Are you having a work Christmas party? Share your stories (good, bad or indifferent)

cripplefight

I used to work for Ring-gard when i was 18, they made roller shutters aand security door,
the first year i was there they had a massive party in the grand hotel in malahide, all the staff and their partners went.
one of the van drivers wives got twisted by 10pm and when the band had finished and the DJ came she was already arguing with people on her table.
she eventually started turning on people on other tables and despite pleas from her husband to calm down she just got more aggravated. she started on another young lad who worked with me in the factory, she was accusing him of laughing at her. eventually he had enough and got up hoping to loose her on the dance floor. she followed him up and in front of the whole factory planted a wild haymaker on the back of his head while shouting and roaring at him.
her husband decided that enough was enough and went over and lifted her off the dance floor and tried to walk her out so she started raining digs down on him, he eventually bundled her out the door and that was the last we ever saw of her.
after that the company stopped inviting staff members partners to Christmas parties.

Deebles McBeebles

Jesus. My worst was not remembering the end of the night and still being drunk in work the next day. Your woman sounds like great craic though.

corner of hells

Ring gard ? We're they next door to hole masters ?

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Had it last week. Was ****e. Manager got too drunk and awkward chats ensued. I was sober as a judge as I don't like letting loose at work events. Too much gossip and you'll never be let forget the slightest mis step.

Boom_Bap

I've mine on Saturday, I imagine I will be like this

The Tetrarch

We had a mid-day meal at a local restaurant on break-up day.
Service was slow and a few of us popped over to the pub for a pint.
Back at the table and service was still slow.
One of the guys went around the other tables (other companies) checking on their meals, decided we were behind them in courses, was shouting at the other diners, went into the kitchens, and started a row about not getting his dinner.

He had previous.
At another function with free drink, a lot of free drink, he went into the snooker room beside the bar. The next time we saw him he was crashing out through the snooker room swing doors and into the corridor wall. I think he upset the snooker players.

cripplefight

Deebles McBeebles wrote: »

Jesus. My worst was not remembering the end of the night and still being drunk in work the next day. Your woman sounds like great craic though.

from what i'd been told it wasnt the first party she'd made a tit of herself at, but that it was her worst episode.

seamus

Large corporate I used to work for used to hold massive company-wide parties, booking out proper venues to accommodate 1,500 staff.

One year a junior employee (who "happened" to be the son of a top exec) got into a fight and stabbed another junior with a broken glass.

That was the end of the enormous parties, after that it was left up to each department to arrange their own.

Don't really remember anything crazy, but then I seem to be completely blind at these things. I always hear the next week about the married people who hooked up, or the guy who puked on the boss's shoes, I never actually see it happening.

Since the kids came along I've lost all stamina for them anyway. You start drinking at 5pm, dinner doesn't come out till 8:30, so I'm pissed and getting the bus home half asleep by 10:30.

Feisar

A company we worked along side on a project had a lad sacked due to groping a collegue.

Imagine landing home to the wife the week before XMas to tell her you were sacked for sexual assault. Idiot.

BrokenArrows

Our company stopping doing them when times were tough, and have not started them again even though it going well.

They were usually massive pissups of free booze.

One of the HR girls pissed herself on the dance floor one year.

Sugarlumps

BrokenArrows wrote: »

One of the HR girls pissed herself on the dance floor one year.

Orinoco Flow on the turn tables?

valoren

I always love the HR email sent in advance.

As you are aware, the office Christmas parties and various other festivities will be held over the coming weeks. This is a time for us to celebrate the festive season by enjoying some social time together and we want everyone to feel welcome. Please remember however, that these are work functions and an appropriate standard of conduct is expected. With this in mind, it is timely that we remind everyone that Food and drinks will be provided at the Christmas parties, including alcoholic beverages. If you choose to drink alcohol, please ensure that you drink responsibly.

Translation: Don't be a clown and get so pissed that you fcking vomit all over the dance floor and decide you would actually like to sleep in the hotel corridor.

Tell me how

Originally, I think they were intended to thank employees and provide an enjoyable experience but over the last few years, I think the following is the way people actually feel about them.

15%: Never go. Same again.
5%: Say they will definitely go this year. But don't.
5%: B*tch about the company non-stop and expect them alone to create the goodwill atmosphere
20%: Will go just because they always have but really neither love it or hate it.
30%: Will go without great expectations but will buy in to the spirit of the occasion
10%: Love them. Christmas jumpers, secret santa gifts, mistletoe, the whole shebang
5%: In vino veritas. Hate the job or their colleague or can't control their consumption and usually do something they should regret
10%: Hold their breath hoping that they are not going to be discussing anything with a HR rep next week.

