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The first of the work End of Year parties was today. (We aren’t allowed to call them Christmas parties, but we are allowed to have a Christmas Tree in the foyer. Go figure.) We are a large team - 40 people - over two locations, so in the last few years we have opted to have our parties at work - one at each location - and run a Trivia Quiz. We have prizes too - usually Christmas gifts given to us from vendors, or items won at conferences, and the like. One of the guys makes up a song to the tune of a well known carol or TV theme, and he also creates little posters of us by pasting our head on the body of a movie character. Some of them are hilarious! It sounds really daggy, but they’re actually a lot of fun. Word has gradually spread that our area knows how to put on a good bash, so this year we were given the job of hosting a party for the entire Division - just over 100 people!

It sounded like a good idea at the time, until I thought it through. Firstly, no one actually asked our staff if it was OK for other people to come to Our Party. Unfortunately, the decision has generated some ill-will, with some staff declining the invitation and effectively boycotting the party, and one of the teams organised their own luncheon instead. Secondly, no one accounted for the extra time and effort required to organise what has become a much bigger event. The core team of 5, including me, have been preoccupied with party matters over the past few weeks and consequently been much less productive than usual. (One of the  supervisors has complained to me, and justifiably so! I can see my boss’s face now when I explain that I haven’t completed my assigned work because I was too busy wrapping prizes. That will go down a real treat!)

Today was a complete write-off. All I did was go shopping, chop fruit and veges, prepare platters, attend the party, and do a post-party review to fine tune things for the next party on Friday. It feels wrong filling in my timesheet knowing that today work effectively paid me to cut up carrots. The next two days will also be pretty much write-offs. I may have to go in to work on Saturday to catch up on my real work. One thing’s for sure, next year someone else can take on the mantle of Event Manager. I’m done.