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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 🙂
Haven't been to one for years... I mean, I liked my colleagues at the last place, mostly (and the bosses were sharp enough to realise they were hated, and so didn't go) but I spent enough time with them at work. After work, I go and hang around with other people.
But I might go this year as the new crowd does contain a fair few amusing lunatics.
kimbers - Memberus poor public sector types have to fund our own xmas dos, see that why we deserve a final salary pension
I get a bigger contribution from the "company" now that I'm in the public sector than I ever got when I was in banking!
Never ever been to a works party as all the industries ive worked in, never had them, it just seems to be an office based culture,to get drunk with peeps youre working with every day, who you probably hate, or some you fancy, may give you a hug or kiss.
Why wait for christmas to tell your boss he is a prat.
Who pays for your freebie do - we do - the public
how do you work that one out then? IIRC (not that I've ever been to one) private sector "freebies" are paid for out of that private sector company's profits.
Now unless you work for a private sector company that has a monopoly on what it sells, "we the public" have a choice as to whether we help swell that company's profits.
Public sector freebies, however, are another matter entirely. Hunting season's open on that one
We organise our own. We get invited to the general company one, but we really don't want to be eating a crap meal in the bowels of an average hotel followed by overpriced crap drinks and shouting over a crap DJ. At these things, the highlight is seeing who gets pissed, over emotional and ends up sobbing in the corner.
Anyway, this year it's proper pub, shots bar then over to Won Kei (for good cheap chinese food and surly service), then a karaoke bar and then who knows what!
Free Booze, Free food, no partners and pissed up single birds... What is not to like??
We are going to Edinburgh Castle this year.
Quite looking forward to it as the last time I was up around the castle was almost 30 years ago.
We have two. Dinner, a revue, speeches and dancing at The Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn - all free - which I never go to for lots of reasons (mainly because I get lairy when I'm pissed and shoot my mouth off), although it's supposed to be good. A team lunch which the firm pays £15 a head towards which I will go to. Spoiled a bit this year by a one and a half hour time limit as we have a temporary manager in HR who is not full of christmas spirit.
Ours has so many rules enforced by HR there's not really any point going (unless you like listening to aimless speeches from the bigwigs talking about company success forgetting most people in the room suffered a pay cut), becuase fun is basically a banned policy....
Looks like we employees amongst us have arranged an informal night out at a bogoff cocktail bar the week before though... might go to that.
john_drummer
Where do the profits come from? what the public pay ultimatly and if the money was not wasted on the xmas do then the price charged could be lower witht eh same profit.
I have never had a freebie from a public sector organisation nor do I know anyone who has
It really annoys me that people whinge about the public sector wasting maoney then to see private companies piss it away on freebies
When I worked for a local University, our Christmas do was a freebie. Public sector, no?
We have 2 each year one we get a say on date and location but pay to go and the other one in a decent restaurant with hot buffet music and free wine or draught beer/lager but only selected soft drinks which is a reason not to stay sober, partners are allowed but this year the wife is busy so I'm going on my own which is bound to lead to me getting drunk and making a fool of myself.
Ours is nice and behaved, at the Roman Baths / Pump Rooms in Bath. Black tie or Lounge Suits, decent menu and wine, comedian, a casino, and all the lovely folks I work with to chat to. £5
private companies piss it away on freebies
We're not spending tax revenues, just a small part of the fruits of our own labour to celebrate the season with our friends from work.
Where do the profits come from?
stop trolling TJ. you know where profits come from
Quiet place in town, all paid for ourselves. Don't wish to be a burden on the tax payer! 😉
Indeed I know where the profits come from - from the money paid by your customers and I bet the money spent on the pissup is written of against tax.
If you didn't have the pissup you could reduce prices and still make the same profits.
You would be paying more tax so the general public lose twice - once in higher prices and once in lower tax revenue.
double standards.
Ours is great! Mainly 'cos I work with a group of lovely, fab people ...
Last year was ace - the entire county had come to a complete standstill due to a really heavy dump of snow. Ever other Xmas do in town was cancelled apart from ours - we just dug out ski's, down clothing etc and made it in to the pub for a great evening of food, drinks, toasting in front of fires, snowball fights, and skiing down the snow-covered traffic free high street 🙂
oh, and always pay for it ourselves ... which means no dress code or having to listen to boring senior managers!
Actually we don't have a free pissup, and I don't think I've ever worked for a manufacturing company that did - profits are far too valuable to be wasted on pissups. You want a pissup, you pay for it yourself
I worked for one software house and one VAR that had free pissups, but in those industries they really do seem to have a licence to print money.
