Tis the season to be jolly, thus, it is also the time for the highly-awaited annual Office Christmas Parties.
Sure, these are organized for the employees to relax, let loose, and celebrate, but this definitely doesn’t mean that you are supposed to just up and forget your manners and sanity just to grind on that cutie from legal. Remember, it may be a party but these people are still people you share a professional environment with. Here are a couple reminders to keep your office party fun but not irresponsibly so:
DO enjoy yourself. Momentarily forget about the stress that work brings and simply relax. If they offer drinks, go ahead and indulge yourself with a glass or two.
DON’T let go of yourself completely. DO NOT DRINK MORE THAN YOU CAN TOLERATE. Just because they offered free-flowing-beer doesn’t mean you should get completely hammered. If you know you go wild and start fights when alcohol’s flooding your system, you’re better off skipping the drinks altogether. Take one or two for social drinking but nothing to eliminate your propriety.
DO dance. It doesn’t matter if you only know the watering can or that strange arms-flail-to-the-beat, feel the music and just move to it; even if it does move you ugly. Have fun and let a few buttons lose.
DON’T grind or drop like you would in a club when you’re there to find someone to have an eventful night with. Again, although the event is for you to have fun, it does not mean you should forget that you are still in a professional environment.
DO eat. Eat what you like from the buffet. Forget about the diet you’re desperately sticking to. It’s Christmas and your officemates probably tried their best to bring that food; or if it’s catered, the company paid for that, so take advantage of the free food, take A LITTLE of everything (that you CAN eat. Nobody wants wasted food).
DON’T take all the food for yourself. Everyone wants to eat, not just you. You don’t want to be remembered as the Jerk of Christmas now, do you?
DO join the Kris Kringle/ Secret Santa. The Christmas atmosphere isn’t complete without the gift-giving.
DON’T be such a cheapskate that you simply grab something you no longer use in your closet and shove it in a gift bag. Remember, you get what you give in life. Would YOU like to receive hand me downs just because the person was too lazy to shop for you? Find out what they like. You do not need to spend a fortune; there are wonderful gift items you can get from nice small stores that are half the usual department store prices.
Enjoy the time you get to spend with your officemates this holiday season but don’t forget to watch yourself. As much as it may seem like a good idea to let them know everything about you , it’s still an issue with HR if you go overboard.
