Work Xmas Parties

[cup of tea]

Are they even a big thing anymore?

I remember in the 90's and early 00's being London office based this was the one event a year you would look forward to for the free food and booze and the inevitable stories the next working day of someone calling a director a cսnt or trying it on with the office tart amongst other horror stories.

Personally, the worst I done at a works Xmas party was (well, 2 things rolling in to 1) was spewing in a hotel reception where the party was being held but carrying on drinking after and then getting the train from Liverpool St to Colchester (so I thought) but falling asleep and waking up in Norwich with no trains back and wandering in to Norwich city centre looking for a hotel at around 2am, of course they weren't any being Xmas so ended up huddled in a bus shelter with not so much as a hot drink for 5 hours before the first train home.

The last Xmas party I went to was around 2018 but it was utter shit, by this time HR were getting all funny with behaviour and limiting the company spend on booze so it ended up being boring as fuck and the hardcore amongst us just left and fucked off to the pub, since then I have been WFH and getting £50 to spend on what I like so my Xmas 'party' these days is an Indian takeaway - how times change!

So come on then, are Xmas parties as raucous as they once were or are those days done?

Let's here some of your stories of bad behaviour etc.

[Dick Shaftsbury]

The 90's was a great time to be working ion London, not just the Christmas parties and summer balls, but pretty much every lunch hour.

Then Blair got in. 

 

It really was. The older fellas in my office used to go to the pub and sink four or five pints every lunch time.
Seems insane to imagine that happening now, but I haven't worked in the city since 2006.

Friday nights in the city were also wild. 

[Takashi Miike]

went to some good ones late 80s to about 96ish. cafe royal a couple of years (behaved like a cսnt), some ship that used to be docked on lower Thames street (?), the limelight in london (before it was closed down), a couple of cheapo ones in the company building, then the last few years in a massive purpose built place in spitalfields market (again, behaved like a cսnt )

[Council Scum]

The 90's was a great time to be working ion London, not just the Christmas parties and summer balls, but pretty much every lunch hour.

Then Blair got in. 

[wils]

“By this time HR were getting all funny with behaviour”

yeah, same…

20, 25 years ago, drinking at desks until the party kicked off at 11:00 (an hour before it’s official kick off) and shenanigans galore, at party, pub, meal, club etcetc

then HR decided upon the following over subsequent years;

Party to run strictly between the hours of 12 to 2, any meal etc after in own hours.
As above, but no more alcohol on site.
Limits on decorations due to “health and safety” concerns. (The spate of offices burning down with trimmings on fire had become a national concern)
Consider donating to a charity, instead of sending cards (obviously you can’t do both)
Encourage people to bang on about how they’d donated to charity, instead of giving out cards
Remind workforce that “not everyone celebrates Christmas” (never knew that, anyone else?)
Hold virtual ‘Teams’ party, where you can go wild by wearing a Christmas jumper and listen to people banging on about flu jabs and their kids colds.

it’s not quite the same somehow.

 

This is very true. HR has had a huge influence on our culture over the years. It's not for nothing that self-employed workmen outside of the control of HR departments are different breed to the modern office drone. 

[WHU(Exeter)]

“By this time HR were getting all funny with behaviour”

yeah, same…

20, 25 years ago, drinking at desks until the party kicked off at 11:00 (an hour before it’s official kick off) and shenanigans galore, at party, pub, meal, club etcetc

then HR decided upon the following over subsequent years;

Party to run strictly between the hours of 12 to 2, any meal etc after in own hours.
As above, but no more alcohol on site.
Limits on decorations due to “health and safety” concerns. (The spate of offices burning down with trimmings on fire had become a national concern)
Consider donating to a charity, instead of sending cards (obviously you can’t do both)
Encourage people to bang on about how they’d donated to charity, instead of giving out cards
Remind workforce that “not everyone celebrates Christmas” (never knew that, anyone else?)
Hold virtual ‘Teams’ party, where you can go wild by wearing a Christmas jumper and listen to people banging on about flu jabs and their kids colds.

it’s not quite the same somehow.
 

[Far Cough UKunt]

jimmy hill.jpeg

[Swiss.]

I actually I have one tonight here in Luxembourg. 2000+ guests. Last year was pretty good. Tons of Champers and oysters and canapes.etc. The one before covid was a masked ball in the town square building. That was incredible. 

My client is a very wealth bank. 

[scott_d]

Just face it you're getting old.

The Christmas parties for me are nowhere near what they used to be but partly out of choice as I don't drink any more.

Speak to some of the younger lads in the office who probably don't want to hang out with boring old farts (or has-been's who think they are young and cool - and this is not digging anyone out, talking about myself too!) and they have similar stories to what we had.

