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Who still does a Christmas party?

StreetSpeed

Hot Rolled
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Location
NY
Folks,

Had our company party last night. Rented out a private room at a nice restaurant, hired a great piano player for 4 hours, open bar and great food all night, premium cigars afterwards, and then everyone went back to my house for more drinking, snacking, and singing around the piano. 23 people and everyone had a blast.

Of course only 2 of those people actually work for me. The other 21 were Friends and Family of AMT. My other 8 employees make excuses as to why they can't go, but in the end they just don't want to. I used to get offended but I don't any more. Now it's an excuse for me to throw a great party with all my favorite people in attendance around the Holidays.

So, do you any of you guys do a Holiday party of some sort? How's your attendance? Party cost me about 3Gs total. I coulda given everyone an extra $300 in their paycheck but this is more fun for me and if anyone ever actually came would build some morale me thinks. Your thoughts?
 
We have an awesome party each year, Early on it was at the bosses house but as we grew it became untenable. So the last 5-6 years we rent a conference/ball room at a local hotel,have the dinner catered, an open bar and games afterwards. The boss also provides a room to those who wish it at no charge. we have 36 employees and only one did not make it because of a medical emergency.
 
Folks,

Had our company party last night. Rented out a private room at a nice restaurant, hired a great piano player for 4 hours, open bar and great food all night, premium cigars afterwards, and then everyone went back to my house for more drinking, snacking, and singing around the piano. 23 people and everyone had a blast.

So I guess my invitation got lost in the mail again?
 
We have an awesome party each year, Early on it was at the bosses house but as we grew it became untenable. So the last 5-6 years we rent a conference/ball room at a local hotel,have the dinner catered, an open bar and games afterwards. The boss also provides a room to those who wish it at no charge. we have 36 employees and only one did not make it because of a medical emergency.

That's good to hear, though disheartens me a little bit about my current situation!
 
Folks,

Had our company party last night. Rented out a private room at a nice restaurant, hired a great piano player for 4 hours, open bar and great food all night, premium cigars afterwards, and then everyone went back to my house for more drinking, snacking, and singing around the piano. 23 people and everyone had a blast.

Of course only 2 of those people actually work for me. The other 21 were Friends and Family of AMT. My other 8 employees make excuses as to why they can't go, but in the end they just don't want to. I used to get offended but I don't any more. Now it's an excuse for me to throw a great party with all my favorite people in attendance around the Holidays.

So, do you any of you guys do a Holiday party of some sort? How's your attendance? Party cost me about 3Gs total. I coulda given everyone an extra $300 in their paycheck but this is more fun for me and if anyone ever actually came would build some morale me thinks. Your thoughts?

This is one of the things I miss about working for a smaller outfit.

We have a big feast the last day (Wednesday) but I get the impression they would do away with that if they could.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Brent
 
I am sorry to have disheartened you with my post. I was simply sharing what our Christmas party is like. on the face of it, I do not think yours was much different than ours, just a matter of scale.You had a good time with people you enjoy being around, that is what counts. By the description you gave, it sounds like a good time!

Merry Christmas
 
With only 2 out of 10 employees showing up, that defeats a primary purpose of the party: team and camaraderie building.
People generally won't pass up good free food and alcohol, so it's perplexing as to why the attendance was so low.
Maybe they feel under compensated, or the boss flaunts too many new cars and Rolex's and vacations, or they feel like they're being treated unfairly at work? Or they just don't like each other, or there are "clicks" that some aren't a part of?
Next time try to make attendance intriguing , by offering nice door prizes, or maybe a lottery of some sort with cash prizes, maybe including a paid day off or a weekend in the country somewhere.
As the boss and business owner you don't have to be loved by your employees, but you hopefully have enough of their respect so they wouldn't turn down a free good time.
ToolCat
 
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The Saturday before Christmas is a very busy day for a lot of people. We had our family gathering yesterday and one of my brothers had to come late because his wife's family also had their get together that day.

