If your work holiday party was fun...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My definition of a good work holiday party is it must be during work time. I don't care how much I like my co-workers, I'm very resentful if it's during my free time.

Give people time off work and sit around having a nice breakfast all morning. We do a waffle station. Photo booth. Holiday music. Everyone is in a good mood and thrilled not to be working.

This is OP and I don't mind it being in the evening but I'm glad it's a weeknight and not using up my weekend. I am used to traveling and evening events for conferences, retreats etc so I don't have that same boundaries. That said there's a lot of "self help" and people usually cut out pretty early day-of and start late the next day informally so it balances out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My definition of a good work holiday party is it must be during work time. I don't care how much I like my co-workers, I'm very resentful if it's during my free time.

Give people time off work and sit around having a nice breakfast all morning. We do a waffle station. Photo booth. Holiday music. Everyone is in a good mood and thrilled not to be working.

I don't go to them (I went to two in the 30 years I've been in the workforce) but my current company has it from 3:30-6:30pm and the office officially closes at 3pm that day. So I just leave and go do whatever I want. At least it's not mandatory you attend like at some companies - I used to have to schedule a doctors appointment for that time.

Same here. Our “party” is today and I’m in the office getting work done so I can be off with my family over the holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My definition of a good work holiday party is it must be during work time. I don't care how much I like my co-workers, I'm very resentful if it's during my free time.

Give people time off work and sit around having a nice breakfast all morning. We do a waffle station. Photo booth. Holiday music. Everyone is in a good mood and thrilled not to be working.

I don't go to them (I went to two in the 30 years I've been in the workforce) but my current company has it from 3:30-6:30pm and the office officially closes at 3pm that day. So I just leave and go do whatever I want. At least it's not mandatory you attend like at some companies - I used to have to schedule a doctors appointment for that time.

thats weird. So your staff has no boss around and your. boss does not have you around? I see skipping now and then.

I myself have 16 work events a year. I go to around 13-14 of them. My wife is invited to two of them and she always goes. Kinda of hard to say you dont have 5-6 hours of free time in an entire year.

[Anonymous]

Last year, Pinstripes for 4-5 hours. Good food and drinks, and stuff to do (Bocci and Bowling if you want, hang out and talk if you don't). I'm out of town for the one this year, so haven't paid attention to where it will be

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last really good Holiday Party I went to was xmas 1999 when my friend invited me to her AOL/Time Wartner Holiday Party in Manhttan.

They had Aerosmith perform at the Holiday Party. I heard they paid Aerosmith one million for the performance. May not sound like a lot of money today. But in 1999 was a good amount of money.

I think xmas 1999 (pre-9/11) and pre 2000 Stock Market Crash and pre the PC police distroying fun was last big fun parties.

A brief comeback in xmas 2003-2007 but Financial Crash of 2008 killed it off.

I went to one when in College. My older brother had a plus one WOW. They had several very famous older people on board. A movie star, her TV star husband, Brother in law current President and they actually line up to shake our hands. Was at Waldorf Astoria. And we invite some really big clients and such. Was real A list.

My Mom's company had a team that their job YEAR ROUND was to plan the holiday party.

They hada 100,000 employees, everyone could bring a guest and so 200,000 people attending. They had offices in multiple cities so was a lot of planning. Was highlight of year for most people. I know my Mom it was the single biggest event she ever attended. Her even was at a very fancy catering hall that held up to 3,000 people. Can you imagine her party was only 1.5 percent of the 200,000 invited.

The holiday parties have gone way way down hill both because of finances, layoffs and to be honest #metoo. Shitty Men of Media list froze a lot of interactions. My holiday party this year was daytime at a local restaurant.

[Anonymous]

We don't do it anymore but the best holiday parties we had were when the company rented out a hotel banquet room and served us a fancy luncheon. Then they raffled off a TON of prizes so nearly everyone was walking away with a $25-$75 gift. Finally, at 2PM they said they were giving us the "gift of time" and told us not to go back to the office the rest of the day, just go get some holiday shopping done.

[Anonymous]

A lot of this depends on the actual people. My office is a bunch of nerds so the parties are always a dud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this depends on the actual people. My office is a bunch of nerds so the parties are always a dud.

I should add the on site ones are awful too as it's usually dry. My previous office closed early and rented space elsewhere for the afternoon. There was liquor. Those were much more fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last really good Holiday Party I went to was xmas 1999 when my friend invited me to her AOL/Time Wartner Holiday Party in Manhttan.

They had Aerosmith perform at the Holiday Party. I heard they paid Aerosmith one million for the performance. May not sound like a lot of money today. But in 1999 was a good amount of money.

I think xmas 1999 (pre-9/11) and pre 2000 Stock Market Crash and pre the PC police distroying fun was last big fun parties.

