THE COMPANY CHRISTMAS PARTY

This past Saturday night was my company's Christmas Party. Realize that I have been employed by six different employers (two of which were sold to other larger companies while I was there) over the last thirty-two years, so I have had the opportunity to attend thirty-one Christmas parties (only thirty-one because one company laid me off before Christmas just to avoid having to feed me for free). I have not attended all parties, but have attended parties at five of the six employers (sorry, for another explanation, but for one company I was employed for only one Christmas season before my second lay-off and I could not imagine how boring that party would have been), so I believe I have a very decent perception as to what these events entail.

Now, I am no sycophant, suck-up or brown nose and do not schmooze well at work and certainly not at corporate functions. Some companies for which I worked actually encouraged this, at least in my mind. These events have been, for the most part, in a word, stuffy. They have included endless repetitive small talk, decent food, not enough free adult beverages and, mostly, the obligatory "great year in review" slide show and eventual "awards". YAWN!

Fast forward to my current employer. This one always has a themed party. I chose not attend last year as I had been employed for only 2-1/4 months and was not keen on the cliques and politics. Besides, it was a dress-up affair and I don't like them much. But this year's theme was Mardi Gras, which I thought was odd as Mardi Gras is a Lenten celebration and this is, after all, a Christmas party.
Anyway, my lovely wife thought Mardi Gras would be fun theme to try. She went on line for Mardi Gras accessories ideas to little avail. Even the party supply stores were of little help as Mardi Gras is out of season. But, we bought some beads, a hat and a mask and decided to have a go.

We arrived at the hotel and upon entering the elevator a woman joined us lugging a large suitcase and some Mardi Gras clothing in tow and I commented on them. She responded excitedly about the party and we admitted it was ours too. She asked us our names and she introduced herself. My sceptical alert sounded and I thought "Oh, boy, here we go, a long-term employee's wife pre-judging us". She was the president's wife. She bid us to have a good time and she would see us later. Another sceptical alert. We dressed, photographed and descend to the ballroom


Upon entering, hostess hired by the party people showered us with more beads and we located the bar. Another "oh boy" moment was on me. No one seemed to notice our presence, or care. Some were dressed in costumes from formal ware to Victorian dress. even two boxes of Zatarain's seafood seasoning. We got our free drinks and headed for the hors d'eorves. I finally was acknowledge by a coworker. We grabbed some food and looked for a table at which to park. Most tables seemed to be filled, so we sat at an empty table. We were still basically alone, so we took a walk to inspect the quite impressive decorations. We went back to the table and the president's wife put her drink at our table. She did remember us.

We next decided to have a fortune told by a teller hired by the party organizers. After suffering through that and a very mediocre juggler, we returned to find the president and his wife, an executive V.P., the co-owner and the head of marketing all at our table. Yes, awkward comes to mind. We were assured repeatedly and profusely that we were not out of place and that all are equal. Still, skeptical alert.

The food was now being served, so the awkward small talk was skipped and dinner talk ensued. The drinks, by the way, were still free and flowing. Dinner went by quite enjoyably with no shop talk or even inside jokes among the higher-ups. This was actually becoming an enjoyable evening. The slide presentation was actually enjoyable as the president showed the lighter sdie of our industry with his sense of humor, it lasted only about fifteen minutes and included a photo of our granddaughter. Cool. A dumb trivia game show mixer was played and then the party really started. A pair of piano players hit the stage and jumped-started the festivities. Dancing and drinking ensued and continued into the night with a DJ. Our table as that of party animals. We were complimented numerous times for our partying. Kudos to us!

We will attend the party next year, God willing. We're hoping our party skills now keep me employed as my hard work hasn't paid off that much to this point.