Office Christmas party etiquette: the Highland Marketing way!

T’is the season to be jolly and I have just recovered from a memorable Highland Marketing Christmas party, so in the spirit of Christmas I thought I would share a few tips to ensure your party runs smoothly and has no negative impact on your career prospects come 2014!

Dressing up

Always adds an element of fun to the proceedings. Make sure that the management is on board and enters the spirit:

It’s fun to buy thoughtful or amusing presents for co-workers

If you’re going to buy an embarrassing or insulting present however, remember that secret Santa is only as secret as the person who drew up the list and once they’ve had three champagnes too many, there’s no telling who will find out…

Do have a laugh with your boss

This might take the form of a nice, normal conversation, or maybe even poking a bit of fun at them. They won’t mind – Christmas parties are the one time when they’ll wish they were one of the gang and that people weren’t forced to be nice to them even if they didn’t especially want to be:

Don’t hog the boss

You may be in the running for a promotion next year but cornering your boss for an hour to give them a summary of ALL the great work you’ve done this year, well it just isn’t the time or the place. It’s party time, not appraisal:

Don’t take pictures of your colleagues

They may resent you the following day, especially if you post them on Twitter or write a blog about it….

Do play party games

They are such fun! Although try and remember that there may be other people trying to enjoy their office Christmas party who may not want to join in with your game of (highly recommended) ‘Head’s Up’ on your iPhone:

Although it’s party time, remember to stay professional

I promise that you will feel very smug the following day…and you will be able to laugh about those who didn’t!

Don’t drink too much!

It’s not good for your health and you may feel very grumpy the next day.

Don’t be the last one standing when everyone else has had enough

You don’t want to be that person who’s trying to convince everyone to do just one more round of tequila shots when all they really want to do is go home and sleep.

And finally, do turn up to work the following morning!

So there you go, if you follow those tips, you can’t go too far wrong!

Merry Christmas to you all from the Highland Marketing team!