How to Plan Christmas Menus and Party Packages in Australia

The festive season is when your restaurant or venue can really shine and boost profits while you're at it. Between office parties, long lunches and friends catching up over a glass of bubbles, December is prime time for hospitality in Australia. To make the most of it, your Christmas menus and group packages need to be both enticing and efficient.

Start With the Experience, Not Just the Menu

Christmas dining is as much about mood as it is about food. According to the Toast Consumer Preferences Survey 2025, nearly 41% of diners rate interior design and lighting as important or very important when deciding to return to a venue.

Think warm, dim lighting, greenery and subtle seasonal touches rather than full-blown décor overload. Small design details like fairy lights around your bar or a mini wreath on each table create the kind of cosy, photogenic atmosphere guests love to share online.

Australians have been demanding the best services and experiences to spend their discretionary income ResDiary, particularly as household spending patterns shift. Creating an inviting festive atmosphere isn't just nice to have, it's what turns first-time visitors into regulars. For table styling inspiration that works for Australian venues, check out resources from Style Curator on creating authentic Australian Christmas aesthetics using native flora and natural elements.

Design Menus That Sell Themselves

A few small tweaks can make a big difference to how guests order. Use round numbers like $45, group dishes clearly and highlight locally sourced or seasonal ingredients.

For group packages, keep inclusions clear with descriptions like "three-course menu with shared sides and dessert board" so guests know exactly what they're getting. Transparency builds trust and can justify a premium price when guests understand your value. Add a short note on your website explaining why this price works, covering local sourcing, staffed service or energy costs. Diners appreciate openness, and it reinforces the care behind your pricing.

Bundle Your Packages Generously and Smartly

Festive packages should feel celebratory, not complicated. Try tiered group options for 8-, 12- or 20-person bookings that include a drink on arrival or a festive grazing platter. In the our survey, 32% of diners said prix-fixe menus are their preferred format, while only 25% prefer à la carte.

Australians clearly enjoy a set-menu experience when it feels curated and fair. Pair that with Toast's reporting tools to forecast demand and track profit margins in real time so you know exactly which dishes are driving your bottom line.

Plan Ahead With Data and a Little Holiday Maths

Use your POS data to identify last year's best-sellers, note prep times and set clear order cut-offs for catering or party trays. 

If your average spend goes up by even 10% over the holidays — as many Toast partners have seen — that extra revenue can easily cover pricier ingredients and a bit of overtime. To see how you stack up, the Australian Bureau of Statistics shares up-to-date figures on food service turnover so you can benchmark your performance against the wider industry.

In our survey, 41.5% of Australian managers cited last-minute changes as their top scheduling challenge. Building buffer shifts or using digital scheduling can save stress and shifts.

Industry associations like the Restaurant & Catering Australia and the Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association offer members access to workforce planning resources and industry benchmarking data that can inform your staffing decisions.

Keep Operations Festive, Not Frantic

Front-of-house tech can make or break the experience. With guests arriving in big groups, Toast handhelds and the Kitchen Display System help your team stay synchronised, reducing wait times and keeping spirits high. At Gusto in Canada, handhelds cut ticket times by 40% and improved communication between servers and the kitchen. The same setup is now powering many Australian venues looking to lift table turns and accuracy through the busy season.

Digital tools aren’t a nice-to-have in hospitality anymore — they’re how most Australians book a table. From contactless payments to online ordering, the right tech makes things smoother for guests and frees your team to focus on great service. And with staff shortages still putting pressure on the industry, anything that helps you do more with less is worth its weight in gold.

After the Rush, Reflect and Refresh

When the last pavlova leaves the pass and you've toasted your team, take stock, literally and figuratively. Identify which packages were most profitable, which shifts were over- or under-staffed and what you can automate next year.

Don't forget the human side. A short post-holiday break or rotating time off in January can recharge your staff, a key driver of retention. 

According to our survey, 56.5% of hospitality staff rated structured onboarding and support as extremely valuable. Recognising and rewarding your team's efforts during the peak season isn't just good practice, it's an investment in your venue's future success.

Planning Your Festive Success

Festive success comes down to clear communication, smart bundling and the right tools and team. Design menus that feel special, price them transparently and use your data to stay one step ahead of demand. 

Create an atmosphere that reflects Australian summer celebrations, whether that's incorporating native greenery in your décor or offering refreshing cocktails alongside traditional fare.

With a good planning, you’ll create celebrations your guests will actually remember — and set your business up for a strong start to the new year. Do it right, and you’ll build the kind of reputation that keeps people coming back well after the decorations come down.