Office Christmas Party

So the invite has already gone out. Its the same theme as last year and in the same place . Not sure if I can be bothered with the cheap wine and microwave turkey (at least I think its turkey) meal .

Do most people go to their office Partys still or avoid like the plague ?

Mine is pretty good actually. Black tie, cracking venues, great food/drink/music.

We had some cirque du soleil people at last years, that was awesome. I really look forward to mine.

We are quite a small company so we just normally go for a nice meal.

Looking at the “how many hours do you work a week” thread I will be surprised if anyone will have enough spare time.

Let me throw this one in the mix. At our place; all female staff (including temps/contractors) are treated to a three course xmas lunch with wine at a local restaurant. They get 90 mins extra on their lunch (paid) to accommodate the feast so they’re all out of the office for 21/2 hours. The blokes get cock all.

Sexist?

Back to the OP – our xmas parties are usually shite so I avoid.

Let me throw this one in the mix. At our place; all female staff (including temps/contractors) are treated to a three course xmas lunch with wine at a local restaurant. They get 90 mins extra on their lunch (paid) to accommodate the feast so they’re all out of the office for 21/2 hours. Then blokes get cock all.

Do you work in a brothel?

What’s the theme?

derek – I used to work at a company that would take all women to ladies day at Ascot. The blokes got to stay behind and work; well the non-managerial types anyway. The tradition was the manager would take the male staff out for lunch but ours always went to Ascot for some reason and never left money for us to eat. Last time it happened, the data entry team took pity and shared their McDs with us which was very sweet. After eating it we sloped off down the pub and stayed there.

What’s the theme?

Masquerade Ball.

It doesnt end up like Eyes Wide Shut !

Oh, I was hoping it would be a Halloween theme. 🙁

Plague

I’ve been working since 1985 & never been to one yet. Don’t intend to start now

Medieval feast at Warwick Castle.. should be fun!

Normally i go, the last few years its been a group event with managers from every store which has been fun, this year its been cancelled so just a store party. Luckily im out the country on hols when they are planning it this year!

Try working in the third sector you’re lucky if you get a mince pie, no such thing as paid for do’s or bonuses guess every sector is the same now for most companies anyway. Used tog et a two night stay in a hotel with food, drinks and a bonus when I worked for major players in the private sector as a PA….

I had a xmas party in Prague at one of the places I used to work.

Fly out in the morning, get wasted, dragged around brothels and then fly back the next morning.

Largely funded through the profits from the chocolate machine.

Let me throw this one in the mix. At our place; all female staff (including temps/contractors) are treated to a three course xmas lunch with wine at a local restaurant. They get 90 mins extra on their lunch (paid) to accommodate the feast so they’re all out of the office for 21/2 hours. The blokes get cock all.

Sexist?

Wtf, how does that work? 😆

maxray – Member
Medieval feast at Warwick Castle.. should be fun!

I wouldn’t bet on it.

We had a launch party there when our company merged with another just before christmas a couple of years ago. They left us in the bar for ages (free drinks with the meal, not before), then when they took us through the meal, the “free drinks” were small pitchers of lager – 2 per table, about 1.5 pints in each, and they weren’t prompt about refilling them, there may have been wine but there definitely wasn’t any bitter.

The entertainment (the blokes singing songs and getting us all to join in) were good though

I’ve only been here since January but apparently the last one was in a meeting room in our building and lasted about 45mins.

I think this time they’ve decided to go for some drinks across the road in the afternoon which is fine by me.

I like the idea of being able to go across to the pub and have some drinks and people can leave when they please. I can’t really abide the big formal do’s or anything with work that involves having to travel or go away somewhere, it just seems like forced fun.

I’m sure there will be people who end up staying out late at ours but at least when it’s informal you can do it on a drink by drink basis.

I wouldn’t go anywhere near an ‘Office Christmas Party’ in a million years. In fact I make sure I stay out of town when its that ridiculous season. Full stop.

