Work Christmas Parties 2008

[mike_v_s]

This is my second annual work Christmas party thread. It will not become a tradition as I plan on being too drunk next December to post (you're welcome, John Turner).

So. I generally hate work Christmas parties. The facade is that you get to hang out socially with your coworkers in a more relaxed environment. The reality is that all the normal BS is still present, just complicated by the addition of alcohol and confused by the fact that you can't relax the way the alcohol makes you want to.

Bottom line: I still dislike a number of my coworkers. I can handle them on a professional level without letting that show. Put me in a false social setting and my ability to hide that same dislike diminishes.

So my wife has a new job and we heard THAT party was going to be pretty good. The police got called last year (before she started working there), so you know it wasn't that bad. I was actually looking forward to it. Then we both got sick and missed it.

Bringing us to mine. I'm boycotting it this year. This sin't really the smartest move on my part as I work for a pretty small firm, but it is what it is. I have a few reasons.

First, I have a reasonable argument that I need to stay home with my kids. I could find a sitter, but then I'd have to go. Second. It's at a crappy location. Same as last year, only last year was the first time there so we didn't know it was going to suck. Third, as stated, I dislike some of my coworkers. I'm not sure I can hide this dislike long enough to not make me look like an ass. One of the guys nobody likes for good reason, so I'm OK with icing up the shoulder and giving it to him as a Christmas present.

The other dipshits...well, not as cut and dry. A lot of people confide in me at work and it gives me a broader view of my coworkers than others might have. It is not a flattering view. Basically, they are not the kind of people I'd want to have a drink with, so why go through the trouble of a fake smile and small talk?

I haven't told anyone I'm ditching, yet. It's going to be a big deal and they will nag from today until the 19th. I don't feel like having anyone second guess my reasoning or my priorities. I'll just smile and say "see ya there!".

Mike

[Atoz]

Our party is today. My band is playing, so I kind of have to go.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Atoz

Our party is today. My band is playing there.

If my band was playing I'd sub out.

Mike

[wilser]

My department's holiday party starts in exactly 1 min (11:30am local). It's supposed to go on 'till 3, so I'm assuming there'll be no alcohol served and they expect us to go back to our cubes afterwards. Mean time I'm in the middle of trying to explain to external auditors how the validations on our system work

Unfortunately, the division holiday party (in which beer and wine is ALWAYS served) will be the day I go on vacation.

BTW, I dislike almost everyone at work. So I gotta put on my Dexter face and go mingle now.

[NJL]

our party is next friday.. just my boss and i and two quarts of beer in the office. we usually are really nice to each other during the "party" because we get out our verbal KO's every minute of the day (for the past 8 years) LOL

[sarcastro83]

Ugh... I had some rediculous meet and greet to attend last night and an official holiday party to attend later this month. Both are manditory attendance. Given that I work for a small company, my presence would be missed, accounted for, and later punished in your typical passive-aggressive, middle-management way that things tend to be done around here.

Basically, I'm just asking if anyone here knows anyone who is proficient with prosthetic makeup? I've got a friend who has a similar build (re: paunchy), and I'm thinking that I should send him in my place. I've got crap left to buy and no time to do it...

[EricF]

Our company party was last weekend. There were more than a few people who had to be helped out the door.

We're a small contracting company, and our construction superintendents thought it would be a good idea to give our field crew each a bottle of very nice tequila as a Christmas gift. Great idea, but it probably would have been better to hand those out at the end of the evening rather than the start. Shots of tequila flowed continuously among our field guys, their wives, and whomever else they could get to partake with them (including one shot each for my wife and I). In addition to the tequila, we also had an open bar so even those who didn't care for tequila had the opportunity to get plastered. By 9pm, one woman had already lost the ability to stand under her own power, so her husband dutifully escorted her home. Our head plumber spackled the inside of his wife's car with puke on the ride home - for the second year in a row. Despite many stories of horrendous hangovers the following day, everyone made it home safely with a sober driver, and everyone had a good time (well...our plumber's wife is still a bit bitter about her car).

[JQ1986]

Mine is tomorrow morning. Not really thrilled about it since things at work have been less than stellar and my supervisor and I have been butting heads for the past few weeks (we have been since I started but lately it's been worse). But thank God I have an excuse to leave early. Last year's was great. Went to a bar (gotta a love a bar that opens at 6:30am), went to eat, and went back to the bar. Our Lead Person and I stayed at the bar til 2 that afternoon and we had to come back to work at 10:30 that night. It was a LOOONG night that night.

[James Hart]

Where I work I'd estimate only about 60% of the workforce celebrates Christmas. We do usually have a major Holiday blow out in NYC with shuttle service from the Corp Campus for those not wanting to take mass transit / drive. I think I heard it's gonna be a local party this year though.

I was on the overnight crew for the first 2 years, so I skipped it both times. These days I'm weekend day shift... so I'm skipping it again. I have enough face time with all the important people within my career path at the office.

[DaveDeVille]

gonna have my company's party this next tuesday , the 16th .

no beer.
no toke .
no tequila .
no nakid women boobz ...
no nekid women sitting on the copier ...

... not at all like last years party .

no fun .

