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Nasty Rumor
Dan's work Christmas party is this Saturday. It's always super fancy with everyone dressed up in suits/tuxes and cocktail dresses/evening gowns. Last year it was at the Beverly Hills Hotel and sources say it cost about $500,000. They buy huge flat screens and Wiis for the kids to play with that then become raffle prizes along with a vacation and a bunch of other stuff.
His company hasn't paid bonuses the past two years and this year they had to shut down a factory. A $500,000 party seems rather excessive with that in mind, so the managers met with the owner of the company back in September about toning down the party. So he switched it to a less expensive location and said that they wouldn't invite a lot of customers like they usually do. Well, the rumor is now going around that in order to cut costs even more, there will be alcohol during the cocktail hour but that's it. People are unsure if this means cash bar or no bar at all.
I go to the party for the good food and booze...no other reason. I really don't want to go if they're doing away with the bar.
Re: Nasty Rumor
Something similar happened at my old company's Christmas Party. There was only champagne and wine, no liquor. So we still had something to drink.
I would have a good time at the happy hour and see how the party goes. If it's boring, you guys can go somewhere fun
DH works for a huge company and the last 2 years they cancelled their Holiday Dinner party because of the flailing economy. This year they reinstituted it. We went this past Saturday - same deal but more toned down (cocktail dresses and suits instead of evening gowns & tuxes) and they just had it in a hotel here locally. The food was crap but everyone hits the bars like a ton of bricks. Only thing that makes it bearable. So you can imagine how fun it was for me with no booze and small talk with DH's coworkers. Yeah.
We had to go, though...no getting out of it. It's bad politics to skip out on these things for DH so I took one for the team and sucked it up...ha.
Bring a flask in your purse!!!
This!!!
THIS! And double fist at the cocktail hour. And if it gets cut off after that, then leave after dinner. You have made the obligatory appearance and between the flask & double-fisting, you should be able to hold out until after dinner.
My company cut the off-site holiday party all together starting in 2008, but they've continued year-end bonuses (dramatically reduced, but everyone got one). Instead, they have a holiday luncheon at all of the locations - it's coming up on Monday! They have an amazing catering company come in (I would've used them for the wedding if I'd gotten married here instead of 90 miles away), they do decorations in all of the breakrooms to make it really festive, they raffle off the decorated Christmas trees that are in each building, and the managers hand out the bonuses on that day.
We've gotten so big that at the last big off-site party in 2007, there were over 600 people, including employees' guests. As an HR person, it's expected that we make the rounds. I was EXHAUSTED after that party! It was just too much.
Man, we're getting screwed for Christmas and I didn't even know it!
Our university has an employee lunch. Spouses not invited, no booze, and you have to go back to work when the meal is over. We don't get bonuses, and they don't even give us gift cards to the local grocery chain anymore (something about taxes). Our big Christmas gift last year was 5 meal tickets to the cafeteria. It was only supposed to be 3, but the president goofed and said 5 in her speech, so they had to go back and give us each two more.
We didn't get a nice fancy Christmas dinner thanks to me this year. My boss wanted to have a dinner with everyone's spouses last Saturday at a fancy local restaurant. I told them I wouldn't be able to make it due to plans that I'd had for months and couldn't get out of, but for everyone else to have a nice time. Well turns out my boss was going to have to pay around $1100 for 16 people's dinner. If HH and I didn't go that would make 14, and he'd still have to pay the $1100 (restaurants minimum policy) and he didn't want to do it. Now our office is going to lunch a family restaurant next Friday, no spouses.
Last year my boss took everyone to The Greenbrier Hotel, a really big resort here in WV, and I didn't get to go. This year when I could have gone we get a $15 meal...
I've always wanted one of us to work somewhere that has a super swanky Christmas party! I MISS wearing formal dresses!!!! AND BUYING THEM!!! HAHAHA!
I'd def be sneaking in some booze.