Party Guide in English
Organisation of Party
Each monthly party is organised by a group of 10 to12 Host Parents. The Host Parents assume full responsibility for the organisation and management of the party. The cost of a party must amount to £500 per family (excluding the Host Parents' dinner). Any surplus not spent on the party budget is transferred for other parties expenditures.
The Host Parents must allocate between themselves the following tasks:
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keeping of accounts by a Treasurer,
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booking of the venue (which must be different from any other party planned for a Rallye during the year), catering and drinks. IMPORTANT: choice of venue to be approved by the Rallye coordinators before any booking and any deposit payment to avoid double booking of the venue the same year.
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booking of 3 bouncers (2 men and 1 woman as a minimum),
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subscription of a mandatory liability insurance in the names of the organising parents,
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booking of the DJ,
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decoration of the room,
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booking of a professional photographer (mandatory from September 2019),booking of animations and other specifics to the party's theme,
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preparation of the invitation, sending the invitations and chasing replies using the Rallye’s website,
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creation of a list of non member guests, at least a week before the party, to be presented to the Rallye Coordinators for approval, together with a contact name and mobile for the day of the party.
It is important for the workload to be equally shared. Each family should carry out at least one of the task.
All decisions regarding the party must be made collectively by the group of Host Parents .
We recommend that you organise a few days before the party, a dinner for your children so that they to get to know each other. It can be the opportunity to prepare a list of preferred tracks for the DJ.
Cost and Budget Management
Host Parents are expected to spend £500 per family to organise the party excluding the Host Parents' diner. A significant overrun of this amount must be validated by all the organising parents.
The choice of the place as well as the catering (sufficient quantity) are key for the success of the party. The place must be fairly spacious (a minimum of one square meter per person) to accommodate the dancing, but not too large. Lighting and DJ are also key to a successful party. It is recommended to pay only a reasonable deposit, by credit card, to allow a potential reimbursement in case of venue bankruptcy.
The French Rallye will refund up to £780 after the party, on receipt of invoices to be sent by mail to the Rallye Treasurer. These invoices should include:
• The costs of three compulsory bouncers and the compulsory liability insurance contracted by the Host Parents for the party,
• Any other cost relating to the party, excluding the Parents' diner, for exemple: DJs, sound equipment and lighting, decoration, photographer and photobooth.
The refund will be processed in a single payment by bank transfer by the Treasurer of Le French Rallye after reception of all invoices.
Sending Invitations
The invitation must be submitted for validation to the Rallye coordinators before being sent. Once validated, the invitation will be sent using the Rallye’s website (members section), but only after the previous party has passed to avoid any confusion. Invitations should include the family name of the Host Parents, the venue address, the date, time and theme of the party ,the RSVP deadline and a phone number in case of emergency.
Management of the Party
All Host Parents are required to be present during the evening, except in case of force majeure validated by the Rallye Coordinators and can not leave the party until all the guests have left.
Host Parents are specifically responsible during the party of the following tasks:
• Provide 48 hours before the party, a mobile number of one of the Host Parents to the Rallye Coordinators as a possible contact during the day of the party and during the party itself. It will allow the Rallye Coordinators to pass on possible messages from the parents.
• Perform the Check In process using the Rallye website’s from mobile phones
• Verify the identity of guests in case of doubt.
• Inform by phone the parents of any expected members who have not checked in, 1/2 hour after the start of the party.
• Discreetly supervise the evening and the members. The bouncers have proved a great help in this respect. Please refer to Code of Conduct of le French Rallye to assess situations.
• Check early leavers. Early check-outs are not allowed in year 2 and allowed in year 3, provided that the parents' leavers have sent in advance to the Host Parents an email to inform them..
• End of party wrap-up. At the end of the evening, it is recommended to check all the venue’s rooms, the toilets and the locker room in order to restore the place as it was before the party and to make up for any possible claims.
Party hours
Parties should start at 7.30pm
• Year 2, parties must end no later than 11.30 pm.
• Year 3, parties may last up to 12.00 pm.
Members must arrive at the time indicated on the invitations, no later than half an hour after the start of the party.
Dress Code
The members and their guests must dress properly: girls will wear skirts or dresses, and boys shirts and blazers, which means neither JEANS nor T-SHIRTS, nor TOP CROPS, nor TRACKSUITS, nor TRAINERS.
Non-Member Guests
Each host family can invite only 2 "non-member" guests ( for Rallye Balmoral & Rallye Windsor), depending on the size of the room. Parents are responsible for their non-member guests and must have their emergency contact information.
For fairness with paying members of Le French Rallye, a non-member guest may be invited no more than twice during the year.
As a result, the list of non-member guest must be communicated and approved by the French Rallye coordinators before sending the invitation to outside guests.
Alcohol, Smoking & Other
Year 2 parties are alcohol free. For the year 3 parties, the Host Parents are at liberty to serve light alcoholic beverages or not, according to the British law and the license of the chosen venue.
The parties must also respect the legal rules concerning smoking. We recommend to avoid using helium balloons for decoration, unless these are not accessible by the guests.
If a member does not comply with Le French Rallye Code of Conduct, he or she will be suspended or expelled without compensation.
Cases of expulsion include, but are not limited to :
• Use, offer or sale of drugs.
• Arriving drunk at a party. The member will be denied entry to the event.
• The introduction of alcoholic beverages into a party.
• Alcohol abuse to the point of being a risk to themselves or others.
• Non-compliance with the rules of the venue (eg when a place has a non-smoking policy).
• Use of abusive language towards another member, Host Parent or any other person.
• The fraudulent introduction of non member guests into a party.
Compulsory Feedback on the Party
The organising parents are asked to send a report on the choice of venue, catering, DJs, general atmosphere and any other point of interest. It will contribute to ease and improve the organisation of future parties.
List of DJs and Photo booths
To access these lists, please log into your account on https://www.lefrenchrallye.com/.
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Venues
To access these lists, please log into your account on https://www.lefrenchrallye.com/.
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Once Host parents have identified a venue and theme, they should input immediately the information under their page "Member/My Event/Invitation". The page will disclose venues and themes already chosen by other Members to avoid duplicates.
Tips:
It is highly recommended to pay only a reasonable deposit when booking a venue, by card and not by transfer. This allows a possible compensation in case of venue bankruptcy before the party date.
Many venues allow drinks to be brought by the Host parents, sometimes with or without a corkage cost.
Party Insurance
Host Parents must contract a public liability cover under their names for the event they are organising. It is sometimes impossible to list all parents on the insurance's website. In such case, Host Parents should give a name to the Committee of their party (for example, Committee of "Theme" Party of "date") and contract the insurance under the Committee's name. The insurance should not be taken under the name of Le French Rallye Ltd. There are many event insurances available online. In the past for example, parents have used among others the website Events-insurance.co.uk.