Think companies hands are tied in many respects. They know the majority of people would be happier with a €50 voucher but they might look on as being tight if they don't provide a party.

Tell me how

Owner at one company I worked at struggled with small talk with employees. At Christmas parties he was usually well out of his comfort zone. But he did everything, moved between tables, got on to the dance floor, stayed till the very end.
He really worked hard to do his bit even though it largely was difficult for him and not something he would choose to do unless he felt he had to .

I respected him for doing his bit to create a good vibe when many would sit with a surly face on saying the dinner was terrible.

mammajamma

Boss got fooked into a woodchipper in the office last year. Red faces the next day, let me tell you!

seamus

Tell me how wrote: »

They know the majority of people would be happier with a €50 voucher but they might look on as being tight if they don't provide a party.

Ah, I don't know about that. I think most people appreciate being able to relax and chat "off the record" with colleagues. And being Xmas, you have an excuse for drinking any day of the week.

Does depend on the company though. If you have the kind of company where someone calls for "after-work beers" and people will still go, then you'll have a bit of craic at the Xmas party.
If it's the kind of company where nobody goes out together from one end of the year to the next, then it's going to be a fairly flat affair.

Cantona's Collars

My place stopped big parties before I started there. Seemingly there was a massive fight and that was that.
Since then each department have their own small do. The problem is that the cliques in each dept. stick together and some won't go because a certain person is going. We didn't even have anything last year because of this.
This year is the first big party so it could be interesting.....watch this space.

ednwireland

i was at one where our uk sales manager had the md up against the wall by his throat - we went bust 2 months later

silvervixen84

We're a massive company so individual departments do their own thing - our party is next week.

A few departments had their parties last night, and someone clearly slept on the couch in our department for a few hours, and left his waistcoat behind. He was also asleep in the canteen this morning, as he came back later to get his waistcoat and the lad from our department who spotted him asleep in the canteen confirmed it.

Hope he had a good night! :pac:

They played twist. I did the twist.

They played jump. I jumped.

They played come on Eileen. I then got brought up to HR the following Monday Morning

Pyr0

This is the kinda thread i come into AH for

No mad story myself but last years Christmas party was good craic.

We have a fairly small office so we were given a budget of 800 euro or so and told to go wild but just produce receipts for it afterwards. To make it easier on us and the accounts team we landed into a pub for some grub and opened a tab, we checked it periodically throughout the night to see how much we had left to spend. After a few hours some heads started to drop off and it became a real struggle so i rocked up to the bar blitzed and checked on the tab, there was about 60 euro left on it. I had a look around and everyone was equally smashed and nursing 2 drinks each, feeling generous i told them to close the tab and keep the remaining 60 odd euro as a tip.

This time around we've been given less money to entertain more staff, i'm sure we'll manage :pac:

eviltwin

Had mine last week. Really enjoyed it but it was very muted. I would socialise regularly with my colleagues and we are a bunch that like to party hard but when management is in the same room it makes sense to not get too messy. We have the 40th of a staff member on Saturday night and there will be some shenanigans at that.

RayCun

I was at one party (white collar, computer software, back in the boom when we were getting pay rises all the time) where a guy was caught in the cloakroom, stealing from the coats and handbags of his coworkers. Fired a couple of weeks before Christmas.

ginandtonicsky

Missed this year’s one because I was not arsed with it. New guy passed out in the toilets, taken home in an ambulance, rocked up to work an hour early the next day out of pure fear & sent home to sleep it off. Last year a manager got sacked for sexual harassment, year before there was blatant sexual activity at the bar between boss and his PA. they’re never boring anyway!

Deathbytaxes

Where I work they have a staff lunch the day we close and drinks after in town, I work in a hotel that happens to close for 8 days at Christmas and everyone bar the night staff get the full 8 days off. I will be working the night off the party and won’t be attending the lunch. The management give spot prizes at the lunch that they are given for nothing by companies.

setanta1000

Previous company I worked for in the UK; I wasn't there so got an email from CEO the next day explaining how one of my staff had a few too many, had called the Police accusing the hotel of stealing his coat (he had lost his cloakroom ticket), Police arrived, he insisted on trying to "press charges" and only avoided arrest when one of the other Directors man handled him away!

.....biggest surprise was he didn't get fired!

