Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought it was strange how I could work with a person Monday through Friday for forty hours every week and then not feel completely comfortable in any other setting. It doesn't matter if it's getting drinks with the new girl or tossing a baseball around a vacant field with a couple of guys. There's something strange about seeing a co-worker outside of the office. Sure, that feeling goes away after a short amount of time, but the first thirty minutes or so just feels awkward.
Tonight is the company Christmas party. Tonight I will see the people I work with every day in clothes other than aprons and the red guayaberas we're required to wear while waiting on guests. The girls will put on a little extra makeup and the guys will be sporting the latest brands I didn't know existed.
Let me get this straight before I continue. It's not like I've never seen any of these people outside of work. I've met up with people before after a shift for drinks at the local bar so I've seen a few of them in their everyday attire. To walk into a room that is normally occupied by matching uniforms only to find familiar faces with loved ones standing to their sides is unusual.
This is just one of the many things that make company Christmas parties unusual celebrations. Every day, I hear people complain about wanting to be anywhere in the world other than where they are at that given moment. I hear people bitch and moan about having to be at work on a slow night. I hear people gripe about missing parties, concerts, dinners, etcetera. Now that we all have a day off, we get dressed up to go to work.
I've never been a big drinker, so maybe I'm missing something here, but the one constant at these parties is the idea of getting plastered. Maybe it's the media's way of warping my mind, but I've always seen drinking as a way to unwind and escape the worries of our daily routine. I enjoy drinking and getting silly on a rare occasion, but the way people drink at Christmas parties is insane. It's as though the only way they can truly unwind is to get stupid drunk. Is it because they hate it there so much to begin with, but they still want to show their faces?
It's management's way of thanking the staff for their hard work all year. They start making preparations for the celebration months in advance. They call caterers, photographers, disc jockeys, and Santas-for-rent. The night of the party arrives and suddenly, management is on edge. Will there be enough food? Will people take advantage of the money we spent or will we be paying $300 an hour for a Santa to sit in the corner alone? They usually don't show it, but I can't imagine running a business and then inviting the owners to the Christmas party where the employees get so intoxicated. I would be flipping out. I would want the employees to have fun, but wouldn't I feel a bit responsible to keep a lookout for trouble?
Seeing co-workers in a different setting. Employees getting wasted. Management worrying. Guests of the employees feeling uncomfortable. A company Christmas party always ends up being a good time, but isn't it a social wonder?
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