Gantt Chart Inspo: Holiday Event Planning, Griswold-Style

I don’t know about you, but this time of year, my calendar’s filled to the brim with family gatherings, parties with friends, and office celebrations.

If organizing an event is on your holiday to-do list, you’ve got tons of details to keep up with. So we thought we’d show you how event planning can be done in TeamGantt—with a little inspiration from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Using a gantt chart to plan your holiday event

No holiday gathering is quite as iconic as the Griswold family Christmas. We could all learn a lesson or two about the benefits of a gantt chart by watching Clark’s holiday goals fall short.

Imagine how things might have gone if Clark had taken time to craft a plan for his family holiday. His gantt chart might’ve looked a little something like this:

Let’s break down the different components of this gantt chart to see how you might apply these tips to your own holiday event plan.

Event setup and decorations

Nothing inspires a festive spirit like glittering lights and the smell of fresh pine. And boy oh boy, do the Griswolds deliver!

In this example, we organized our Decorations task group into 2 subgroups so it’s easy to scan the list of to-dos. You can use milestones to highlight key events on your gantt chart.

Of course, taking time to make a quick supply list might have made the Griswolds’ hunt for the perfect tree go a little more as planned. Lucky for you, it’s easy to do with TeamGantt’s handy checklist feature!

Activities and entertainment

Want to give your guests the opportunity to indulge in a little holiday fun? Whether setting up a gingerbread house station or booking musicians for your event, you can track it all in a gantt chart.

Here’s how Clark might have scoped out his old-fashioned family fun:

Feel free to add milestones for important decisions or approvals. And if impromptu tasks or events pop up at the last minute, go ahead and add them to your plan so you can get ahead of the curve for next year’s event.

Room assignments

If your holiday fun can’t be contained to one room, why not use a gantt chart to keep track of room assignments?

The Griswolds gave this idea a go by adding a Guest Accommodations task group. That way everyone’s on the same page—though not necessarily happy—about sleeping arrangements and length of stay.

Menu planning

Every good holiday party revolves around food and drink. To get your meal planning ducks in a row, create a group for your holiday menu, and add each dish that will be served as a task.

You can make menu assignments yourself or let family, friends, and coworkers sign up for a dish by inviting them to your party project.

If you really want to step up your holiday meal planning game, list out all the ingredients you’ll need to whip up your famous dish. Then use TeamGantt’s mobile app to check items off your grocery list as you shop!

Create a free project plan for your holiday event

Want to ensure your holiday event goes off without a hitch? Sign up for a free TeamGantt account, and put your party plan into action today!