For pub landlords, the friendly atmosphere of a pub full of merry customers is not the only benefit of the Christmas season; it’s also perhaps the biggest profit earning opportunity of the year.

With cold weather and a harsh financial climate however, the competition between pubs and bars to tempt revellers out of their homes and into their establishments has become fiercer than ever.

Mark Rigby, business development chef for the Premier Foods pub group, confesses that, “Christmas is about planning and executing brilliantly.” Rigby believes food is an integral part of enticing consumers during the Christmas season, explaining that “When looking at what consumers want at Christmas, traditional flavours win every time.”

The menu is also at the forefront of Wadworth Brewery’s seasonal offerings, with head development chef Scott Ferguson admitting that “I prepare a menu bank of seasonal recipes from which all our managed houses can select dishes.” Adding that, “My aim is to give them the tools to deliver an excellent food offering that reflects the pub style.”

Given all the extra effort required to cater for Christmas crowds, however, many landlords have little time left to deal with all the other details that make a pub Christmas event a success. Acknowledging this common issue, Rigby has one piece of advice for pub and bar managers: “Don’t over-stretch yourself.”

One significant way to reduce the organisational burden of throwing Christmas events is to hand control of the festive playlist over to pub-goers through one of HireJukebox’s digital jukeboxes.

Free installation by professionals makes this perhaps the easiest part of a pub’s Christmas celebrations to arrange and ensures visitors are kept in good spirits with a huge range of specialist Christmas tracks to choose from. In addition, automatic track updates mean the latest Christmas number ones are available alongside all the old favourites.

Take a look at our jukebox packages here to discover more about how a rented jukebox could hold the key to driving footfall over the festive period and beyond.

Author: Marc Bird