service. "Whenever a waitress comes back to a table, get them to check out the drinks situation. People finish soft drinks quicker than alcoholic drinks and table service is one of the biggest opportunities for increasing soft drinks sales."
