Most of the work on a December DJ night is done weeks in advance: the booking, the date, the licence. But the nights that go wrong usually go wrong on small things nobody confirmed in the final week. This is a checklist for that week. Work through it for each party or late night you have booked between now and New Year’s Eve. If you haven’t booked the DJ yet, start with our Christmas party and NYE DJ guide first.
Why December needs its own checklist
December is busy in a different way from the rest of the year. VenueScanner’s 2026 data shows that Friday takes 35.9% of Christmas party enquiries and Thursday 30.3%, so most venues end up running several parties on the same two nights each week. Tagvenue also reports that smaller groups are far more likely to turn into confirmed bookings, which means more parties sharing one room on one night. When several groups share the room, a DJ who arrives without the right brief has a harder job than on a normal Friday.
1. Confirm who is actually coming
- Final numbers and group mix. Send the DJ the latest list of bookings for the night: how many groups, rough sizes, and whether the room is private hire or mixed with walk-ins.
- The organiser’s contact. For corporate parties, give the DJ the name of the person running the party on the night, so they know who to ask about speeches and requests.
- Must-play and do-not-play lists. Pass on anything the booker has sent, and agree how requests on the night will be handled.
2. Agree the running order
- Arrival, food, speeches, dancing. Write down rough times. The DJ needs to know when to keep the volume low for conversation and when to turn it up.
- Microphone. If there are speeches, awards or a raffle, confirm a working mic and who will introduce them.
- How festive to go. PPL PRS research found 60.2% of people want to hear Christmas music in bars, pubs and restaurants over Christmas, and 63% prefer 80s Christmas songs when they are out celebrating. Spread the festive tracks across the night rather than playing one long block. Once the classics have done their job, something current such as Afro house can keep a younger room dancing.
3. Check the room and the kit
- Load-in time. Agree when the DJ can arrive and set up without getting in the way of service. On a busy Friday, that may mean before the first sitting.
- Equipment. Confirm who supplies decks, mixer, speakers and cables, and that the power socket near the booth is free and working.
- Space. Extra tables for party bookings often take up the space where the DJ normally sets up. Check the floor plan for the night.
4. Plan for noise before it becomes a complaint
Busy nights mean doors opening constantly and smokers outside. Council guidance on noise from licensed premises notes that bass is the part of the music most likely to reach neighbours, even through closed double glazing, and that open doors and windows are the most direct route out. Tell the DJ about any volume limits in your licence, keep doors and windows shut while the music is on, and have a member of staff check the level from outside once or twice during the night.
5. Check the paperwork
- Licence hours. If any night runs later than your premises licence allows, a Temporary Event Notice has to be filed at least ten clear working days ahead. Our DJ night licensing guide explains when you need one.
- Music licence. Playing recorded music in public usually needs a licence. Most venues already hold TheMusicLicence, but it is worth checking it covers DJ nights before your busiest month.
- Times, overtime and payment. Confirm start and finish times, the overtime rate, who can approve it on the night, and when the DJ gets paid.
6. Have a plan B
December is when illness and travel problems hit hardest, and every other venue is chasing the same DJs. Ask what happens if your DJ can’t make it: is a replacement arranged, or do you just get a refund? Keep a backup playlist and the house sound system ready, so the room isn’t silent if the worst happens.
The short version
A week before each December night, send your DJ the final numbers, the running order and the organiser’s contact. Then check the kit, the space, the noise plan, your licence hours and the backup plan. It takes ten minutes per booking and stops most of the problems that happen at the booth. If you’d rather have a vetted DJ who has done December nights before, see how our DJ hire in London works.
