I Love It When a Plan Comes Together
So I am lukewarm about the Office Christmas party this year. It is at a place that I know I don't like anything on the menu. I've been to 20 years worth of luncheons explaining my ridiculous palate. Last year I sat in the back and fending off--"look they have steak, you like steak" and my personal favorite "no, we only have diet pepsi". I did not "win" the target gift card in the gift exchange (I think I got starbuck or worse, a set of coco mugs--that might have been two years ago). One co-worker smugly explained that she refused to participate in the gift exchange, because she took that money and donated it to her church. Oh and by the way, she continued, why didn't I also do that? Only a couple people ever drink at these things and so only a couple of people get very jolly. [I mean, really, if you go to a bar where a lot of people drink, then you don't have to and it is easy to get swept up in the jollyness of it all, but if only two people out of 20 take a drink, then not so simple to whip up jollyness, but I digress.]
One year, I took my department separately out to my favorite prime rib place. It was lovely (and very expensive). Another year, just my department went to a slighly less expensive prime rib place and well, our jollyness was a few notches below the first place. So two years ago, I decided that our department "party" would be a deli plate at the office with games. No one, I mean no one (not even me) wanted to be there. Do you know how hard it is to generate jollyness when no one wants to be there. Anyway, department holiday parties are a big flop, so now we only have an office party for the whole office--with a gift exchange--a stealing santa gift exchange.
The year we started the stealing santa gift exchange, we were supposed to exchange a Christmas ornament. Never mind that it is not politically correct to be all Catholic, all the time (in my head anyway--the managing partner is Catholic and the rest of us can just live with it.) Anyhoo, no one liked the ornaments (and lets face it I'm the only one who even knows the managing partner is Catholic, so everyone else probably just assumed we would want to be more politically correct. John is a silent, pondering kind of guy, so mostly he just sits back, looking comtemplative and people assume they know what he wants and they do it and it is usually fine.)
Soon the gift exchange became white elephant mixed with really expensive stuff. Not fair by a mile. Then we tried just gift cards--also strangly, no fun. $19.95 gift certificate from the dollar store sounds funny, but it really isn't. So we plod along and here we are. For the last couple of years the best gift is the super large stuffed animal (Caitlyn would have loved it) or the target gift card. I never got any of them. I was planning on getting $20 gift card to itunes, because Vons is supposed to have a sale, four $10 gift cards for $34--such a deal--except Vons doesn't have a four pack of $10 gift cards--they have a three pack or a ten pack or $25 card--no four packs. I thought I misheard the commercial, but sure enough it was on again. THEN the office manager sent out an e-mail, remember that the gift exchange is $25. Crap. I am so broke this year. Even $20 at itunes is pretty over the top. Games are only $1.99. When I didn't know how to text message a few years back, we didn't have anyone young enough who knew. If I can't use the gift cards, what makes me think anyone else can? $25 ugh.
But I don't want to be a party pooper--I want to spread jolly--I want to lead the jolly parade. This is Christmas--be of good cheer--ho, ho, ho. So ok, no one likes games--I created a firm trivia game. It is fun and silly and no one will have time to tell me how much I'll like the green thing with funny looking spikes on it, if I would just try it. So the trivia game is already written. I have to go to the party. I could give $25 to charity, but I really don't want to give Ms. Smug, the cosmic satisfaction (although I did just get a calender from St Vincent de Paul--Meals on Wheels with an envelope each month--that sounds like a great New Years resolution--I can do that).
So just when I thought I was painted into the corner of running out to target to buy a $25 gift certificate that I will never win in the gift exchange, someone sent me two bottles of wine. It is a christmas gift from an attorney that I refer cases that I can't take (for whatever reason). It has been a few years since I got one of those (the recession and all), so I really wasn't expecting it. The receptionist was very jeolous and right before I could say--you take it, I don't drink wine, she said, now you have your gift for the gift exchange.
