The lucky draw, the yee sang toss, the best-dressed table. Every phone in the ballroom, on one screen.

An annual dinner is a company's yearly celebration for all its staff, common in Malaysia and Singapore, where it is often called a dinner and dance (D&D). It is usually a banquet at a hotel ballroom or restaurant, with tables of 10, a theme and dress code, speeches, long-service and performance awards, staff performances and a lucky draw. Many are held between December and the weeks around Lunar New Year, when the meal opens with the yee sang toss (called lo hei in Singapore).

A live photo wall at an annual dinner is the ballroom screen showing what staff post from their phones: they scan a QR code on the screen, and each photo or message appears about a second later. On QR Wall there is no app and no login, it works for 200 to 2,000 guests, and on Professional an approval queue holds every post until someone from HR or the organising committee taps approve.

15 annual dinner ideas for Malaysia and Singapore

The annual dinner ideas that work keep 200 or 2,000 people at their tables until the end: a lucky draw spread across the night, something to do at the table between courses, awards that mean something, and food every colleague can eat. Pick five or six; a programme with all fifteen runs past midnight.

1. Spread the lucky draw across the night

   The lucky draw is the fixture of an annual dinner, and the grand prize is why people stay to the end. Hand out numbered tickets at registration (some companies put them in an ang pow), draw the small prizes between courses and the big ones last. A rule of thumb many committees use: one prize for every 10 to 20 staff.

2. Open with the yee sang toss

   If the dinner falls in the Lunar New Year season, start the meal with yee sang — lo hei in Singapore — one platter per table of 10. Everyone stands, tosses the ingredients high with their chopsticks and calls out wishes for the year. Have the emcee lead the wishes so tables of colleagues from every background can join in.

3. A theme people can dress for

   Retro, old Shanghai, Bollywood, Great Gatsby, Hollywood, a colour code: pick one staff can manage with what they own or a cheap find, announce it six weeks ahead, and give best-dressed prizes for a man, a woman and a table.

4. Long-service and performance awards

   Five, ten and twenty years with the company, plus a few team awards. Keep each one under two minutes on stage and put a photo of the person on the screen as their name is read. These are the moments families ask to see afterwards.

5. Department performances

   Each department prepares a three-to-five-minute act — a dance, a skit, a song — with a prize for the best. Cap it at five or six acts so dinner doesn't go cold, and let the room vote.

6. A live photo wall on the ballroom screen

   Staff scan the code on the screen and post from their phones: the table selfie, the yee sang mid-toss, the department's costume, a thank-you to a manager. It fills the screen between speeches. On Professional every post waits for approval before it appears — the right setting for a screen the CEO is standing under.

7. A yam seng toast

   The Cantonese "yam seng" toast, with the whole room holding the last "seng" as long as they can, is a common high point at Chinese banquets in Malaysia and Singapore. Have the most senior person lead it, and make sure non-drinkers have something in their glass.

8. Table games between courses

   A banquet runs eight or nine courses, with gaps between them. Give each table a game: a company-trivia quiz on a card, a photo challenge (a table photo with everyone mid-jump), or guess-the-baby-photo of the management team. Table prizes keep everyone in their seats.

9. Food every colleague can eat

   In Malaysia especially, a halal-certified venue or caterer is often what lets the whole company eat at the same table. Ask for the certificate (JAKIM in Malaysia, MUIS in Singapore) rather than a verbal assurance, and collect vegetarian and allergy needs at registration.

10. A CEO speech under five minutes

    The year in three numbers, a thank-you that names teams, one line about next year. Put it after the first course, when people are settled and before the noise builds.

11. A photo booth with props

    A backdrop in the theme, a ring light and a box of props by the entrance. Arrivals queue for it anyway; giving it a spot keeps the ballroom doors clear.

12. Staff awards voted by staff

    Best dressed, life of the party, most helpful colleague of the year — voted in the weeks before or on the night. They cost little and get bigger cheers than the formal awards.

13. A year-in-photos loop as people arrive

    Ask each department for five photos from the year, and loop them on the screen during registration and the first course. It gives arriving guests something to watch and starts conversations across tables.

14. Let the branches join from wherever they are

    Offices in Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching or across the Causeway that can't travel in can post their own table photos to the same wall through its link — and appear on the ballroom screen in the capital.

15. Plan the date around the festive season

    Lunar New Year 2027 is Saturday 6 February. Venues and lion dance troupes are busiest in the weeks around it, and Hari Raya and Deepavali bring their own peaks later in the year. Book the ballroom four to six months out, and avoid dates when many staff will be travelling home.

The room is too big to see itself

At 30 tables, most people at an annual dinner see the stage, their own table and the two beside it. The best moments of the night — the finance team's dance, a table mid-toss, the intern who won the grand prize — happen out of sight of almost everyone.

The ballroom screen is the one thing every seat can see. When it shows what staff are posting, the room sees itself: table 27 waves at the camera, the screen shows it, table 3 waves back. And because it is approved first, it is a screen the management can stand under.

Live wall, photo booth, photographer or group chat

How an annual dinner's photos usually get shared.

Most annual dinners keep the photographer for the stage and the awards; the wall collects everything else.

Annual dinner questions

What organising committees ask before putting a live screen up in the ballroom.

What are good company annual dinner ideas?

Good annual dinner ideas keep the whole room at their tables until the end: a lucky draw spread across the evening with the grand prize last, the yee sang or lo hei toss when the dinner falls in the Lunar New Year season, a theme with best-dressed prizes, long-service awards, short department performances, table games between courses, a yam seng toast, and food every colleague can eat. A live photo wall on the ballroom screen lets every table post photos and messages from their phones.

When do companies in Malaysia and Singapore hold their annual dinner?

Usually between December and the weeks around Lunar New Year. In 2027, Lunar New Year is Saturday 6 February and Chap Goh Mei, the fifteenth day, is Saturday 20 February, so many companies hold theirs in January or in the two weeks after New Year's Day. Book the venue four to six months ahead for those weeks.

How do you run a lucky draw at an annual dinner?

Give every guest a numbered ticket at registration, draw the smaller prizes between courses and the biggest ones at the end, and show each winning number and winner on the screen so the whole ballroom sees it. Many committees plan roughly one prize for every 10 to 20 staff. Decide in advance whether winners must be in the room to collect.

How many people can post to the wall at once?

Hundreds at the same time. For a dinner where more than 200 guests may post at once, Professional can add the $29 Event Performance Boost, which reserves capacity around the event and includes a pre-event check of your setup.

Can HR approve photos before they appear on the ballroom screen?

Yes, on Professional. The approval queue holds every post until someone taps approve on their phone, and AI moderation screens text, photos and video first. Nothing reaches the screen unchecked.

Is the price in Malaysian ringgit or Singapore dollars?

No — prices are in US dollars and billing is in USD. Professional is $19.99 a month, $11.99 for the first month, and you can cancel after the dinner. Your card provider converts the charge.

Do staff need to download an app?

No. Staff point their phone camera at the QR code on the screen and post from the browser, with no app and no login. The host dashboard is in English; the guest page can be in English, Spanish or Indonesian.