Helpful Company Holiday Christmas Party Etiquette

Read About the Dos and Don'ts for Business Christmas Holiday Party Etiquette

Common and frequent etiquette mistakes at a company holiday Christmas party are very likely to be silage for the upcoming days and most surely be discussions for future business parties. One of the more common of these miscues include excessive celebrating. According to many surveys, these inexcusable business holiday Christmas party etiquette violations occur in about 15% of those situation with a hosted corporate holiday party. And, these can definitely, and usually do, have an impact on the violator's career growth within the company. Here are some of the more common mistakes made by employees at holiday company Christmas parties, which should be must reading for all those attending such a function.

Excess Consumption of Alcohol - Drinking Excessively

Perhaps, one of the most common mistake made at these type holiday company parties include a situation with lots of well-dressed men and women, all, or most, with drinks in their hands, all laughing, a drink is spilled, yet one of the guests simply continues laughing. All too often this occurs, and usually without the offender even realizing he has misbehaved or acted in an unprofessional manner. With this being such a common practice, many companies are curtaining the use of alcohol that is served at these events. However, the guests cannot or should not rely on the company to ensure they act professionally during the celebration. Here are some drinking tips for your Christmas holiday party celebration:

* Limit your consumption to, say, two drinks

* Never mix the type drinks you are drinking

* It is better to drink soft drinks, coffee, water, or tea

Gorging Yourself with the Food, Eating Excessively, and Exhibiting Bad Table Manners

All those attending a corporate Christmas holiday party celebration usually know that beverages and food, of some sort, will be served at the event. With this knowledge, all the party guests should be considerate of how the other guests will approach them, and, in particular, exercising good etiquette like ensure your hands are clean, and, certainly, avoid talking or laughing with your mouth full. After all, the last thing you want to happen is your hands have greasy food, you mouth full, and an important person, like your boss, walks up to greet you with a handshake. Wow, talk about a bad situation. What do you do? Here's a few helpful hints to keep in mind:

* Avoid walking around with numerous hors d'oeuvres

* Never return buffet food, and certain stay away from any double dipping

* Make sure you discard your napkins, toothpicks, and so on properly

Talking Too Loud or Excessively - Don't be Heard Above the Crowd

At parties and gatherings like these, most of the guests will tend to gravitate and spend time with their own colleagues and direct managers. But, during various times of the evening, you should speak socially with as many people as possible. But, in order to do this, you will likely need to limit your time with any one person or group. Generally, most executives will attempt to speak to as many of the employees as possible, including you, so you will certainly want to avoid appearing bored with this executive or any of the others in attendance. To help you with this goal, here are some suggestions:

* Keep your conversations light and avoid lengthily, in-depth discussions about anything

* Attempt to limit each conversation to five minutes

* Avoid any complaining (see below for more about this), especially if it is excessive

* By all means, be sure and Thank your party hosts and / or organizers

Inappropriate and Unkind Comments Along With Excessive Complaining

Since it is a gala event and most guests will want to share their time with lots of the others in attendance, you should keep each conversation brief. This is the time for celebrating the successes of both the employees and company for the year. It's meant to be the biggest time of the year for a cheerful and mood. It is not unusual for conversations to be heard by others who are standing nearby, and it is quite common for those people to add their own spin to the story. An inappropriate comment can easily and quickly be taken out of context and rapidly become included in the rumor mill with your name attached to it. Consider these suggestions for engaging in your conversations:

* Try and stick to save and generic topics to discuss

* Compliment your managers and colleagues

* If someone else begins an inappropriate, unkind, or complaining, change the subject