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[Misc] Work’s Christmas Do’s



dejavuatbtn

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
7,575
Henfield
We used to have an annual office dinner at a Brighton hotel. When I was younger we’d have a laugh by throwing sprouts around and pissing off the seniors and getting us banned from a number of hotels. As I got older I got more and more cheesed off with the youngsters throwing sprouts around until I realised the futility of it all and didn’t bother going any more.
We did have some great Christmas discos though!
 




Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
62,428
Location Location
Cafe Rouge in HH for us this year. Fairly low-key, but INFINITELY preferable to yomping up to London for a big bash at a posh hotel with the Head Office bods, as was the routine before the plague descended. Its all on the company, so I'll probably hang back to ponce some more free grog somewhere afterwards. Don't mind the people I work with, so it should be a pleasant enough afternoon-into-evening.

They used to combine it all with staff awards and then an auction, which was absolute DEATH. All that bobbins went on for a couple of hours at least after the scoff, by which time I would be on the brink of self-harming. Thankfully thats all been binned off now. We can just eat and get spannered.
 


Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
72,359
Cafe Rouge in HH for us this year. Fairly low-key, but INFINITELY preferable to yomping up to London for a big bash at a posh hotel with the Head Office bods, as was the routine before the plague descended. Its all on the company, so I'll probably hang back to ponce some more free grog somewhere afterwards. Don't mind the people I work with, so it should be a pleasant enough afternoon-into-evening.

They used to combine it all with staff awards and then an auction, which was absolute DEATH. All that bobbins went on for a couple of hours at least after the scoff, by which time I would be on the brink of self-harming. Thankfully thats all been binned off now. We can just eat and get spannered.
My advice would be to spend the absolute minimum amount of time in the something something Rouge, and the absolute maximum amount of time in the Lockhart Tavern that is practically next door :thumbsup:
 


Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
62,428
Location Location
My advice would be to spend the absolute minimum amount of time in the something something Rouge, and the absolute maximum amount of time in the Lockhart Tavern that is practically next door :thumbsup:
We had the Christmas lunch there last year. Decent enough scram, but my god the service there was S-L-O-W. I grew a 5 O'clock shadow between my starters and main, and one doris had to leave before she even got her main cos she had to pick up her kids from school (we'd got there at 1pm ffs). Nice enough gaff, woeful service.
 


Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
72,359
We had the Christmas lunch there last year. Decent enough scram, but my god the service there was S-L-O-W. I grew a 5 O'clock shadow between my starters and main, and one doris had to leave before she even got her main cos she had to pick up her kids from school (we'd got there at 1pm ffs). Nice enough gaff, woeful service.
Suspect I wouldn't recommend it for the scran either - despite it having daftly given over at least half of the available space to diners. Great selection of beers tho eh (many of them very local) and very decent bar service also. Maybe just go there for the beers? :thumbsup:
 




Bodian

Well-known member
May 3, 2012
14,278
Cumbria
Hope everybody's remembered which starter they ordered three months ago
We booked a quiet country pub in the Lake District about 10 years ago. 40 of us went biking / walking, whatever - then met up at the pub for lunch and beer.

The pub is almost dead at lunchtimes, so 40 thirsty and hungry folk must have been a godsend to them as we'd have probably doubled their takings for a week.

You'd think they'd be pleased to see us. But no, not really. A bit of muttering about having to get staff in to cook/serve - followed by 'Right, we've got a chicken soup here - which one of you ordered the soup and have had something else. Come on - you're not helping us are you - who ordered the bloody soup...?'

Cue spreadsheet with order being produced.

We haven't been back there, ever - so that's quite a bit of potential business they lost there.
 








clapham_gull

Legacy Fan
Aug 20, 2003
25,877
Cafe Rouge in HH for us this year. Fairly low-key, but INFINITELY preferable to yomping up to London for a big bash at a posh hotel with the Head Office bods, as was the routine before the plague descended. Its all on the company, so I'll probably hang back to ponce some more free grog somewhere afterwards. Don't mind the people I work with, so it should be a pleasant enough afternoon-into-evening.

They used to combine it all with staff awards and then an auction, which was absolute DEATH. All that bobbins went on for a couple of hours at least after the scoff, by which time I would be on the brink of self-harming. Thankfully thats all been binned off now. We can just eat and get spannered.

Stopped going years ago, prompted by senior management performing charades for the entertainment of the peasants.
 


Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
25,513
Worthing
The last ‘proper’ firms do I went to was in 1978 and I fell into the DJ fellow after being sick…. 1st and last.
Actually I went to Mrs Q’s Christmas do once after taking a small bag of Christmas snow with me. That was pretty good.. Mrs Q was enjoying the evening
 


Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
14,907
Almería
Ours was cancelled because the staff decided to unionise and the owner threw a tantrum. Still going out for a meal but we'll have to pay for ourselves now.
 






Zeberdi

“Vorsprung durch Technik”
NSC Patron
Oct 20, 2022
6,941
You'd think they'd be pleased to see us. But no, not really. A bit of muttering about having to get staff in to cook/serve - followed by 'Right, we've got a chicken soup here - which one of you ordered the soup and have had something else. Come on - you're not helping us are you - who ordered the bloody soup...?'
Was the owner 6‘3 with a moustache and called ‘Basil’? 😉
 


Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
24,785
GOSBTS
Worked for 3 different US companies last 10 years and only one had big Xmas dos. Last being at Bombay Sapphire distillery which was ok - except the long coach ride back to Reading. A Few team lunches in London which turned into 10 hour pub crawls and an interesting train ride home…

Nothing this year, part of a team of 10 spread across Europe but meeting up with some old colleagues in London next Thursday
 






sparkie

Well-known member
Jul 17, 2003
13,276
Hove
Our work Christmas Party has been binned in favour of a 'Company Birthday' Party in November. It's not the same :( and I miss the Christmas shindig.
 


timbha

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,515
Sussex
Our work Christmas Party has been binned in favour of a 'Company Birthday' Party in November. It's not the same :( and I miss the Christmas shindig.
Nov 22 or next year? Cost cutting?
 


clapham_gull

Legacy Fan
Aug 20, 2003
25,877
Our work Christmas Party has been binned in favour of a 'Company Birthday' Party in November. It's not the same :( and I miss the Christmas shindig.
Reminds of the company I used to work for that would routinely give everyone a Christmas bonus, £100 in a brown envelope I seem to recall.

Got taken over by Americans who dumped it straight away in 1999.

After much protest from the staff it was re-introduced that Christmas but renamed "The Millenium Bonus" just to remind everyone we wouldn't be getting another one for another thousand years.
 




Popeye

I Don't Exercise
Nov 12, 2021
583
North Carolina USA
Not having a Christmas party at the school I work at, more a soup lunch during school day where if we get time we can come up and get a bowl. Yay! Also, our gift last year was a dumbass sweater, so don't expect anything great this year.
 




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