I HATE office Christmas parties! Trying to spend several more hours with people you have been with for 8 hours already that day! If your office is of any size, the party will likely be at a hotel ballroom. The noise will be deafening. The booze will be watered down. The wine will be bargain-basement grocery store wine. The food will be mediocre because the size of the mob will render lukewarm buffet feedings necessary. Because I am an early-bird kind of person, I’ll be trying desperately to stay awake by about 8 p.m., then giving up and trying to surreptitiously sneak out so that no one will be offended.
I’ve always enjoyed our holiday parties. Of course, I had to go and blow that by offering to help plan it this year. Ever tried to find a restaurant that 40 people like? You can’t. Of course, the 40 people don’t think about that–we’ve had to field complaints from some of them already. Guess what, folks, it’s not your year to be happy with the restaurant. Maybe next year. Here’s an idea: why not help plan it next year? You can damned sure I won’t be.
This Friday is our in-office holiday luncheon. I opted out. There is no one space in this building big enough to accommodate everyone, so we’d wind up sitting at our desks to eat… That’s not what I consider a party. I think I’ll head out for lunch while the rest make merry.
At least I’m not expected to make an out-of-office appearance, either for my job or hubby’s. Now, if only the in-laws would decide to go elsewhere on Christmas day… <fading into reverie…>
I once asked a friend and coworker if he was going to a Christmas party. He said he wasn’t: he knew that if he was near several of our coworkers on his own time, he would give his honest opinion about their inability to work, and since HR policy would be in effect at the party, this would probably end with his dismissal. I knew who he was talking about and see his point.
All I’ve learned from office parties is that, apparently, in order to run the joint, you have to look stupid when dancing.
This year I’m not even going to ours. I feel bad, but there are extenuating circumstances.
We asked everyone in the company for input on what to do this year for the party. We have a lot of employees who just don’t dress up, and probably don’t even have the clothing for it, and if there is a party that even looks like it requires something more than jeans, they won’t show. Several of them suggested a simple party in a not-so-swank hotel, with beer and a DJ and minimum food.
So guess what gets planned? A sit-down dinner in a swank hotel that is in a convenient location for the CEO and absolutely no one else in the company.
What a good thread, Gundy. Can’t believe I missed it the first time around.
Our party was this last Friday. It was a complete and total waste of time. Boring, boring, boring – the comments about cliques are right on. If you wanted to squeeze into a clique and natter on endlessly about inconsequential crap, then you’d be home free. I was unable to do this. I couldn’t pretend to be interested in things I find boring.
Last year’s was better. It was held at a private home, it was catered and the food was actually good, they hired a little cool jazz band to play softly, and poured high-quality wine. I still lacked the ability to socialize, but at least I could quietly tuck down jumbo shrimp and prime rib and drink several glasses of Stag’s Leap cabernet sauvignon. This hotel ballroom crap bites, though.
Blech. I skipped our “Holiday Party” this year, and it sounds like I did the right thing. Apparantly, everyone left early, nobody danced, and the food was bleah. A lot of it comes down to the people planning it. We have one evil HR lady who is always involved with the planning since she’s the one who is in charge of the budget and all that. She’s notorious for coming up with the dullest parties imaginable - she doesn’t want to put any time or effort into doing anything fun, and in the tradition of great HR workers, wants to make sure that everything is nice and fair and even.
In light of this, last year me and a few other coworkers decided to get in on the holiday party planning group. We fought tooth and nail to get her to agree to doing 8 or 10 really good door prizes - top was an $800 gift certificate to a local travel agency, and there were several things like DVD players and weekends at a B&B. She wanted to “make sure everyone got a gift” and suggested something like $30 gift certificates to a local mall, or “gift bags” with a company shirt, company mug, etc. in it. She also was very much against spending money on a bar, and wanted to give each person 2 drink tickets or some such thing to cut down on expenses. We ended up having an open bar, again because we fought for it. It was a big hassle and a lot of work to go against her, and it created political problems for all of us.
This year, none of us wanted to do it again because it was such a headache. So we didn’t. So what did they do this year? A buffet at a local hotel/restaurant, a $25 gift certificate to a mall, and 4 drink tickets. It started at 6:00, and it was over by 9:00. Everyone I’ve talked to who went said it was dull, dull, dull. Figures.
Make the party both more fun and more rewarding- don’t drink, and take a camera of some sort. Then wait for eveyone to start drinking, and catch a couple co-workers in compromising positions.
We used to have bidding wars over the party negatives.
The company I work for bought the hotel where we had last year’s Christmas party, and converted all the bedrooms to offices. (Don’t tell me it’s weird, I know it’s weird.) The bar, restaurant and swimming pool are still open (bar’s not open during the day, though). So, this year’s Christmas party will be … downstairs.
Well, we had our office party last Saturday. I have to confess I really didn’t want to go (my boss has been a complete asshole lately) but once I got there and tied into the beer and wine and shooters, I relaxed enough to tell him to go fuck himself.
Apparently (they tell me) the conversation went like this:
BOSS: Head office has been really impressed with our cost monitoring lately…
ME: Yeah? Who gets the fucking praise for that? Do you ever tell them who does the actual work around here? It’s not fucking you, that’s for sure.
