If you're hosting an evening event in December, but planning it now, you may benefit from visiting the venue at 9pm, to experience what the site will look like at 5:45pm in the winter, and then plan your signage accordingly.

Holiday parties are great opportunities to use light-up giant Candy Canes, Christmas lights or Luminarias to guide guests to the entrance of your event.  For non-holiday events, color uplighting, tiki torches or a hot air balloon in your event colors, or company logo, will definitely stand out in the dark night.  (See pictures below of an event balloon signaling the location of the beach party and the view of the balloon guests saw during the dinner that preceded the party).

A few things to consider during your "night time" site check:

• Is the address or entrance easily visible from the street?  If not, portable uplighting may be needed from your AV company.
  
• How you will define parking for your guests? Perhaps hosts with glow sticks? White Christmas lights? 
  
• What is the brightest point from the lot that guests will be drawn to? Are there several buildings with bright lights? How will your building stand out?
• Do you need to provide additional lighting on the entry path to avoid stumbles (and liability issues)?  This is often the case when hosting an event at a winery or estate.
• How many human arrows (good friends and interns) do you need and where would you place them? 
  
• Additionally, playing music, if allowed, outside your entrance will naturally draw attention.  Good to check where you can plug in speakers and what the noise policy is for your specific venue before moving ahead.

 Whatever you decide to do, your guests will appreciate that you took the time to walk the space as if you've never been there before, especially at night.