Paul Jeffreys, catering development manager at Young's

Top tips for success

1. Plan well in advance. Your menus should already be out - if they aren't, tackle this as soon as possible.

2. Promote your pub's activities via email and websites in plenty of time to meet the needs of customers searching for their ideal Christmas party venues.

3. Hold a Christmas survival session at the end of November, when you bring staff together to focus solely on Christmas. Describe how valuable the festive season is for your business and stress the importance of everyone playing their part. Explain what will be expected - for example, chefs may be asked to work seven days a week for three weeks, balanced by three-day weeks in January. Taking the time to do this helps staff understand why you are asking and emphasises the benefits of adopting a positive, co-operative attitude.

4. Set a date when it will all be over to help everyone focus and look forward.

5. Set targets for the period: instead of just focusing on revenue, include fun ideas, such as who can sell the most liqueur coffees.

6. Rewarding staff with a day at the races or a post-Christmas party acknowledges their efforts and helps motivate performance next year by introducing a special occasion to which they can look forward.

7. As soon as this Christmas is over, sit down as a team in the first week in January and write down what you forgot this year and record ideas about changes you can make next year, focusing on topics such as menus, food service, placing advance orders, table planning and bookings systems.