There’s nothing worse than a bar full of idiots who only ever drink once a year. Its a similar atmosphere to a house party when you’re 15. Except everyone’s bald, fat and should know better. Its never going to end well

everyone’s bald, fat and should know better. Its never going to end well

What are we doing tomorrow night, again?

Thats different. That’s an official bald, fat, blokes outing. I doubt anyone will try to photocopy their arse or get off with one of the 19 year olds from accounts.

Mind you, Hora is out………

anybody got any recommendations of places holding christmas parties in reading? the MD somehow managed to get me to agree to organising this years 😐

Meal at an italian up the road this year.

Wifes boss is taking all the staff and partners to Paris for the weekend 8)

btw I just called you , are you too busy posting shite on STW to answer? 😉

Our is usually a meal at an Italian in town, paid for wine and then those who want to stay out and those who don’t go home. It generally works very well and is a pretty good night out.

Am ambivalent about them, TBH. I mean, it’s not like you don’t know who the c—ts are in your workplace, so they’re easy enough to avoid.

I prefer non-black tie, but mainly because my 15 y/o DJ doesn’t fit very well…. I still have all my own hair, however. 😉

Sorry Jules. My iphone has just upgraded itself. Without me asking it too. Its gone completely haywire and stuck two fingers up at me. I’m presently trying to sort it out. Will bell you when I have

I’ve got three weekends worth of Christmas parties here….

First weekend in December we are off to Wales V Australia @ The Millenium

corporate box, but get yourself there and sort own beers out afterwards

Second weekend, Company Meal at an Italian, then table at local comedy club, for beers

Then on the Sunday after we have a days clay pigeon shooting, followed by food and beer in the local to us

Should enjoy at least one of them!!

xmas party 1- sauna, crap meal, cheap booze, go to town after to meet friends

xmas party 2- morning presentations about yearly progress, yawn. Followed by laserquest and trip to nepalese restaurent

xmas party – same presentations as in xmas party 1, but at a conferencfe box at one of the ice hockey stadiums, then watching the game.

should be pretty fun! 😀

I stopped going a few years back. We used to be small enough in the UK that we had one big get-together with free bar all night, then it changed to free bar for 1 hour then it changed to no free bar but a bottle of wine each at the table. Then we grew and it got split into multiple separate office parties so my one is basically about 20 people I see day in day out anyway so I can’t be bothered :p

We’re (rather large rail infrastructure company) are “allowed” one so long as we pay for it out of our own actual pockets!!

I’m going to the missus’ ones instead, couple of meals at some restaurants over a couple of weeks; and the big one is a black tie do where everything is paid for including the nights stay at a 5 star country hotel and brekkie the morning after 😆

It’s way better working for said financial establishment than it is where I work

I hate them, last year they put a form up in the kitchen and nobody signed up for it.

in the words of my old manager

“just cos i work with the f*ckers dont me i have to socialise with em!”

One team night, one company night. Both paid for by the company. Both a good laugh. I work with good people so it’s actually enjoyable to socialise with them.

100 people to Lisbon for 2 nights of utter debauchery in a 5 star hotel. Damn right I’m going.

another example of private sector largesse

us poor public sector types have to fund our own xmas dos, see that why we deserve a final salary pension 😉

and bonus wtfs a bonus?, 14 years of full time employment and the only xmas bonus ive ever had was from one of the secretaries at an xmas party back in 2001

Looking forward to my first one in a couple of weeks, from what I’ve heard of previous ones here, it’ll end in tears LOL

I’m still trying to get my head round the fact that Cristmas is looming, and that many places have their decorations up already!
To me it feels like it should still be late August / September, not 2nd week into November!

Oh look – all those hard done by oppressed private sector workers with yet another freeebie! Who pays for your freebie do – we do – the public

We’re banned from one of our local hotels after two of the managers started fighting three years ago, I think one of them punched a hole in the wall…

The best I heard of was a bunch of police support officers who all got arrested for drunk and disorderly 🙂