Personal Touch Dining has catered San Diego holiday parties since 1988 for corporate clients, private hosts, and event planners across the county. Award-winning kitchen, full-service staffing, and 37+ years of December experience behind every booking.
Office holiday parties make up the largest portion of our December calendar. We work with HR teams, executive assistants, and event coordinators at San Diego companies to deliver year-end events that staff look forward to. From conference room luncheons to 500-guest corporate galas at downtown hotels, we scale to the room and the budget.
Private home holiday parties are a significant portion of our December bookings every year. We work in homes across La Jolla, Point Loma, Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Valley, and the rest of San Diego County. Our team adapts to your kitchen setup, runs the service, manages the bar, and leaves the space cleaner than we found it.
Hanukkah brisket and latkes. Thanksgiving turkey and pies. New Year's Eve passed appetizers and champagne service. Plated multi-course dinners for a year-end gala. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, and allergy-specific accommodations on every booking. For traditional family recipes, we cook from the recipe you provide.
The Knot Hall of Fame, 37+ years of San Diego holiday service, in-house chefs preparing every dish from locally sourced produce and premium proteins. Full-service staffing, bar packages, rentals, and event coordination handled by one team. The same crew shows up year after year.
What to expect from booking through cleanup, and how to lock your December date.
Mid-November through early January books out 8 to 12 weeks ahead. Corporate office parties for the first half of December typically lock by October. New Year's Eve is among our highest-demand dates of the year. Off-peak weekday holiday events can sometimes be confirmed in 4 to 6 weeks. The earlier the conversation, the more flexibility on date, menu, and staffing.
Custom quote built from your date, headcount, venue, and menu direction. One contract covers food, service staff, bar, rentals, setup, and breakdown. No vendor juggling, no separate invoices for the bar or the rentals, no last-minute scrambles for table linens. You sign one agreement and we run the event.
10-person executive dinner in Point Loma. 60-guest Hanukkah celebration at a private home in La Jolla. 250-person corporate gala at a Gaslamp venue. NYE party for 400 at a venue with no kitchen. Our setup, equipment, and staffing scale to the room and the crowd. We've worked every kind of San Diego holiday venue across 37+ years and the format conversation starts with where you're hosting.
Customizable add-ons that turn a holiday party catering booking into a complete event. Each is available à la carte or bundled with your service package.
Build a holiday menu around your theme, your guest list, and your dietary needs. Our chefs design dishes for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-light, kosher, and kid-friendly accommodations on every booking. For traditional family recipes (Hanukkah brisket, Italian holiday classics, a grandmother's lasagna), we cook from the recipe you provide.
Hot chocolate bar with marshmallows, candy canes, and whipped cream toppings. Mulled cider station with cinnamon sticks and citrus slices. Holiday dessert tables with pies, cookies, and seasonal pastries. S'mores station for fireside parties. These add-ons turn a holiday party into something guests remember.
Holiday-themed table linens, chargers, glassware, flatware, chairs, lounge furniture, and centerpiece coordination through our trusted rental partners. We handle the rental order, delivery, setup, and pickup so the look of the room is locked alongside the menu. Available for events at offices, private homes, and any San Diego venue.
Day-of coordination to keep vendors in sync, manage the kitchen and service timeline, and handle the small fires that come with any holiday event. Our coordinators run the schedule, communicate with the venue, and let you stay with your guests. Available as an add-on or bundled with full-service catering.
Here’s what some of our recent customers have to say about their experiences with our boxed lunch catering service:
Holiday party catering in San Diego covers a lot of ground across the season. Corporate galas at Gaslamp venues. Family Hanukkah dinners in La Jolla living rooms. NYE receptions for 300 guests. Office holiday luncheons for 25 in a conference room. Thanksgiving dinners delivered to a private estate in Rancho Santa Fe.
Whatever the event looks like, we cover the menu, the service, the bar, and the timeline. You stay with your guests. We handle the rest.
Get a Custom Holiday Catering Quote
Let’s bring the flavor and joy of the holidays to your next gathering
Full-service holiday party catering includes custom menu design, all food preparation and cooking, professional service staff, buffet stations or plated service, bar service with certified bartenders, rentals coordination (linens, china, glassware), venue walk-through, day-of timeline management, and setup and cleanup. We tailor the inclusion list to your event type and venue.
Peak holiday dates (mid-November through early January) book 8 to 12 weeks ahead. Corporate office parties for the first half of December typically book by October. New Year’s Eve is one of our highest-demand dates of the year and often locks in by mid-October. Off-peak weekday holiday events can sometimes be confirmed in 4 to 6 weeks. For Christmas catering specifically, see the dedicated page.
Yes. Corporate holiday party catering is one of our largest service areas every year. We cater office holiday parties of every size, from 20-person team lunches to 500-guest corporate galas at downtown San Diego venues. We coordinate with your office protocols or the venue’s requirements, handle full bar service, and run the timeline so leadership and staff can be present at the party. See our corporate catering page for more.
We offer multiple full-service formats: plated dinners with servers at each table for formal events, buffet stations where guests serve themselves from displays, action stations where a chef cooks or carves on-site, passed appetizers for cocktail-style receptions, and family-style service with large platters at each table. The right format depends on your guest count, the venue layout, the budget, and the kind of experience you want guests to have. We recommend a service style during the consultation based on these factors.
Yes. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, and allergy-specific accommodations are part of every holiday party catering booking. We design menus with options for every guest at the table and label dietary items at buffet stations. For traditional family recipes (Hanukkah dishes, regional traditions, family classics), we cook from your provided recipes.
Yes. Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Eve catering are all part of our holiday season service in San Diego. Hanukkah menus include traditional brisket, latkes, kugel, and rugelach. Thanksgiving includes herb-roasted turkey, gravy, traditional stuffing, and the classic sides and pies. NYE catering ranges from passed appetizers and champagne toasts to plated dinners with midnight stations. Christmas catering is on our dedicated Christmas catering page.
Holiday party catering cost depends on guest count, menu, service style (plated, buffet, stations, passed appetizers), staffing, bar service, and any rentals. Peak holiday dates carry a slight premium because of holiday staff pay. We do not publish flat rates because every holiday event runs different. Share your date, headcount, venue, and rough menu direction and we will build a quote within a few business days.
Yes. Bar service is one of our most-booked holiday party add-ons. Bar packages include certified bartenders, full liquor service, beer and wine pours, signature cocktails, hot beverage stations (hot chocolate bars with toppings, mulled cider, spiked coffee), and non-alcoholic options. We pull the necessary permits for venues that require them and bring all the setup equipment.
Yes. We maintain working relationships with 38+ San Diego venues and can recommend the right space based on your headcount, format, and budget. For rentals, we coordinate linens, china, glassware, flatware, and specialty furniture from trusted partners. For event coordination, our team can run the timeline, sync vendors, and manage day-of logistics. These services can bundle with catering or be scoped independently.
Yes. Private home holiday parties are a significant portion of our season every year. We work in homes across San Diego County from La Jolla and Point Loma to Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Valley, and Rancho Santa Fe. Our team adapts to your kitchen setup, brings the necessary equipment for stations or plated service, and leaves the space cleaner than we found it. Smaller home gatherings often use a buffet setup with bar service, while larger home events use full-service plated or station service.
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Event Venues and Companies by the Personal Touch Dining Team