The financial institution that I volunteer at used to have a Christmas party and attendance was spotty, mostly because it is such a busy time of year.
Several years ago we made a decision to eliminate the Christmas party and have an employee/volunteer appreciation party instead. It is in May and we go to a minor league baseball game. We rent a room at the ballpark and have burgers/dogs and all the fixings. It is well attended.

Some people don't celebrate Christmas but a ballgame is something most people seem to like.
 
We don't do a party, but I do give a weeks pay as a Christmas bonus the beginning of the month. There's only 3 of us though so it works out best for everyone.

Everyone's situation is different.

Merry Christmas,
Russ
 
We used to have a management Christmas party every year with open bar, etc usually at either a country club or conference center. However, after several "incidents" with the alcohol, it was verboten to have the open bar and it instead was a "Mandatory Year End Meeting". It was FORMAL, (i.e. Suit & Tie), catered etc but it was a meeting to go over results for the year. Even that has gone away now.

We have the option of setting up a big lunch for the department or the boss takes us out on the company. This year we went out.
 
This past week I said I would do lunch on Thursday for Christmas. Brought cokes, chips and dip, plates, little smoked wheenies, bread ect. 70 bucks. We are a small shop with only 14 people. was sure to tell everyone. I have all ways had some sort of Christmas get together where I worked. Be it me or the boss's help. Be 4 or 400 we have always done something for Christmas.

On the day of the event:
Jr. Boss says he's to busy, big Boss went and took lunch at his normal place down the road. 3 people showed up. I don't know what to think but it will be the last time I do anything for this place. I really miss the group gathering for at least lunch. Maybe this place is"what's good for me is good for everyone."
 
Interesting topic, aside from the PIA legal issues due to alcohol and folks acting irresponsibly then blaming the hosts for their DUIs; they are great for moral. When I worked in the veterinary field we an awesome party every year and as the Co. grew so did the venue, moral and bottom line. Know the last few Companies that I have worked for do not take advantage of party as a way to promote moral. It is a shame in way, that folks really don't want to grow the sense of family and working together towards a better and bigger business. You cannot always just look at profits and costs to make decisions in your company.
I personally may place too much emphasis on the sense of community and working to create a better stronger work force. But being just an employee I feel that the more you do for your employees the better it will be in long run (with most guys). Just being listened to and acknowledged means a lot to most people, a lot more than most employers realize. Those that do recognize this are the Companies that come out over others.

Just my .02
 
Sounds like that "Friends and Family of AMT" is intimidating to your workers. No one wants to party with the boss' family; even if the chicks are cool, it's fraught with danger concerning continued employment. The "friends" part is likely other shop owners or purchasing agents. Might I suggest this isn't a shop Christmas party at all?

We have a low key party every year, usually on Christmas eve. Everybody brings something to eat. We shut down about 11:30, throw paper on the benches, and chow down. A bottle of brandy magically appears to spike the eggnog. We go until about two and then everybody leaves. We pay the full day.

Former employees are welcome, spouses and girl/boy friends are welcome, but that's it. Sometimes one of our suppliers sales reps drops by with a cake, has an eggnog, and then has the good sense to leave. It's a good time for the troops to socialize, meet some of the folks others talk about, and catch up with those who have moved on to bigger and better things.

The party is for them, not the owners.

Dennis
 
Best one I attended was at a Chinese restaurant. One of the owners was Chinese. Things started at 7:30. We were still eating after midnight. Every dish was different. There was booze but no one got bent out of shape. It was the best meal I ever had.
Craziest was one where my wife and I walk in a bit before 8 and they are taking a guy out, one man on each limb. It was an open bar and in less than 30 minutes he had drunk himself comatose. Free booze at any gathering is not wise these days.
Have a safe and healthy Christmas or whatever you want to call it.
 
Folks,

Had our company party last night. Rented out a private room at a nice restaurant, hired a great piano player for 4 hours, open bar and great food all night, premium cigars afterwards, and then everyone went back to my house for more drinking, snacking, and singing around the piano. 23 people and everyone had a blast.