I still didn't go though
There is a party organised by one of our sales team, but you pay for it yourself if you choose to go. Apart from the fact that I'm not interested, the 30+ mile taxi ride home might be a tad expensive
If you didn't have the pissup you could reduce prices and still make the same profits.
a drop in the ocean for most large volume companies. I doubt it would make a penny difference on the sales price
If you didn't have the pissup you could reduce prices and still make the same profits.
You really are losing the plot TJ. Please - step away and stop trolling your nonsense on here. If I ran a business, I'd use some of the profits to look after my staff and I'd do it how I wanted.
I go because I like people-watching and seeing which of my colleagues is a 3 pint screamer. I didn't go last year because it was in a hotel and I really object to hotel food. In a pub this year so I'll go and the beer will be a decent price.
Avoided them at all costs in the past, but this year is my first at my new place and we're off to Tamworth Snowdome.
Should be a laugh, I'm actually looking forward to it...
Did those of you that had free pissups declare than as taxable benefits? No? More defrauding the taxpayer.
We used to get £10 each as an "allowance" for a Xmas do. Mostly, we always decided to have some sort of night out together. Maybe I was always lucky in working for/with a good bunch?
My missus works for West Lothian Council and they basically have an office full of food and drink with everyone (i.e. most of the council) stopping work for most of the day to pop by to scoff and booze it up.
Our modest private sector party will be in Edinburgh. Half day off work, meal, plonk and beer, and a good natter with (mostly) good folk. Can't complain about that. Directors stick their hands in their pockets for a few bevvies. We spend all year value engineering down prices for our public sector clients, so it's nice to relax for a change 😉
A poor troll TJ.
fatmax - so how much does that cost - half day off work for everyone plus the cost of the do?
In your case the public sector is directly paying if all your income is from public sector clients.
Can you not see the double standards here?
TJ - we have a load of private clients too, so it ain't all public cash.
Any public contracts that are won, are very much driven by a high price to quality ratio and open to all our competitors.
Any private company aims to make money, and if the bosses want to contribute to thanking their staff at a Christmas lunch then I can't imagine anyone losing sleep over it.
The half day of leave for this is our own, from annual leave.
Is your middle name Ebeneezer? 😉
Can you not see the double standards?
do you declare it as a taxable benefit?
Ok if you are using leave not having time off for free the numbers are smaller but the principle still stands. The money for your Christmas do comes from somewhere and ultimately the taxpayer pays at least some of it because of decreased profits, increased costs and you don't declare it as a taxable benefit so thats lost tax
Jeez...you can tell who isn't going to a Christmas party this year.
Probably not been invited 'cos he's a miserable ****...
🙂
TJ, no I really don't see your point. It seems a particularly joyless discussion you are trying to enter into here. It'll drain me to discuss further, but have a good night. 😐
fairy snuff.
The point was that if public sector money is spent on freebies like Christmas parties people are up in arms but private sector can spend money on freebies and everyone thinks its Ok despite in the end at least a part of the cost is borne by the taxpayer.
TJ - we have a Xmas do out of work time.
We also have tea & coffee a available to us, maybe that should also be stamped out.
Do you not think that these simple things help to motivate workers and keep team morale up?; which will likely lead to increased productivity so actually making more of a profit that the company could be taxed on....
Public sector does not need these things to improve morale and motivate workers?
TandemJeremy - MemberI have never had a freebie from a public sector organisation nor do I know anyone who has
Yes you do.
Sorry, you seemed to put a question mark at the end of that statement
Lols @ grvity sucks. and therein is the double standard
😀
I don't think a lot could be classed as NEED to be fair.
I don't see any double standards. I wouldn't have a problem with public sector workers being rewarded in a similar fashion. My partner is a nurse in the NHS, I think people like her deserve more rewards than most.
Used to enjoy them when I was in London, with some memorable 'moments' and great venues.
Somehow, a meal at Fat Buddha in Durham, followed by a drunken (all self-financed) stumble around Love Shack doesn't hold quite the same attraction 🙁
I'm definately going to ours this year. It's a piss up in a brewery so how could I say no?
We used to have individual departmental ones at lunchtime which was good because it meant a boozy afternoon. Now we have a big massive one in the evening. As they're not paying overtime, I'm sure as hell not going.
Christmas Parties- I spend enough time with my collegues as it is. I'm planning to avoid them one the hometime bell goes.
I'll slope off to a bothy that night with some mates I think.