It’s December, that time of the year when companies thank their tired and overworked employees by hosting an obligatory six-hour dinner in the middle of a busy week. Half of the employees will respond to this kind gesture by getting sloppy drunk and trying to show the elderly CEO how to breakdance, while the other half will express their gratitude with non-stop complaints about everything from the food to the color of the waiter’s tie.
Still, it’s possible to have fun at an office Christmas party — while not becoming the subject of gossip or ridicule the following day. Here are some tips to ensure that you have an enjoyable and safe evening.
Dress
Luxembourg is known to have a rather conservative business culture, and your choice of clothing at the Christmas party must reflect this. If you’re a woman, you should wear a sequined ball gown and evening gloves, and if you’re a man, nothing less than a tailcoat and top hat will do.
Punctuality
While it might seem like a good idea to get to the venue on time, in reality the sudden arrival of so many guests puts extreme pressure on the poor catering or restaurant staff, and they’re likely to make mistakes. Be polite by showing up at least a couple hours late.
Cocktails
At large holiday gatherings, staff take great care to ensure that each table only gets as much wine as the people sitting there will drink. How do they do this? They look at the number of cocktails each person consumes and make the calculations accordingly. Make sure the wine drinkers at your table will have enough Bordeaux by throwing back three or four cocktails before the meal starts.
Seating
Nothing would please a Christmas party planning committee more than to know that people who never socialize with each other (or who would never want to socialize with each other) get together and break the ice, and that bitter rivals are forced to sit together and make peace. Do the hard-working planning committee a huge favour by sneaking into the venue hours before the party and rearranging the seating cards to ensure just this. For added fun, have the monolingual 64-year-old German CFO who never drinks sit next to the boozy 22-year-old French-speaking courrier.
Dancing
As unadvisable as it might seem to hit the dance floor after you’ve consumed five glasses of crémant and have begun to drool, studies show that a majority of bosses these days look for candidates for management positions by noting who can do the most cringeworthy drunken dance moves — and not die of shame the following day. If you can do this, it shows that you’ve got what it takes to lead a team.
Waste
Sadly, at the end of many Christmas parties, the bar is stuck with leftover beer, wine, and spirits — beverages that the unlucky caterers will have to carry away or spend hours pouring out. Show consideration to them by single-handedly finishing off every last bottle. Trust us: your boss will take note of your resourcefulness.
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Originally published by RTL Today on December 7, 2018.