Of course only 2 of those people actually work for me. The other 21 were Friends and Family of AMT. My other 8 employees make excuses as to why they can't go, but in the end they just don't want to. I used to get offended but I don't any more. Now it's an excuse for me to throw a great party with all my favorite people in attendance around the Holidays.

So, do you any of you guys do a Holiday party of some sort? How's your attendance? Party cost me about 3Gs total. I coulda given everyone an extra $300 in their paycheck but this is more fun for me and if anyone ever actually came would build some morale me thinks. Your thoughts?
To me company party implies employees and their spouses. I'm not sure what "Friends and Family of AMT" means but I wouldn't attend a party that included the boss's friends and family or customers/suppliers.
 
Huh. Very surprised by the level of negativity in the responses. It only became "Friends and Family" after everyone confirmed they weren't attending. It's a joke - it was never labeled as such. As for disgruntled employees taking a stand against me because they're undervalued and underpaid and I must be flaunting new Rolex's and taking luxurious vacations all the time, well - I'm not even going to waste my time commenting further.

I think I heard on the radio that a survey was done that found 65% of employees would rather have an extra $50 in their pocket rather than going to a company Christmas party. I was just trying to get some insight from fellow shop owners on the matter.
 
I think people are just generally offering possible explanations for why 80% of your employees skipped the holiday party. I have no idea how happy your staff is but I will say that all but one of my eight person team showed up at our holiday dinner. Different people, different day, different whatever - still seems like there's some other explanation here.
 
Well, since it was recent and probably top-of-mind for folks, I would just ask if the group would like something else. Money, some different activity like go-karting, laser tag, a museum walk, bbq at the shop instead of a restaurant, block of tickets to Star Wars, whatever. It doesn't mean you have to stop having your party, but maybe it's not a "company" party any more.

Best way to foster teamwork is to communicate with the team. You may find you're not as connected as you thought you were, you and the team have different ideas of fun, maybe they aren't looking to spend even more time away from their families during the holiday season, or maybe it's a generational thing. I'd shoot for something that works for the majority of folks. Tell them you want to do something they'll appreciate, to show your appreciation, and then do it. You can change it up every year, too, based on pre-holiday input from all.

Chip
 
Huh. Very surprised by the level of negativity in the responses. It only became "Friends and Family" after everyone confirmed they weren't attending. It's a joke - it was never labeled as such. As for disgruntled employees taking a stand against me because they're undervalued and underpaid and I must be flaunting new Rolex's and taking luxurious vacations all the time, well - I'm not even going to waste my time commenting further.

I think I heard on the radio that a survey was done that found 65% of employees would rather have an extra $50 in their pocket rather than going to a company Christmas party. I was just trying to get some insight from fellow shop owners on the matter.
Does your crew work lots of OT and weekends? If so, the employees may just want some personal time to spend with family..
 
Last time I worked for someone else was in 1998. One of the things I miss about being an employee at a small shop was the epic Christmas parties. Most of the mold shops I worked in were 5-10 employees. We all helped each other. On occasions where a guy got maybe 20 hours behind on a job that had to ship the next morning, I've seen the other guys in a shop punch out at 5:30 and stay at night to help their co-worker make delivery. Those were some fun nights, someone would order a few pizzas, and we would work as a team to do 2 days of work in 4 or 5 hours. The day before Christmas vacation, usually we would have a party that lasted damn near all day and into the night. A table full of food to graze at, and some beer or booze. Usually a bonus check would appear at your bench at some time during the day. Wives or girlfriends were welcome, so were friends of employees, good customers, and any other "insiders" to our group. We would tell stories all day long and in general just kick back and enjoy being around each other with no work pressures. All of this took place at the shop, our "home" turf. I still kick back at my bench before Christmas break with an adult beverage, but it isn't the same without the guys there telling the same old stories about who drilled a hole through a cavity block too far, or who put bluing on someone's grinder handle three years ago. I miss that.
 








 
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