Actually, I take this back after reading some of the stories and agree, it's very different now.

But the kids don't have the memories we do, so for them it's just as good I'm sure.

[scott_d]

Just face it you're getting old.

The Christmas parties for me are nowhere near what they used to be but partly out of choice as I don't drink any more.

Speak to some of the younger lads in the office who probably don't want to hang out with boring old farts (or has-been's who think they are young and cool - and this is not digging anyone out, talking about myself too!) and they have similar stories to what we had.

[honky cat]

When i was about 15 i got hammered at the woolworths christmas party, ended up snogging someone who was about 50 and for the grand finale sat on a gateau on the buffet. i actually couldnt face going in again and chucked the job.





 

You should have popped in one last time to see if the 50 year old fella was still interested whilst sober

Aww no  he was definitely not my type at all. Lol 

[Pub Bigot]

Mate of mine got so pissed he went home early afternoon on a Friday, fenchurch to Stanford. Fell asleep, woke up shoeburyness, fell asleep again, woke up fenchurch, fell back asleep woke up shoeburyness again, nodded back off and eventually had to pay for taxi from Upminster to Stanford. Was fresh as a daisy for the match on Saturday.

I’ve been there, but not for a Christmas do. My old boss used to be from Leeds, so when he was in London he’d stay overnight. He liked a drink after work and many of us would go and meet in the Knights Templar in Chancery Lane. 

I got so pissed up, the first thing I remember was waking up under a tree near Victoria. I lived in Bromley at the time, and the trains had stopped running so kept getting on busses heading south, falling asleep and then heading north. I was eventually woken up near the end of the bus line which I think was Warren Street, with vomit all over the floor. 

I walked back to back to the office, made my way into the building and slept in a disabled toilet using my rucksack as a pillow. 

Luckily for me the placed had showers, but I had the same clothes on from the night before and I must have stank and looked a right state. 

[only1billybonds]

"Fingering arses was good"

Guess it was a men only do then Branded?

[zico]

Bit of a Scrooge when it came to work Christmas parties so never been to one. Work was work so rather went out with a few mates instead. Seems they are a dying breed though even in social circles, our golf Club has cancelled both Christmas and New Years Eve parties for second year running due to a lack of numbers. Different age group obviously! I'm same with weddings, can't think of anything worse. Bah humbug! 

[Gank]

When i was about 15 i got hammered at the woolworths christmas party, ended up snogging someone who was about 50 and for the grand finale sat on a gateau on the buffet. i actually couldnt face going in again and chucked the job.




 

You should have popped in one last time to see if the 50 year old fella was still interested whilst sober

[WHUDeano]

Mate of mine got so pissed he went home early afternoon on a Friday, fenchurch to Stanford. Fell asleep, woke up shoeburyness, fell asleep again, woke up fenchurch, fell back asleep woke up shoeburyness again, nodded back off and eventually had to pay for taxi from Upminster to Stanford. Was fresh as a daisy for the match on Saturday.

[honky cat]

When i was about 15 i got hammered at the woolworths christmas party, ended up snogging someone who was about 50 and for the grand finale sat on a gateau on the buffet. i actually couldnt face going in again and chucked the job.



 

[wils]

Never started going to them until the early 2000s. Always hated them. Started booking leave to avoid them after a while. Sitting there with Christmas cracker hats on talking to boring people. Probably a reflection of the work I do. IT departments are full of exactly the type of people you would
expect. Dull dull dull

Had a mate who was an accountant. Went to his Christmas do at a new job. Went to put money in the fag machine and it kept his money. Started kicking off and hitting the machine. Bouncers came over and he started on them. They grabbed him and took him out the building horizontal as he is still kicking off. Straight past the table with his new colleagues sitting on it. Got sacked for it. 

[BRANDED]

Fingering arses was good

[One Sunny Day]

The boss got kicked out of the snooker club in the early 90s for stage diving off the snooker table into the Christmas tree.

[Hammer and Pickle]

Sounds DRAMATIC, Joe

[Pi Alpha Nu]

They used to be great years ago but now they are full of cunts so what we do now is just go to the pub and don't tell the cunts we don't want there.

[joe royal]

Years ago I was a motorbike courier and the co I worked for threw a bash, free for staff and £10 a head for any guests.

unlimited booze & a buffet, what could go wrong?

there was a small stage set up and a few crap acts got up (magic, comedy etc) then the ‘star act’ got onto the stage and started mincing around. 

The London Boys 

Well who ever thought having a couple of Nancy Boys on stage in front of 50 pissed up bikers & their friends that anything could go wrong?

think the whole buffet table was lobbed at them and a huge food fight broke out. 

this was 90/91 ish. 

[Tyyyson]

Yea, total shit now. Sad times