I haven’t heard this term before. I’m going to assume that means no blue jeans, nor a cummerbund.
What else does it mean? Tie? Suit? Flip-flops?
Casual wear + Santa hat?
I don’t know, but I’m picturing reindeer sweaters, snowman socks, and Santa-themed jewelry and ties.
If female: black dressy pants, heels, a sexy sweater, accessories.
?
If male: damned if I know. I would say clean jeans with no holes, or maybe Dockers would be better…dress shirt, or at least a clean plain one that has all its buttons and isn’t wrinkled.
Dockers and a big ugly Christmas sweater :).
Since the level of formality in clothing seems to be becoming decreasingly dressy, I would suspect a suit or even a tie and sport coat are not required. Dress slacks and a nice sweater would be my suggestion, or perhaps a casual shirt if you think a sweater would be too warm (but not too casual, like a t-shirt or golf shirt. A step up from that).
I admit, my parents’ Christmas party has that on the invitation because we don’t know what else to put. It means no jeans, damn it. Tom will wear his red corduroy pants with candy canes on them. His wife will wear a silly Christmas sweater which will probably have maribou trim. There will be some dresses, some ties, some polo shirts.
Okay, so I am completely lost as to this particular custom/style of dress. But red corduroy with candy canes are considered more acceptably dressy than nice, unwripped/unfaded jeans? Really?*
- Asked with a smile and without snark :). I truly don’t quite get the concept here.
Well, this is what I am planning–my normal work clothes: Dockers slacks and a button-down shirt. I guess I can stick a tie in my pocket and sneak up to the window for a peek at what the others there are wearing before I knock.
Unless I’m first! :eek: Maybe there will be a line for peeking in the window. 
But where did you get it from? How did you know it was an option? If you just made it up, then maybe my boss did too.
Well, yeah - it’s holiday casual. (Plus he’s over 50, which is a point adjustment.) I can’t explain to you why candy cane pants are higher on the ladder than jeans, but I assure you that they are.
Frank, we made it up, but I see it a lot. It’s obviously shorthand for “this is a nice party but we know we can’t get people to dress up, so we’ll put this and if you want to wear a suit you’ll feel fine but Tom can wear his Christmas pants.”
OK, well, I’ll wear my work clothes + tie, and hope for the best.
Ask sweet and maybe Tom will lend you his Christmas britches! You can’t have them the 18th, though - that’s our party.
A Christmas tie is your best friend. It’s dressy if everyone else is wearing ties. It’s fun, so it’s OK even if no one else is wearing a tie.
I just wish my cousin Danny would get the memo that sleeveless shirts are not acceptable at Thanksgiving. Everyone talks about it but no one will say anything. The x rated tattoos don’t help either.
I’d never put casual down and expect “no jeans.” The moment you say casual, a lot of people are going to go to jeans. And if it says casual, I’d never wear a suit.
But I agree that they probably mean Dockers and sweater. Holiday themed if you have it.
(I have a few of those “holiday themed” sweaters for occasions like that).
I feel like for women it means black bottoms (skirt/pants) and a sparkly/sequined top with a cashmere cardi, black tights and flats.
On a seperate note, I was looking forward to seasons after leaving southern California but now I’m not so sure. Still, I’ve found an awesome hair stylist in Chicago so there’s that.
Opinion was spread about as widely as in this thread.
I walked in and my boss was wearing blue jeans. There were a few blue jeans, a few ties, and everything in between. I guess nobody else knew what it meant either.
But I got some compliments on my snowman tie, and the food and drink were good, so what the hell . . . It wasn’t embarassing.
A tie in the shape of a christmas tree and one o’ these. Also the candy cane britches.
I’m late to the party as usual, but if I’d received an invite w/ “Holiday casual dress” on it I probably would have opted for dressy jeans (ie: not my barn work jeans), a semi-fancy top or sweater of some sort, heeled shoes or boots, and jewelery.