And Other Things I've Learned From Doing Holiday Parties All Over the Country

I love doing holiday parties.

I really do.

Whether that means driving across Nebraska in weather where I question every decision that led me to that particular stretch of interstate, or getting on a plane and bringing the amazingness to the other side of the country, corporate holiday events are some of my favorite gigs of the year.

Partly because they're fun.

But mostly because they sit right in the sweet spot of what I love doing.

Keep it PG. Make it funny. Do some really impossible stuff. Get the audience involved. And sneak in a message without making anybody feel like they're back at work.

That's pretty much my wheelhouse.

I've been doing this for more than 25 years, and somehow I still get excited about coming up with something new.

Actually, I may be worse now.

I'm constantly experimenting with new routines, plots, ideas, stories, and metaphors. I'll get an idea while driving. I'll write something down in the middle of the night. I'll try something onstage and discover that the brilliant idea in my head apparently forgot there would be actual people involved.

That's part of the process.

You try things.

Some work.

Some don't.

Some turn into something completely different.

That's how a show evolves.

This year I've got a bunch of new material I'm bringing into my holiday shows.

It's Really Not About Me Being Amazing

You'd think a guy who calls himself The Amazing Arthur might have a vested interest in convincing everyone how amazing he is.

Fair point.

But that's really not what I've become interested in.

I want the audience to realize how amazing they are.

That's a big difference.

Magic and mentalism give me a reason to get everyone's attention.

Comedy helps people lower their guard.

Audience participation turns a room full of people watching something into a room full of people experiencing something together.

And then we can go somewhere.

I've always said:

People listen best while watching.

I learned that years ago as a teacher, and I've spent most of my career proving it to myself over and over again onstage.

Don't just tell people something.

Show them.

Let them experience it.

Let them become part of it.

Let something impossible happen in their hands.

That's when people remember.

Why a Great Holiday Show Is Secretly Team Building

Don't worry.

I'm not going to make your accounting department build a raft.

Nobody has to fall backward and hope Dave from Sales catches them.

I'm talking about actual human connection.

Think about what happens at a company holiday party.

People usually walk in and sit with the same people they already know.

Same departments.

Same friends.

Same little groups.

Then something happens onstage.

Suddenly the entire room is paying attention to the same thing.

They're laughing together.

They're trying to figure something out together.

Somebody they work with gets pulled into a routine.

Something impossible happens.

And for that little chunk of time, everybody in the room has the same story.

That's the part I love.

Because Monday morning, they're still talking about it.

"HOW DID HE KNOW THAT?"

"Did you see what happened with Mike?"

"I swear she never told him that."

And occasionally:

"Why did we let Bob onstage?"

Every company has a Bob.

That's a shared experience.

And shared experiences are how groups of people become a little more connected.

I've always believed the shortest distance between two people is laughter.

Turns out it's also a pretty good shortcut between departments.

Being Amazed Is Only Half of It

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

We're surrounded by amazing things.

We carry devices around in our pockets that would have been considered actual sorcery for most of human history, and we mostly use them to argue with strangers and watch videos of raccoons stealing cat food.

We get used to amazing.

So part of what I want to do onstage is interrupt that for a while.

Make people wonder again.

Make them laugh.

Make them get curious.

Make them participate.

But ultimately, being amazed is only half of the equation.

The other half is remembering that you are capable of amazing things too.

You can learn.

You can adapt.

You can fail spectacularly and try again.

You can develop skills you didn't have before.

You can solve things.

Create things.

Change things.

Connect with people.

That's the message underneath a lot of what I do now.

I'm not coming to your event because everyone needs to spend an hour discovering how amazing Arthur is.

That would be a fairly exhausting evening.

I'm there to use amazing things to remind people how amazing they are.

That's what I mean when I talk about bringing the amazingness.

Also... Who Decided Holiday Parties Have to Be in December?

Seriously.

I'd like to see the paperwork on this.

Every year December turns into a scheduling cage match.

Your employees have family Christmas parties.

School programs.

Travel.

Shopping.

Kids.

Grandkids.

Three other parties.

And somebody suddenly realizes around Thanksgiving:

"Hey, weren't we going to have a company Christmas party?"

Meanwhile, every good Friday and Saturday night in December has already been claimed.

So here's my professional advice after doing these events for years:

Have it in January.

Nobody cares.

I've done plenty of January holiday events.

The audience still laughs.

The magic still works.

Santa does not revoke your Christmas license.

Honestly, January can be even better.

The holiday insanity is over.

People aren't trying to be in four places at once.

And you've given everyone something fun to look forward to after the holidays.

Call it a Christmas party.

Call it a holiday celebration.

Call it an employee appreciation event.

Call it a New Year kickoff.

Call it the "We Survived Another Year Without Throwing the Printer Out the Window" Celebration.

I'll show up.

December 2026 and January 2027 Are Booking Now

I'm based in Omaha, Nebraska, but I travel all over the country for corporate events.

Sometimes I'm driving across Nebraska.

Sometimes I'm flying halfway across the country.

Sometimes I'm looking at the weather forecast wondering why I didn't choose a career that takes place entirely in July.

But wherever the event is, the goal is always the same.

Bring people together.

Make them laugh.

Give them something they haven't seen before.

Get them involved.

Create something they'll remember experiencing together.

And maybe sneak a little meaning into the whole thing while nobody is looking.

Because your employees have already sat through enough meetings this year.

Please don't reward them with another meeting with cookies.

Let them laugh.

Let them wonder.

Let them be amazed.

And hopefully, somewhere along the way, remind them that they're capable of being pretty amazing themselves.

That's bringing the amazingness.

And that's why I still love doing this.

If you're planning a corporate holiday party, Christmas party, employee appreciation event, or January company celebration anywhere in the country, check availability at AmazingArthur.com.

I'll bring the amazingness.

You bring Bob.

We'll figure out what to do with him.