Christmas parties

Is your work having a christmas do? Are you looking forward to it or dreading it? Is it free or do you have to pay? Are partners invited?

Mike's christmas party was a proper corporate do, for 25 quid a head with partners invited:

• Meet in hotel, one free drink (mulled wine) then expensive bar
• Move to ballroom where there are lots of big tables, 4 or 5 other companies, large meal, drink too much wine (extra)
• Lights are dimmed and there's a disco at the end of the room

It seemed mad to have a ballroom and then only have a dancefloor the size of a postage stamp, and the music was mostly dreadful (70s disco, ABBA, modern R&B and dance), though kudos to the DJ for playing two Jam tracks back to back. I asked if he could do anything rock and his best suggestion was "Bon Jovi?".

Still, it was fun.

Our lot aren't inviting partners, but the computing group is having a free buffet christmas lunch next Wednesday which is also the leaving do for one of our long-standing colleagues. And by genuine coincidence it seems the departmental support staff Christmas party is that evening, 5 quid a head for an enormous spread of food and an impressive array of drinks and another bad disco. Since that starts at 5 and the lunch will no doubt be quite long I rather suspect the computing group staff aren't going to get much work done that afternoon.

I'm rather looking forward to it.