I'm not sure we've ever had a discussion about this... What do you all do for a company Christmas party? I spend a lot of time working for one homebuilder, but have no boss or employees, so I don't have the headache of hosting one. The builder has a handful of employees that do interior trim, service work, and some of the labor and material handling on the job, but pretty much everything else is done by subcontractors. On Christmas eve they pick one of the houses under construction (usually one with heat already), and just buy some fried chicken and potato salad and cookies, and plenty of beer, and everybody quits working around 11 a.m. (Well, that's not quite true--Their guys pretty much pretend to work until around 9, then stand around until 11, waiting for the party to start, but I digress...) Usually there are two framing crews, a masonry crew, a couple of concrete guys, and a couple of plumbers and electricians. Some of their office people show up too, as well as the company owners. There were probably about 35 people there today. It's nice and informal. An excavator friend of mine always hosts dinner at a nice restaurant, on a Saturday a few weeks before Christmas, and invites his guys, and some others that he depends on for different things throughout the year, along with their significant others. It's not formal, but you should clean up a little for it. That's usually around 15 people. It's nice too, (maybe even nicer, cause you can order anything you want), but it's obviously very different than what the homebuilder does. Like I said, I don't think we've ever really discussed it before, so I'm just curious. What's everybody else here do?
My boss rents the back room of a bar and grill. Buys everyone a steak dinner and all the beer we can drink. Then does a Chinese Christmas (Yankee trader) for some very nice gifts like flat screen Tv's yeti coolers, etc. then we get our bonus and a gift card for new work boots. Always a good time. We are very fortunate to have a boss this generous.
We used to always do a large BBQ and give gifts on Christmas Eve for lunch. Always good food and great people. That was the good ole days working for a small company.
good meal, lots to drink lol and two weeks paid vacation, all good and a Merry Christmas to all
Hey digger242j that excavator friend of yours, sure sounds like my Christmas party. I know we are really close to each other . But if it's not the same. That's exactly what my owner does. The sat night dinner, makes me think it's the same since we get to order whatever we want to off the menu
I know from reading your posts that it's not the same outfit, because he doesn't have the equipment you've posted about. It's always a nice evening though. I didn't mention earlier, that his significant other makes this popcorn stuff, absolutely addictive, from a recipe so secret she won't even share it with her Mom, and everybody gets a big tin full of it.
I don't have any employees, I have 1 customer that always invites me to the company xmas party the week before, u can drink & have anything off the menu that you want. ( every year its held at a different place) then he always gives me the same xmas bonus that all the other employees get I take very good care of him!! I have other customers that wont even wish you a merry xmas or happy new year tho...
No popcorn for me digger ha ha. Sounds good though. I did win a pair of the owners personal penguins tickets for a game this year though.
we usually celebrate with cutting the cake...
Sounds good to me
did a catered event for the employes and their familys here at the shop. had around 20 people show
Well where I worked for years there were more or less two parties. First one was a week or two before Christmas at a local restaurant, actually a fairly nice place, wives/girlfriends invited. One or the other, not both! There was a two drink max, but if you "needed" more you could pay for yours. Then on the last work day before Christmas around 9:00 break time the bench in the shop was cleaned off and out came the "refreshments" along with the cookies and such people brought from home, some of the cookies were almost a strong as the drick being soaked in Rum! Then after a couple hours boss decides to send everyone home before anyone gets hurt at the shop. Hard to believe but don't think anyone ever got stopped on the way home! Things changed over the years, party with wife invited dropped and replaced with a frozen turkey and a canned ham, no more drinking at work but let go home around noon with full days pay. Now days as most are being laid off for the season there are maybe two or three of us still working the last day and we get to leave maybe 15 minutes early. Also "back in the day" we got a Christmas bonus, it was based on years of service I believe the max was a check for 120 hours pay. When new manager for the region came in he made a point to tell us he did not "pay people not to work". Also "back in the day" there was the company clam bake for just the employees, all you could eat or drink paid in full by the company! One of the "Joys of working for major world wide corporation"! Who just sold off a division for $1.4 billion! So no way they could afford a lousy steak dinner for us!
KShansan, it seems that the "higher ups" forgot where their bread is buttered.. its happening in every company that I know of, save on the little things that make the employees happy to show up to work & work hard...then they wonder why no one wants to work for them show up on time... I saw a tee shirt while back that said " the beatings will continue until moriale improves"
Very true! Years ago there was very little turn over of employees and many new ones were related to current employees. Now days there seems to be a much higher turn over and I for one would have a hard time suggesting someone apply for a job. Just a couple months ago the lady who ran the office at our plant retired after 38 years with the company. We did have a luncheon in the shop for her, but the area manager who's office is 1/2 hour drive from our plant could not be bothered to stop by to say "Thanks for your years of service" and his #2 man could not remember the right day to show up! I will be retiring the end of April this year, after 44 years, and I would just as soon they stay away again!
Just don't tell anybody.LOL