A brief comeback in xmas 2003-2007 but Financial Crash of 2008 killed it off.

I went to one when in College. My older brother had a plus one WOW. They had several very famous older people on board. A movie star, her TV star husband, Brother in law current President and they actually line up to shake our hands. Was at Waldorf Astoria. And we invite some really big clients and such. Was real A list.

My Mom's company had a team that their job YEAR ROUND was to plan the holiday party.

They hada 100,000 employees, everyone could bring a guest and so 200,000 people attending. They had offices in multiple cities so was a lot of planning. Was highlight of year for most people. I know my Mom it was the single biggest event she ever attended. Her even was at a very fancy catering hall that held up to 3,000 people. Can you imagine her party was only 1.5 percent of the 200,000 invited.

The holiday parties have gone way way down hill both because of finances, layoffs and to be honest #metoo. Shitty Men of Media list froze a lot of interactions. My holiday party this year was daytime at a local restaurant.

Social Media and the Iphone really killed it. No one even recorded Aerosmith at the 1999 Time Warner Party as none of use had Iphones and Social Media not yet a thing.

[Anonymous]

The best holiday parties are held during the workday. You work in the morning, and then the afternoon is the party and then you go home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My definition of a good work holiday party is it must be during work time. I don't care how much I like my co-workers, I'm very resentful if it's during my free time.

Give people time off work and sit around having a nice breakfast all morning. We do a waffle station. Photo booth. Holiday music. Everyone is in a good mood and thrilled not to be working.

I don't go to them (I went to two in the 30 years I've been in the workforce) but my current company has it from 3:30-6:30pm and the office officially closes at 3pm that day. So I just leave and go do whatever I want. At least it's not mandatory you attend like at some companies - I used to have to schedule a doctors appointment for that time.

thats weird. So your staff has no boss around and your. boss does not have you around? I see skipping now and then.

I myself have 16 work events a year. I go to around 13-14 of them. My wife is invited to two of them and she always goes. Kinda of hard to say you dont have 5-6 hours of free time in an entire year.

It's 2025, Grandpa - we all work remotely now. I have five immediate bosses - one has been working from Florida for the last month, one works from LA, one from Portland, one from way out in the sticks (in the last year I've seen her twice), and one local.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What made it so?

Asking because ours was kind of a dud this year despite the basic elements being there and seemed like they spent $$$.

Went to a luncheon during the day for a different team because they invited me. They had a family feud type Christmas game and other activities to make it interactive and it was really fun. Low key and casual and fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this depends on the actual people. My office is a bunch of nerds so the parties are always a dud.

Yeah - this happens at my company a lot. So many nerds who have no idea how to hold a conversation. It's a tough crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't do it anymore but the best holiday parties we had were when the company rented out a hotel banquet room and served us a fancy luncheon. Then they raffled off a TON of prizes so nearly everyone was walking away with a $25-$75 gift. Finally, at 2PM they said they were giving us the "gift of time" and told us not to go back to the office the rest of the day, just go get some holiday shopping done.

Sounds boring. My last good one we all went to NYC to Meatpacking District and rented bar at rooftop of W hotel in 2021 and then club hopped. We just had a new funding round that made everyones RSUs popped 100 percent so we all were having a good time. The next years we did it San Fran!! That was fun. Take us away was best. We did hiking tour of San Fran, saw the sights, did dinner under golden gate bridge, then did Karoke was a blast. Two nights only. They made events out of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My definition of a good work holiday party is it must be during work time. I don't care how much I like my co-workers, I'm very resentful if it's during my free time.

Give people time off work and sit around having a nice breakfast all morning. We do a waffle station. Photo booth. Holiday music. Everyone is in a good mood and thrilled not to be working.

I don't go to them (I went to two in the 30 years I've been in the workforce) but my current company has it from 3:30-6:30pm and the office officially closes at 3pm that day. So I just leave and go do whatever I want. At least it's not mandatory you attend like at some companies - I used to have to schedule a doctors appointment for that time.

thats weird. So your staff has no boss around and your. boss does not have you around? I see skipping now and then.

I myself have 16 work events a year. I go to around 13-14 of them. My wife is invited to two of them and she always goes. Kinda of hard to say you dont have 5-6 hours of free time in an entire year.

It's 2025, Grandpa - we all work remotely now. I have five immediate bosses - one has been working from Florida for the last month, one works from LA, one from Portland, one from way out in the sticks (in the last year I've seen her twice), and one local.

My 100 percent remote company we had xmas parties and such dude. It is 2025 they have planes and trains. I saw my co-workers. And unlike you we were global my coworkers were all over the world in different time zones. They had a big thing in London recently where the 200 person dept everyone flew in.