[TheVoiceless]

I am having my christmas party Saturday. I was debating on going. But I decided that its better to show up and deal with phony jerks that you can't stand year round then to sit home. The last two christmas parties have been enjoyable. The food is really good and its open bar. My wife is prego this year so I wont be getting smashed. So far what happens at the party stays. My boss likes to drink so he is very understanding of drunks.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by TheVoiceless

But I decided that its better to show up and deal with phony jerks that you can't stand year round then to sit home.

Weird. I can't read this without ending up with the opposite conclusion. On a related note, I just sent my "regrets" reply to the RSVP....let's see how this plays out.

Mike

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by Atoz

Our party is today. My band is playing, so I kind of have to go.

Get wasted and put on nothing other than a sweat sock ala Flea.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by TheVoiceless

My wife is prego this year so I wont be getting smashed.

You got it all wrong, son. A pregnant wife means SHE can't drink, and you have a designated driver to take your drunk ass home.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

So. I generally hate work Christmas parties. The facade is that you get to hang out socially with your coworkers in a more relaxed environment. The reality is that all the normal BS is still present, just complicated by the addition of alcohol and confused by the fact that you can't relax the way the alcohol makes you want to.

Bottom line: I still dislike a number of my coworkers. I can handle them on a professional level without letting that show. Put me in a false social setting and my ability to hide that same dislike diminishes.

So my wife has a new job and we heard THAT party was going to be pretty good. The police got called last year (before she started working there), so you know it wasn't that bad. I was actually looking forward to it. Then we both got sick and missed it.

A-freakin'-men!!
last weekend, we went to the missus' Christmas party. (I almost never go to those darn things....)
We actually had a good time although we had to be guarded and generally quiet and out of character. We left thinking, "wow that wasn't so bad"
Yeah right...now all week at my wife's job there's talk and gossip about who dissed who, why so and so wore a slutty dress, Mr so and so was hammered and offended Mrs Whatnot.. and so on. I swear to Dog, I'm sick of people.
I would rather just stay home in my boxers with beer in hand and yell at people who step on my lawn.

[Jeff Martinez]

My company rents out the club level of Mile High Stadium (I know it's now called "Invesco Field", but true Bronco fans will never accept that name ). The food is good, the entertainment is good. We get tours of the stadium, locker rooms, broadcast booths, etc... We also have access to the field for a punt, pass, & kick competition. It's pretty cool to kick into the same goal posts that Matt Prater misses every Sunday

When I waws with Discount Tire Co., the company parties we even more extravagant.... open bar, free hotel rooms, shacking up with other guy's wives, etc...

[DudeistMonk]

Every once in awhile we have a fun a party for hitting some goal and then I don't mind my co-workers, cause I'll hang out with the cool ones while getting drunk and making fun of the ones who never talk about anything but apple picking, stuffy novels and cats...

What I do hate is...

"So do you have 5 bucks for the holiday breakfast?"

I could give you 5 bucks for dried out scrambled eggs and a bagel or I could go to the subsidized cafe 10 feet away and have the short order guy make me a tailor ham, egg and cheese sandwich for 2 dollars....humm.

"Did you submit your under $20 gift request for secret santa?"

The only things I want under 20 dollars require ID, or would be a CD that nobody has ever heard of, and I can go to the store for that thanks!

"Did you bring something for thanksgiving pot luck?"

Yeah, these hash brownies. Come on people. See above, replace egg sand which with turkey sandwich.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Weird. I can't read this without ending up with the opposite conclusion. On a related note, I just sent my "regrets" reply to the RSVP....let's see how this plays out.

Mike

My boss spends about 10,000 to 15,000 on the place and then extends the party 2 hours. So I want to show him the respect to show. My ill feelings towards co workers is fairly new. And I don't want to hold that against my boss.

[T.O.Bass]

I'm actually on the "social committe" for the place I work . Ha. Ha. Shut up. Our company cut a lot of corners this year (i remember a couple years ago they dropped about 7 grand on a party for all 35 employees) and we have all of...... get this.... 300 bucks to work with.

Luckily the social committee here consists of the only people in the company without a boring stick shoved up their ***, so we decided, hey 300 bucks? lets just go to a pub and order piles of food and get ****faced. Lo and behold, the old stuffy people are staying home, citing "prior engagements" which leaves all the fun, young people to get plastered and eat wings and nachos all night. I'm actually looking forward to saturday!

[Relic]

Originally Posted by T.O.Bass

I'm actually on the "social committe" for the place I work . Ha. Ha. Shut up. Our company cut a lot of corners this year (i remember a couple years ago they dropped about 7 grand on a party for all 35 employees) and we have all of...... get this.... 300 bucks to work with.

Luckily the social committee here consists of the only people in the company without a boring stick shoved up their ***, so we decided, hey 300 bucks? lets just go to a pub and order piles of food and get ****faced. Lo and behold, the old stuffy people are staying home, citing "prior engagements" which leaves all the fun, young people to get plastered and eat wings and nachos all night. I'm actually looking forward to saturday!

You know, I first started reading this and was thinking...$300?? BWAHAHAHA"
But then got to the pub part.. you my friend, are genius... pure genius.