Book your place for the Xmas Party Now!!!

[Finola Howard]

Book your ticket today for the IBW Xmas Party Night!

Join us in the Silken Glider, Leopardstown Race Course, Dublin for a great night of fun and craic. Conveniently located off the M50 and in close proximity to a number of hotels, this party is shaping up to be the Christmas Party of the Year.

Kicking off on Saturday, November 25th, 2006 at 8pm, this Christmas Party is shaping up to be one fantastic night (certainly not to be missed).

Starting off with a drinks reception the night is looking to be one filled with laughter, fun and lots of people chatting. Following the meal there will be dancing and singing go leor, so be prepared to dance the night away.

Cost for this great night of entertainment, networking and renewing old friendships is €100 plus VAT @ 21%. You can book your tickets now at www.ibwevents.com and please pass on the word abut this event to your friends and colleagues as it is looking to be a fantastic event for us women in business. We need to confirm numbers by November 18th so book your tickets right away!

Looking forward to seeing you all on the night….

Go raibh maith agat

[tregan]

hi finola,

would love to come to this event and have been juggling family parties and christenings in the h hope that i could go - that's all been done but think the price is a bit excessive?? so i'm afraid i might be having second thoughts now even though it will be a great opportunity to meet everybody in a social setting

[Éadaoin]

Hi all,

I hope you all have a great night, but I'm out too.

The 121 Euro plus travel, drinks, taxi etc. all just add up to too much for me that close to Christmas!

Shame because, as Tina said, it would be great to meet up with more of you!

[Majella]

I am afraid I will have to back down too, as Eadaoin has mentioned the €121, plus drinks, accomodation is too much so close to Christmas.

Hope you all have a great night and I am sorry I am missing out on this one, as I really enjoyed Mullingar.


Majella

[AileenH]

we are booked, its a business expense to us.
accomodation charged to the business too, as we have arranged appointments to coincide.
now as for drink, hard to wangle that one, we are on our own there!

[Finola Howard]

Delighted you guys are booked.

Was a little worried when I saw the other posts.

We were really conscious of cost to everyone and went for the cheapest options possible in all cases so that we could make it work.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there - it really will be the best Womens Christmas Party ever!!

All the best
Finola

[SusanLynch]

Good morning all,

I only live up the road so dont have accomodation costs etc., but to be honest the price does seem a little high to me as well..... I hope I dont sound like such a penny pincher...

Does the price include free bar for the night or something??!

[cris]

Morning everyone!
Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to the party... will be in hospital soon (not serious!!) and am told by the docs that it is too soon to be gallivanting to the other end of the country!!!! Huge pity as I really was looking forward to it and to meeting everyone again!!
I even had the outfit and shoes picked!!!
Anyway, I was involved in some of the initial discussions re the party and was going to be involved in organising it.. backed out due to health reasons - primarily the fact that I could be in hosp at a crucial stage. Anyway, having done some shopping around for venues, music etc... at the start, the E100 region was looking like the lowest the party could cost for us all!!
The party has to pay for itself and is being organised by Finola and Laura on their own time and voluntarily. It's not subsidised.
As far as I remember, the consensus was to have the party in Dublin... have seen prices here in Mayo which would have been much lower but which would have incurred different costs for other member!

Like Aileen says, it is a business expense.
For those of you who can make it, it'll be a great night - I'll be thinking of ye all as I'm watching Ryan Tubridy in my slippers
Will ye save me a mince pie??

[Tracy]

Hi everybody.

I have to add my own voice to those who are concerned by the expense.

I really appreciate the effort that Finola and Laura have put so much time into organising it, and I absolutely am certain that they tried to keep it as reasonable as possible. This isn't a complaint in any way.

But it's a bit of a reality check. My own business is reasonably fledging and I need to consider carefully whether I can justify this. I haven't decided totally that I can't, but it's certainly not an automatic 'yes' as i thought it would be.

It's a bummer cos I was very much looking forward to it. (Might manage it yet, but not at all sure)

[Flyakite]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to see what other people wrote before I posted, as I got a bit of a shock too when I saw the price. Unfortunately like other members, I just can't justify it... I really am sorry as I was looking forward to it so much. I know Finola et al have put in humongous work and I really do appreciate it.

I hope I'm not treading on anyone's toes but I assume you have gone down the sponsorship route? I would have thought that companies would be queing up to sponsor the event. Afterall, what better exposure could they get to Irish business women!

Off the top of my head, someone like Bailey's for the Drinks Reception would be ideal as we are their target market. What about the fact that the banks are clamouring over eachother to look like they support female entrepreneurs - wouldn't it be an ideal sponsorship for them? Or closer to the home of this forum, what about the Enterprise Boards?

Perhaps other members could think of female orientated products or services who may like to sponsor and therefore subsidize the ticket price.

Some food for thought...

[caroline]

Hi there,

Im not sure if I can go yet as it coincides with something else I might have to go to locally.

Im sorry to say, I also got a shock at the price. Dublin sure is an expensive place to organise an event! All the hotels in Mayo are offering Christmas parties including drinks reception, 5 course meal, music for half the price. You all have to vote for Mayo/Galway next time!!

I really want to go, as I really enjoyed the conference in Mullingar.
What accommodation is available and what will it cost?

Sorry Finola to sound like a penny pincher, after you have put so much work into it, I just didnt realise it was going to cost so much, and then when I add in the accommodation etc, it might just be too expensive for me this time.

Just about to start my business, so the pennies have yet to roll in.

I will see what I can do.

Kind Regards,
Caroline

[cris]

Caroline, you asked about accomodation. When I thought I was going to be able to go, I was going to book my room in Bewley's Leopardstown. Its our choice of accomodation when visiting Dublin anyway and we love it. It's E89 for a room and when we go, the 4 of us (hubby, 2 kids and I) have loads of space in our family room. Breakfast isn't included but if you're like me, a latte and a muffin in some funky Dublin eaterie is nicer and cheaper

[AileenH]

hi caroline,

we are staying there too in bewleys, for the two nights as we have business on friday.

my sister and her friends had a sleepover there, four in the one room 89 all in!

[caroline]

Hi Cris,

Thanks for that. Thats very reasonable!!
The hubbie and my little one might want to come up and combine the Christmas Shopping!

Some might consider sharing a room maybe? Ive often done that on hen parties. Another money saver!

Not sure if Im free to go regardless of cost yet, but have a little time to make up my mind.

Kind Regards
Caroline

[Tracy]

Actually would anybody be interestedin sharing a room with me if I do go. I have something on in Dublin all day (The Women of Wealth Seminar, I'm doing a session on EFT in it) and so will definitely want to stay in a hotel a) to freshen up between day ad evening, and b) it'll be a long day leaving Carlow at some unearthly hour so I won't want to driveback that evening. Whadja think?

Knowing I didn't have to pay for the full cost of the room would make the whole evening more affordable for me.