Your Workplace Holiday Party: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

[Boozy]

I'm sure there are some good stories out there. Post your most memorable work Christmas party story here!

My store's Christmas party was a few weeks ago. I was quite frankly surprised and a bit disgusted at some of the behaviour that apparently occurred. We've all been very professional at work, but you get a few glasses of wine into some of these folks and look out! There was infidelity, drug use, confessions, gossip, and unprofessional behaviour all around. No one could look at each other the next day.

I left early, and thankfully missed everything scandalous. The only reason I found out about any of it is because I started asking a few diplomatically-worded questions, like why so-and-so isn't speaking to so-and-so. Finally, one of my co-workers spilled. She told me to stop asking so many questions, because "What happened at the Christmas party stays at the Christmas party." I told her that was fine, but I was trying to get work done and it was becoming increasingly difficult in the strained environment. I'm no gossip, but we do depend on team work. And I felt that the air needed to be cleared.

At my husband's office party two years ago, a vice president got drunk and hauled off on some other guy, at which point his girlfriend stepped in and got hit. It's still not clear who threw the punch that hit her, but the police almost got involved in that one. My husband and I had left at that point.

There's something to be said about going to bed early.

[JoitheArtist]

Last year's party convinced me never to go to another office party.

For one thing, it was held at an upscale bowling alley. I.e., loud, lots of flashy lights, LOUD, etc.

Secondly, employees all had their families come. Now, that's fine by me. But I have a hard enough time interacting with my co-workers, I really don't care to interact with their families once a year. Sorry if that makes me cold-hearted, but i only have so much emotional energy.

Thirdly: the end of each bowling lane had a giant screen, and they played the stop-motion Rudolph film on them. On a loop. Probably saw the damn thing 6 times in a row by the end of the night.

Fourthly: they had not planned the food well, and the buffet was woefully understocked, especially since the kids of other employees tended to grab tons of stuff.

Finally: I, for one, enjoy bowling. It's fun. But not with 10 other people, five of whom don't care to remember when they bowl and go wandering off. ESPECIALLY when one of those people is husband of our CEO, who comes in late, demands to be let into our game after we've already bowled two rounds, and wanders off EVERY SINGLE ROUND so that we have to go locate him so the game can proceed.

Blergh. No more office parties for me!

[Amina516]

Wow. My first official holiday party.

My eyes were opened that night, i'll tell you that much.

I was curious as to why significant others were not allowed at these things and I soon found out why.

People were plastered, not just plastered but unable to walk hugging the toilet all night in an upscale country club that most of the doctors were members og.

Speaking of doctors, have you ever seen a married doctor shove his hands down a young girls pants whilst suckin on her neck? I HAVE!!! I had to walk away.

These people were freaks.

Coupled with my coworker pulling out his wang in front of me and pissing all over his shoes, he then went home, crashed his car three times ( i really dont know how he made it home) and came to work the next day all bruised up.

Also, the nurse who jumped in her car and decided to drive OVER the golf course instead of driving on the road, as God intended. HOLY HELL was the country club mad. They actually made one of the doctors pay the repair fees for the green. I felt bad for him, but he was so nice he didnt say a word to anyone.

Now, Ive had my share of inebriated moments, but these were baaaaddd.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The last Christmas party my store has had (not really advertised as such) was a bowling party.

I'm a piss poor bowler, but one of the few strikes I got was in a frame with a multicolored pin in front (I forget what that's called), so I got a gift certificate to the sub shop down the hall.

Oh, and one of my friends tried to do a behind-the-back, through-the legs shot and bashed himself in the foot with his ball.

[calulu]

I used to sell insurance, worked for a small agency where the only other person working there was a lady about my own age at the time, early forties. She was foul mouthed, drunken, coarse, uncouth and on hubby #5. She'd blow off work every day at 1 pm and try to twist my arm into joining her drunken revelries on the golf course of the country club when she wasn't filling my ear with tales about everyone in town. I remember working up a rate quote for someone while she shouted into the phone in the next room in graphic detail about some pal of hers gynological issues.

I was dreading our office Christmas party because it was going to be her, her drunken redneck husband who disliked me, my husband and myself. It was even worse than I imagined. She and her husband got super drunk and started fighting in the middle of the country club dining room and then she proceeded to openly flirt with and hit on my husband right in front of me. I ended up quitting a few days later, straw meet broken camel back.

[PepperElf]

I've only had (mostly) good xmas parties myself. but some stick out more than others.

1)
Went to one with a now-x boyfriend. What I remember the most... We sat with a married couple and the man's twin brother. The twin was really funny and... it was nice seeing the couple (always remember how much that man adored his wife). And they gave out wineglasses with the branch name on them. I think I have one left.

2) Smaller branch xmas (3 times)... less than 25 people total. Ended up with like one gift a person... no big-ticket items, but no one was empty handed. Actually all of them were like that.

only issue... first two were at a really NICE seafood place I liked. But the second time... one of the bosses had a bug up his ass about going there, kept trying to take a new vote on where to go, and was annoyed when we all picked <Seafood place> time and time again.

Third time he finally got his way and we picked some other place that wasn't as good. They had a lot of coffee choices tho, a whole wall of fancy coffee. And we had a sucky DJ..... (yeah <seafood place> was lots better... idiot boss!)

