How much notice do leaving drinks need?

Three to five days is normal and works fine, as long as the ask is a single tappable question rather than an open discussion.

Should the person leaving pick the venue?

Let them veto, not choose. Most people will say 'anywhere is fine' and then quietly mind.

How to organise leaving drinks at short notice

Leaving drinks live or die on speed. You usually have a week, everyone finds out at different times, and the person leaving should not be the one organising it.

The run-up, in order

Lead times are the difference between a plan and a group chat. This is roughly how it goes when it goes well.

Day one: pick two dates in the leaver's last week and ask the group which they can do. Do not ask for more than two.
Day two: pick the winner and name a pub. Nobody has ever been thrilled by a venue poll.
Day four: send the reminder with the time and the exact spot inside the pub.
On the day: one message at 4pm. Turnout doubles.

Who to invite

Ask the leaver, privately, for the list. Guessing gets someone left out and it will be remembered longer than the drinks.

A card or a gift

One person collects, one amount, one deadline. A collection with no ceiling and no deadline collects about half of what it should.

The drop-in problem

Say a start time and a 'we'll be here until' time. People who can only come for an hour need to know an hour is fine.

A starting point you can copy

Paste this straight in and change the details: “Leaving drinks, Thursday or Friday next week, 6pm, the usual pub.”

One idea, a couple of dates and a rough cost per head is enough for people to answer with a tap rather than a paragraph.

Common questions

How much notice do leaving drinks need?: Three to five days is normal and works fine, as long as the ask is a single tappable question rather than an open discussion.
Should the person leaving pick the venue?: Let them veto, not choose. Most people will say 'anywhere is fine' and then quietly mind.