.....I was told I had to be in attendance in future if my staff were going on the rip!

Good times......

TerrorFirmer

ednwireland wrote: »

i was at one where our uk sales manager had the md up against the wall by his throat - we went bust 2 months later

Years ago I was at a work christmas party and a guy I worked with - who I had always got on well with - drunkenly attacked me and tried to choke me accusing me of breaking...... his phone charger.

Fondest memory was being at a work party where an incredibly drunken colleague tried to pull off the bosses toupee....sort of a "ah sure we all know come on now, come off with it" moment.

Amazingly he survived a few more months before getting sacked.

MadYaker

There's only 15 of us were going for a nice dinner which is paid for and then drinks in a pub which aren't, it'll be grand they're a nice bunch. I go for pints with 3 or 4 of them all the time anyway. I don't understand people who get messy at work xmas parties. I like to get messy but I've every other night of the year to do that so at work parties I keep it between the lines. It's usually the older people in their 40s that end up in a hoop. They have kids etc and probably don't get out much so their old livers can't handle a session and after 3 or 4 drinks they're talking sh!te already while the rest of us are only getting started.

Pauliedragon

A girl I knew years ago got plastered. Missed work the next morning. Slept with a married guy (she was engaged herself). Gets sacked for missing work, wrecks a marriage, her own engagement over. Few months later finds out she is pregnant from one night stand and the guy wants nothing to do with so abortion it ended up.

Bigbagofcans

Pauliedragon wrote: »

A girl I knew years ago got plastered. Missed work the next morning. Slept with a married guy (she was engaged herself). Gets sacked for missing work, wrecks a marriage, her own engagement over. Few months later finds out she is pregnant from one night stand and the guy wants nothing to do with so abortion it ended up.

That is grim.

Chips Lovell

Yeah, that really filled me full of Christmas cheer.

lawred2

Feisar wrote: »

A company we worked along side on a project had a lad sacked due to groping a collegue.

Imagine landing home to the wife the week before XMas to tell her you were sacked for sexual assault. Idiot.

lol

weldoninhio

ginandtonicsky wrote: »

Missed this year’s one because I was not arsed with it. New guy passed out in the toilets, taken home in an ambulance, rocked up to work an hour early the next day out of pure fear & sent home to sleep it off. Last year a manager got sacked for sexual harassment, year before there was blatant sexual activity at the bar between boss and his PA. they’re never boring anyway!

What sort of ambulance takes you home?? Are you sure it wasn't a taxi?

razorblunt

I always tend to go alright, more for catching up with folk you wouldn't have seen in a while, especially if its a Dept one.
They're all generally shite though, they stopped the big party for the company about 2 years ago and in fairness that was class.

We had out Dept one last week, one of the Heads was seen walking in behind a closed off area with another team head. A few lads took it as their opportunity to get some payback, sat outside and waited for them to come out. I think both are married, may have signed their own P45s but they're contractors, they won't care too much.

Best story I heard was of a fella who was new to a job, not performing well but they were letting him have Xmas before they hit some performance management in the new year. Off the went for the Xmas Night out, dinner paid for and a few rounds at the bar which your man absolutely canned. They left the bar to move on and walked past a Garda car. Your man "accidentally" fell against it but the Gardai just let him away after a stern word and a chat with the manager. The guy gets two cars down and then kicks the wing mirror of another car thats parked there, right in front of the Gardaí still watching him and all his colleagues. All the while maintaining his innocence.
He never got to see out the Xmas period.

FTA69

F*ck's sake I have my own one tonight and I'm paranoid now.

Eggs For Dinner

Pauliedragon wrote: »

A girl I knew years ago got plastered. Missed work the next morning. Slept with a married guy (she was engaged herself). Gets sacked for missing work, wrecks a marriage, her own engagement over. Few months later finds out she is pregnant from one night stand and the guy wants nothing to do with so abortion it ended up.

But what was the grub like???

silverharp

weldoninhio wrote: »

What sort of ambulance takes you home?? Are you sure it wasn't a taxi?

sounds like a great business idea, get you cleaned and sobered up before arriving home so you don't get abuse

FTA69

FTA69 wrote: »

F*ck's sake I have my own one tonight and I'm paranoid now.

So do I - will report back

One eyed Jack

Christmas dinner last week and it was a fairly formal affair, so after dinner talk got around to who wasn’t able to make it to the event. They were talking trying to describe two Egyptian lads who I had no idea who they were, when I came out with “how do you know they’re Egyptian anyway? The way they walk, is it?”...

facepalms all round.

