Russia is a country big on its holidays and no holiday is more important than New Year’s. The Leader takes a look at corporate celebrations from the humble to the extravagant.

“Usually companies just rent out a restaurant, decorate it and have people dress up as Father Frost [Ded Moroz] and Snegurushka [his wife],” said Viktoria Zolotosina, Manager for advertising and PR at the party organizing company Prazdnik Zhizni.

“For Russians, New Year’s is a family holiday; we think about friends and relatives. Work isn’t so important. While a New Year’s party is essential for any company, it is usually a small affair,” said Yekaterina Novokshenova, manager of PR company Obraz-Profi, noting that her company was too small for a big bash. “We don’t really have enough people for anything too exciting,” she said.

Yet, event organizers claim there is a growing trend among large Russian companies to seek some sort of outside entertainment or organize a big party.

“Russian companies have changing priorities,” according to Olga Sedotova, a sales representative at One 2 Remember, a party-organizing company, who noted that many firms are beginning to look for more exciting and novel forms of entertainment.

“Parties need to be fashionable and stylish, not just full of food and drinks,” she said.

In the name of creating a stylish and fashionable evening, her company has organized a Yellow Submarine party for clients. “It’s a trip from the past to the present starting with the 1960’s and traveling up to present day.” However, she noted that most of the company’s clients were still Western. “This year we have 15 clients and most of them are big international firms,” she said.

Other companies are offering to hold parties in helicopters, or the chance to watch fireworks displays outside the city. However, the cost of these sorts of big events is excessive for most Russian firms and most party organizing companies will not give out prices over the phone. The cheapest price for the Yellow Submarine party is $108-$150 a head — a major expense for a party of 100 people.

There is more stopping small companies from holding big parties than money.

Corporate culture at smaller firms is less developed and there is less need for a major event, according to Viktoriya Semyonova, manager at Event Technologies: But “large companies have a widespread network of employees and they consider it essential to hold a party to bring their employees together, at least once a year.”

Maxim Shapir, HR director at RosBusinessConsulting said that even though his company’s party would be small, he viewed it as an essential part of maintaining employee morale: “It’s an important part of corporate PR. We hold these parties specifically to improve the atmosphere around the workplace.”

He also said that like most Russian firms, their office party would be nothing out of the ordinary. “There’ll be drinks, food and some entertainment. That’s all.”

Novokshenova used to work in a Western firm and said there was a noticeable difference between the corporate parties of Western and Russian companies. “Western firms are better at organizing events, there are more parties and there is more going on at them. Russians have a more homey view of holidays. The festivities are more like the activities we would have at home.”

Companies looking to organize parties for New Year’s would do best to begin planning in advance, according to Simyonova of Event Technologies: “For a party in December, it’s best to start planning in September. Right now it is next to impossible to find a place where you can have a party, even for as few as 100 people.”