I love it when a plan comes together. (Great line from the A-Team--I have got to rent that movie). Merry, Merry Christmas Janet.
One year, I took my department separately out to my favorite prime rib place. It was lovely (and very expensive). Another year, just my department went to a slighly less expensive prime rib place and well, our jollyness was a few notches below the first place. So two years ago, I decided that our department "party" would be a deli plate at the office with games. No one, I mean no one (not even me) wanted to be there. Do you know how hard it is to generate jollyness when no one wants to be there. Anyway, department holiday parties are a big flop, so now we only have an office party for the whole office--with a gift exchange--a stealing santa gift exchange.
The year we started the stealing santa gift exchange, we were supposed to exchange a Christmas ornament. Never mind that it is not politically correct to be all Catholic, all the time (in my head anyway--the managing partner is Catholic and the rest of us can just live with it.) Anyhoo, no one liked the ornaments (and lets face it I'm the only one who even knows the managing partner is Catholic, so everyone else probably just assumed we would want to be more politically correct. John is a silent, pondering kind of guy, so mostly he just sits back, looking comtemplative and people assume they know what he wants and they do it and it is usually fine.)
Soon the gift exchange became white elephant mixed with really expensive stuff. Not fair by a mile. Then we tried just gift cards--also strangly, no fun. $19.95 gift certificate from the dollar store sounds funny, but it really isn't. So we plod along and here we are. For the last couple of years the best gift is the super large stuffed animal (Caitlyn would have loved it) or the target gift card. I never got any of them. I was planning on getting $20 gift card to itunes, because Vons is supposed to have a sale, four $10 gift cards for $34--such a deal--except Vons doesn't have a four pack of $10 gift cards--they have a three pack or a ten pack or $25 card--no four packs. I thought I misheard the commercial, but sure enough it was on again. THEN the office manager sent out an e-mail, remember that the gift exchange is $25. Crap. I am so broke this year. Even $20 at itunes is pretty over the top. Games are only $1.99. When I didn't know how to text message a few years back, we didn't have anyone young enough who knew. If I can't use the gift cards, what makes me think anyone else can? $25 ugh.
But I don't want to be a party pooper--I want to spread jolly--I want to lead the jolly parade. This is Christmas--be of good cheer--ho, ho, ho. So ok, no one likes games--I created a firm trivia game. It is fun and silly and no one will have time to tell me how much I'll like the green thing with funny looking spikes on it, if I would just try it. So the trivia game is already written. I have to go to the party. I could give $25 to charity, but I really don't want to give Ms. Smug, the cosmic satisfaction (although I did just get a calender from St Vincent de Paul--Meals on Wheels with an envelope each month--that sounds like a great New Years resolution--I can do that).
So just when I thought I was painted into the corner of running out to target to buy a $25 gift certificate that I will never win in the gift exchange, someone sent me two bottles of wine. It is a christmas gift from an attorney that I refer cases that I can't take (for whatever reason). It has been a few years since I got one of those (the recession and all), so I really wasn't expecting it. The receptionist was very jeolous and right before I could say--you take it, I don't drink wine, she said, now you have your gift for the gift exchange.
I love it when a plan comes together. (Great line from the A-Team--I have got to rent that movie). Merry, Merry Christmas Janet.
posted by KathrynVH @ 1:21 PM
1 Comments:
At December 15, 2010 at 2:27 PM,
EZ Travel said…
Don't you just love forced socialization. We had one of those "I refuse to bring a gift for the exchange. I will just sit here and looked bored while you guys do your thing. Don't mind me." people but luckily she has left the office. We have a fairly small gathering (only about 8 or 9) so the "stealing" ornament thing works and we make the limit $5 since we pay our secretaries appalling small salaries. We rotate it between the administrator's houses every year and everyone pitches in on food. The last time it was at my house I was very, very pregnant.
I hope this one goes better than the past ones.
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