Never one to do things by half measures, I decided to compound my idiocy - “well, that went down like 99 lead balloons”


How I wasn’t taken out back and beaten, I’m still not sure :pac:

Pauliedragon

FTA69 wrote: »

F*ck's sake I have my own one tonight and I'm paranoid now.

My general rules are.
Drink about 20% slower than normal.
Any work chat comes up excuse yourself go to the toilet or change the subject.
Any drunken fool starts making comments again move to another table discretely.
The second you feel a bit pissed go home.
Golden rule is nothing good happens after midnight at these things so pretend your Cinderella. 😉

gmisk

Pauliedragon wrote: »

A girl I knew years ago got plastered. Missed work the next morning. Slept with a married guy (she was engaged herself). Gets sacked for missing work, wrecks a marriage, her own engagement over. Few months later finds out she is pregnant from one night stand and the guy wants nothing to do with so abortion it ended up.

Its the mosttt wonderfull time of the yearrrr



That sounds like a cheery christmas plotline from eastenders.

I worked in a Bank for a while they had big christmas parties in a posh hotel in D4, bands, nice food, open bar.


Dont have one in my current place....I much prefer it tbh, if I want to see people from work outside work, I will.

ELM327

Jazlynn Vast Underdog wrote: »

So do I - will report back

Same, ours is tonight too.
Won't be going myself mind.

JustMe,K

I worked for a big enough company, at one party we got barred (as a company) from a well known city centre hotel because some girl smashed a bottle off a table and tried to gouge out the bouncers eyes with it, because he told us all to put our shoes back on. She didnt last long.

marvin80

Pauliedragon wrote: »

Missed work the next morning. Gets sacked for missing work

Missed work one morning and gets the sack?
Had she only started in the place recently?

Tell me how

Pauliedragon wrote: »

A girl I knew years ago got plastered. Missed work the next morning. Slept with a married guy (she was engaged herself). Gets sacked for missing work, wrecks a marriage, her own engagement over. Few months later finds out she is pregnant from one night stand and the guy wants nothing to do with so abortion it ended up.

Don't think any company would sack someone for missing one day, and particularly the day after a Christmas party.

Obviously, it's likely she was removed because of the other parts of your story but if it's as simple as missing a day and getting fired then she probably has a fairly strong case of unfair dismissal (unless she was already warned for this).

Think that is why parties can make companies nervous. Dealing with unacceptable behaviour still has to follow HR rules and be consistent amongst all employees and events.

OhHiMark

kcdiom wrote: »

I worked for a big enough company, at one party we got barred (as a company) from a well known city centre hotel because some girl smashed a bottle off a table and tried to gouge out the bouncers eyes with it, because he told us all to put our shoes back on. She didnt last long.

Sounds like she was just trying to help. We've all seen Die Hard, nobody wants to be walking around with no shoes when there's glass on the floor.

cocokabana

A friend of mine, at her works party years ago, got drunk and insulted the MD of the company, she told him she didn't like him & called him alot of choice words etc etc. She had to apologize to him afterwards and not long after she left of her own accord! Worse still, her family and the MD families all know each other and are from the same town.

My sisters' works do a couple of years ago, two colleagues started snogging (while drunk obvs) and colleagues had to pull them apart as they are both married.

When I was 20, I worked in the office for an electrical contracting company during the Celtic Tiger. They had a night out on the town for all the sparks, it turned into a brawl. One of the lads climbed up some sort of frame on the wall, and dived into tables. He got the sack. They never again had an official night out for the electricians after that, only had dinner & drinks for the office team.

My works do is lunch (dry) next week in a pub, might get an extended lunch hour out of it then back to the grind :rolleyes:

mvl

Well got invited to two departments this year, but decided to go to none.
don't have the luxury to go party-ing these days.

But in past had some good ones, and a really bad one.

My worse was years ago: got sad drunk cause of Someone who was at the same party. Cause party was work related, put on a face and danced to forget about it; then drank more, and I got really vulnerable.
Managed to get some bruises on my legs/bum from falling couple of times while I got dragged to another disco in town. Some groping involved on same route, but arrived home ok eventually.

From then, I don't drink at all in work events; but try to mind others that do/make sure they have a lift home.

ChikiChiki

The Christmas work party is a bit of a professional minefield. Your always being evaluated on your conduct by someone especially in large companies. I'd normally show up for the dinner and have 3 or 4 then skip off. Learned that's the best tactic over the years after a few messy ones.

homosapien91

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