[fireheart]

I haven't been to A Christmas party yet, but I heard some interesting stories and saw some pics that made me go

-One of the shots involves two of my female coworkers bent over and doing a demented version of the conga.
-Two managers got quite drunk, resulting in female coworker getting a foot rub from male coworker and then another shot of them doing something I won't repeat here
-Another manager and my 3IC started singing the jingle and then fell over at the end...yep, reeeeeeal classy.
-One of the meat guys and the groceries manager got into a "this isn't a knife, this a knife" argument that resulted in fisticuffs. Ouchie!
-Someone dropped a pasty into someone else's beer resulting in several "beer batter" comments on said photo.
-me and another coworker got into an argument over whether Jethro Tull was a better band or not (it is ) over a photo.

Yeah good times....I didn't go though

[AirHostess]

Being one of thousands of crew we don't have a Christmas party thank God!

[KhirasHY]

I've never gotten myself in trouble at the party (I'm always working that day), but my first party at my hotel, I did have to DRAG one of my co-workers out of there, with her friend, and have her sent home. She probably would've been one of those embarassing stories later if I hadn't...

[LibraryLady]

Actually, ours are pretty nice. They're held on site, there's plenty of good food and the affair is family-friendly. There's also a free raffle for gift cards.

The only thing I can really complain about are the DJs. They're always way too loud for these marble halls. One year, the Conservation people had to keep monitoring adjoining galleries to see if any of the objects were vibrating.

[Kiwi]

K's work do is tonight so I shall report on that in the morning

I remember at the Art Gallery the Christmas party was unbelievably uncomfortable

One of the bullies introduced her husband and then proceeded to tell me how useless he was (she used that word useless), he answered back with something like "I hate you when your drunk" and they proceeded to get into a loud argument... I backed away.

We were in a private room with a limited bar and the head of the gallery marches over pushing in front of all the other staff and demands a drink that isn't available to us, one of the bar staff says that those drinks are only available at the bar upstairs and the GH says "okay I will wait for you to go get it then"..... the rest of us tipped the bar staff WELL that night and made sure we only ordered what they had at their disposal

We all had to go around saying what we were "thankful for" and one of the casual staff accused the gallery managers of firing her and how she was such a hard worker and why did we all hate her and what did she do to deserve this, she then burst into tears and wept through the rest of dinner

only two people brought their partners, one of the bullies and the casual girl (no way I was subjecting K to that shit) and when the casual girl saw I hadn't brought K she accused me of not bringing him on purpose so that her BF would be uncomfortable.... when I pointed out that NO ONE had brought their partner she told me that because we were friends outside work that I should have brought him.... we were NOT friends outside work!

All of the gallery staff left the second dessert was cleared, earning us a telling off the next workday because we didn't stay for the "team building" exercises......

[calulu]

I dodged the bullet and stayed home last night from my firms Christmas party. Go me,

I didn't want a horrific repeat of the end of the summer bbq we had where I spent 40 long uncomfortable minutes being buttonholed by the company's most outrageous drunken divorcee. She started telling me a TMI story involving herself, too much booze, some jackass she picked up in a bar and her then 3 year old son and the telephone. Son is now 19 and works with us so I knew most of the players in the story. I couldn't get away from her. One of my pals asked me what she was saying to me because of the look of fright on my face and my uncomfortable body language..

Just say no to office parties and the people you would normally never be around except for work.

[lordlundar]

<shudder>

I went to 2 in the 5 years I was able to. Why?

The first one was at a party place, with lots of fun stuff to do and stuff to entertain everyone. I had a real blast.

The second, not so much. It was at a bar and I don't do the bar scene or drink alcohol. Add to the fact that the only things done were the food, which was standard bar fare (not so much a meal as snacks) and the rental, there was NO entertainment there. Well, apart from getting pissed drunk and watching people get pissed drunk. I stayed for an hour because I was promised a meal. When the food arrived, I had some pretty badly cooked bar stuff, said screw it and left.

Apparently, getting pissed drunk was fun for these idiots as every subsequent one was a bar situation just like I described so I said no. The requests for me to attend got so bad I was starting to file harassment claims with HR to get them to stop.

I would much rather have a quiet night at home than get watch people I have to deal with most of my waking hours get smashed.

[crazylegs]

Bloody hell, nothing like this has ever happened to me (or indeed been witnessed by me) at any of my christmas parties.

I've got some catching up to do!

[Kiwi]

So the party last night was fairly tame

one of the fellow cad monkeys wives got VERY plastered (we were all asked to arrive at 6:30 but our appies didnt come out until 9pm) and they kept the wine and beer flowing

She was slurring and getting really loud and then ordered herself a martini and when it arrived the waitress looked really unsure and I said "I think this should be the last one okay".

this was after the receptionist had told this drunken lass NO more alcohol and so had her husband. The waitress agreed and scurried off and drunken lass started screaming "AND WHO ARE YOU, WHO ARE YOU" inferring who are you to cut me off

so I leaned across the table and said "Im a stranger whos saying youve had too much because I dont want your husband punished for you getting drunk in front of his boss"

her jaw dropped and she just kind of sat there startled, then got up and walked down stairs (we were in a private room upstairs) and her husband followed her.... and apprently had to convince her not to leave.... ouch

the rest of the evening went fine, we ended up with a heated steering wheel cover and k's boss ended up with the dashboard hula girl I found he LOVED it, he kept peering under her skirt.... nerd