BOSS: Well, now, you’ve had a bit of an attitude lately, but under my management, you’ll come around.
ME: Your management? What management?! Answer the fucking question! WHO GETS THE PRAISE? DO YOU EVER TELL THOSE BASTARDS WHO DOES THE FUCKING WORK AROUND HERE? ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION!
We have Polaroids of the night, but no video or audio tape (probably just as well.)
they always have these drunk people making copies of their ass and giving them out to all their co-workers. There’s the shy secretary who lets loose on that one night to give you a wild time of tiger like sex in the storage room. The boss yells out “Bonuses for everyone!” and the employees cheer and raise him up on a chair singing “For he’s a jolly good fellow.”
If Office parties are even half like this, how could you not want to go?
Last year, I was really unhappy about our absentee policy, our review policy and my Christmas bonus (thankfully, this year’s bonus is MUCH better).
I was so unhappy, as a matter of fact, that I talked to some of my closer friends here about not going to the Christmas party. I did NOT say I wouldn’t go, though I speculated that I might go and leave as early as decency would allow (our party is during normal working hours).
As it happens, we needed a paralegal to work on a specific project (a videotaped deposition) at the same time as the holiday party. Since I wasn’t looking forward to the party anyway (even when I’m in a better frame of mind, I don’t generally enjoy our office parties, which recently have consisted of co-workers displaying their “talent”), I agreed to be the one to “stay at home”.
Now, you would think that my company would appreciate my sacrifice, wouldn’t you?
Would any of you expect that, when they had a drawing for a trip to the Bay Area, that they’d draw my name and THROW MY NAME OUT because I wasn’t there to claim my prize??
Well, I certainly didn’t expect this. And the person who made this decision knew EXACTLY where I was–she helped with the goddamn work arrangements.
We are having THREE Xmas parties this year and I plan to be absent for all of them if I can wangle it:
Whole-company party
Departmental party, to which we have to bring a “grab-bag” gift
One top editor’s having one on a Sunday afternoon at her apartment
I figure, these people won’t promote me or give me a raise or listen to any of my editorial or creative input or even ask me to the goddam meetings; why the hell should I have to socialize with them? I’ve been kissing ass for three years—enough, already.
I work for a small contracting company, the entire staff of which works in one department of the FAA. This year the boss took all 12 of us (plus spouses) to Morton’s Steak House for a 4-course sit-down dinner.
It rocked.
[flame retardant suit OFF]
I don’t expect this every year but it’s nice to have one decent office party to think back on.
thinks I’m pretty sure my company doesn’t HAVE a Christmas party. The heads of my division took us out to the Cheesecake factory and an IMAX movie last week as thanks for all of our hard work, though.
However, my company as a whole does a lot of appreciation stuff…we got breakfast late last week, lunch tomorrow, and I’m sure there’ll be a HUGE party when we spin off as our own company next year.
The company I really work for usually has a decent holiday party. The people there are closer to my age, and are all techs/geeks/etc. I work with some really interesting characters, and so it was actually a lot of fun last year. This year, they farmed me out on contract to an investment firm (can we say yawn?). Everyone here has gone on and on about how wonderful the holiday party is here because it’s at some big fancy hotel and the company goes all out, and how I’d have so much fun, but as a contractor, I’m not able to attend.
Oh. Darn. Hanging out with the yuppie investment banker SUV-driving 2.5 children crowd was exactly what I had in mind for a good time… Uh, if I have to wear shoes with heels and a dress in my off-work time, I don’t wanna play.
I’m dreading our in-office group party. Our boss has “team building” games planned. ::shudder::
God, I’m such a fucking ingrate! On the upside, only 8 more days here till I am jobless! Then on to California after Christmas.
At least you guys don’t have six (SIX!) of the bloody things to go to.
At my workplace we’re having an office party, a Bureau party, a Division party, and a Departmental party. Employees are “strongly recommended” to attend each and every one.
As a bonus, my husband’s employers are having an office party as well as a shindig for the whole Association. Of course, his (and my) attendance is “strongly recommended”. :rolleyes:
We have three parties, of which two are good. Team (good), office (okay) and “London offices” (fucking excellent).
The “London offices” party is a huge ball for about 2000 people. It’s held in a massive ex-warehouse. There are acrobats and other entertainers, fairground rides, free video games, endless booze of every description and staggeringly good food. Not to mention the live bands. No partners allowed but hey - I go out with someone who works for the same company anyway! We all look forward to it for months and it rocks.
The team party’s good too, in a different way. About 17 of us, all in our twenties (or just peeking into thirties). Bit of fund with Secret Santa. Lots of pissed young people.
Only the office one is a bit of a downer - big meal in restaurant. Still, it can be quite good fun to have a conversation with someone you don’t normally talk to. It’s only 1 night a year after all.
There. Not sure what the point of this was, other than possibly to be smug. But there it is, for what it’s worth.
Good luck.
On the upside, only 8 more days here till I am jobless! Then on to California after Christmas.