Every year it's the same shortlist. A long lunch at a restaurant everyone's already been to, a function room with a projector, or the pub. The team turns up, eats, makes conversation, and leaves. Nobody talks about it in January.
The work Christmas parties people actually remember have one thing in common: the team did something together. That's what we build ours around. We're a working distillery at Mermaid Beach, and a Christmas party here starts with an activity - a tour through the distillery, a guided tasting, or a cocktail class where everyone gets to learn a new skill or two. You still get the food, the drinks and the afternoon. You just get something to remember alongside it.
Here's what a work Christmas party on the Gold Coast looks like when you run it at a distillery.
Cocktail Classes for Your Work Christmas Party
This is the one teams talk about afterwards. Everyone makes their own drinks, and you find out quickly who can shake a cocktail and who absolutely cannot. It breaks up a group faster than any icebreaker, and it works just as well for a team that already knows each other as one that doesn't. Find out more about our cocktail classes on the Gold Coast.
Distillery Tours and Guided Tastings
Take the team behind the still. Chris made every spirit we pour, and a tour walks your group through how it's actually done - the ferment, the cuts, the reason any of it tastes the way it does. Pair it with a guided tasting through the range, including the spirits recognised at the London Spirits Competition, the Melbourne Royal Spirits Awards, the Australian International Rum Awards and the Australian Rum Awards.
A distillery tour is a genuinely different way to spend a Christmas afternoon, and your team leaves having tasted something they won't get anywhere else on the Coast.
Paint and Sip, Wick and Sip
If you want the team making something they take home, we also run paint and sip and wick and sip sessions with our partners. Same format - a drink in hand, everyone doing the thing together - with a candle or a canvas at the end of it. These book out around Christmas, so let us know early if it's the one you want.
Or Keep It Simple With a Group Booking
Not every team wants an activity, and that's fine. Book your group in, run a bar tab, and let the afternoon do what it does. Wood-fired pizzas, grazing tables, a cocktail list built around what we distil, and the sunset deck looking out over the Broadbeach skyline.
Enquire now for your Christmas Party
Christmas Party Packages
Three formats, depending on how you want to run the day.
The Social: an arrival cocktail plus a grazing table sized to your group. The relaxed option. Your group has a reserved space, food waiting when they arrive, and a drink in hand from the moment they walk in. From there the bar is open, so order as you go or add a drinks package.
The Gather and Graze: two cocktails per guest plus full roaming canapé service, three light and two substantial. Guests are fed properly without sitting down to a set menu. This is the sweet spot between casual and formal, and it's the right format for most work Christmas parties.
The Free Flow: two hours of bottomless beer, wine and house made spirits with full roaming canapé service. The cleanest way to manage drinks for a larger group: everyone's covered, spend is predictable, and the bar runs itself. Cocktails can be added and the two hours extended to three.
Catering can be upgraded or changed on any of the packages. Get in touch and we'll put together a quote for your group.
Group Sizes and Times
Our private dining space seats up to 14 - the right fit for a smaller team, a department, or a leadership group that wants its own table. For larger teams, we have group areas seating up to 40 or more.
We're open Thursday to Sunday, and group bookings can run at any time of day. Plenty of teams start with a class or a tour in the early afternoon and stay through to the evening. Timing depends on what else is on, so it's worth a conversation early. If your team is bigger than 40, get in touch and we'll talk through what's possible.
Why an Activity Beats the Usual Christmas Function
A Christmas party is a thank-you to the people who got you through the year, so it's worth spending it somewhere with a bit of substance. The difference here is that your team does something; they see how the spirits are made, or they make the drinks themselves, instead of sitting at a table for three hours. Conversation starts on its own when everyone's got a shaker in their hand. It's the same afternoon, the same food and drinks, with a better reason to be there.
It works for a local team, and it works for an interstate crew down for a conference looking for one good afternoon.
How to Book Your Work Christmas Party on the Gold Coast
Tell us your team size, the date you're after and what you'd like to include - a tour, a tasting, a cocktail class, a paint and sip, or just a table and a bar tab, and we'll put something together to suit.
Christmas books out early. October and November go first, so the sooner you lock it in the better, especially for a weekend.
Enquire about a work Christmas party at Six-Tricks Distilling Co., Mermaid Beach.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people can you host for a work Christmas party?
Our private dining space seats up to 14, and we have group areas seating up to 40. If your team is larger, get in touch and we'll talk through the options.
What activities can we do at a work Christmas party?
Distillery tours, guided tastings, cocktail classes, and paint and sip or wick and sip sessions run with our partners. You can build the afternoon around any of them, or skip the activity and just book the group in.
Is there food?
Yes - hand-made pizzas, grazing tables, roaming canapé service, or food trucks depending on the package you choose. Catering can be upgraded or changed.
What time can we book?
We're open Thursday to Sunday and group bookings can run at any time of day, subject to availability. Earlier bookings give you more choice of time.
How much does a work Christmas party cost?
We have three packages plus the option of a bar tab and food. Tell us your group size and what you'd like to include and we'll send through a custom quote.
When should we book our work Christmas party?
As early as you can. We're already filling up in late November & December
Where are you located?
Six-Tricks Distilling Co. is at 3 Brightlands Court Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast, a few minutes from Broadbeach.
