sneakersmartinisandsequins

Last week saw me sitting through a 5 hour business update whilst dressed as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (to be specific, original Kristy Swanson Movie Buffy, prom scene) with stake and all. 

I was sitting next to Holly Golightly and Kath Day-Night, while watching a lady dressed as Wonder Woman explain our international strategy?!This was followed by an evening of cheesy music and not great wine. 

It can only mean one thing. The work Christmas Party. (In hot weather too, still not really used to that)

The funniest part of this evening would be my friend recognising the dancer hired to be Iron Man, as the stripper from her hen night. 

I have been lucky over the years to go to some epic ones, and some pretty tragic ones too. 

Very tasteful events with sit down dinners, where it’s actually all about the after party. Terrible nights with warm booze served off a trestle table. But all of them normally end up being pretty messy. 

But my most favourite ones will be those spent at Debenhams. A perfect storm of being in my 20s and early 30s, working with my best friends, and a company who got it. They knew that all we really want is a great location, some food, and a tonne of free drinks. Preferably good champagne and spirits. I’m also so glad these parties happened before the rise of social media and the selfie, most of our ridiculousness can remain hidden. 

Locations ranged from The Cross before they cleaned up that end of Kings Cross, Pacha, Paper & Glass, Cafe de Paris and The Egg. Keep your eyes open and you could pick up so much gossip, make friends with the EA’s and they always had extra drink tickets, stay until the end and Norman Jay would play the final hour. Always on a Thursday night, with Friday spent recovering in the office. Everyone drinking cans of coke and ordering pizza. 

It was early on when my group decided the best thing to do was rent a hotel for that night. It meant we could stay until the bitter end, get home easily, and sleep in on the Friday. We could then also get the necessary McDonalds breakfast on the way to work. 

But on an Assistant Merch and Assistant Buyers salaries we weren’t exactly staying at the Mandarin Oriental!  

The best experience was the Edward Lear. (I should say this was 10 years ago, the place is probably amazing now) Two of us were staying at the top in a not bad twin room, great location but we did only have a bath, no shower. But the other two were on the ground floor, not quite as good but at least they had a shower. Problem being the shower was in the bedroom itself. Just a glass cubicle wedged between two wardrobes?? 

I think that is still one of my favourite nights, laughing so hard one of us fell down some stairs and through a toilet door. (Totally not me!) only for a small Asian man to step over her as if it was an everyday occurrence. In that hotel it probably was. 

So get your Christmas on, go all out. It’s ok to make a fool of yourself. Someone has to, and it would be nice if it wasn’t me x