flamingo
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Post by flamingo on Dec 16, 2015 10:29:46 GMT -5
We are doing a luncheon this year at a local restaurant. I prefer the luncheon to a big shindig after work. I work with these people all day/all week and I usually just want to go home after work. My boss gets all of us in the group a $10 giftcard to somewhere (there are 13 of us). I then get my small group (I have 4 employees) a $10 gift card to somewhere different-this year it's Panera because they had a special on gift cards (buy $50 now get $10 to spend in January. So YAY $10 for me!). My small group also did a potluck last week. My company closes from 12/23 through 1/4 so that's really the best gift And, I'm off starting tomorrow afternoon, so Christmas parties be damned, I just want to make it to vacation!!
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Dec 16, 2015 10:37:25 GMT -5
Well I am in a satellite office that is supposed to go to the corporate HQ for official things. They had family fun day on Saturday and then a reception at 4pm yesterday for members. I did not go to either.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Dec 16, 2015 10:39:27 GMT -5
We have a potluck on Friday, it's usually pretty good, but I just found out I won't be in the office so I'm going to miss out this year.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Dec 16, 2015 10:43:24 GMT -5
we're having a catered office party with a Yankee Swap tomorrow. I bought a wine gift pack to put in the mix, a touch over the $15 limit, but whatever.
this is my first holiday season at this place, I have no idea what the culture is for boss/employee gifts. the boss that hired me took another position within the company recently, and one of my peers has taken over the manager position for the group - effective this past Monday. I doubt there will be anything going on in my group this year, even if it has in the past, just b/c everyone's so new in the relationships.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Dec 16, 2015 10:56:19 GMT -5
Well I am in a satellite office that is supposed to go to the corporate HQ for official things. They had family fun day on Saturday and then a reception at 4pm yesterday for members. I did not go to either. Since it was an hour and a half away. Every one else in my office is down in HQ at least once a week. So we won't do something office specific.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Dec 16, 2015 11:00:51 GMT -5
We do a catered lunch for all employees either at the plant or one plant is offsite this year. All employees get a ham as a gift. We had a sit down leadership dinner with spouses last week, paid for by the company (food and alcohol), plus all received gifts from my boss and I.
I give all of my direct reports gift cards for Xmas and a little something extra. I have a great team whom works for me! Man, getting a ham from your employer for Chrstmas, that's old school.
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gs11rmb
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Post by gs11rmb on Dec 16, 2015 12:44:19 GMT -5
We used to have a large scale party but it was scrapped and every employee receives a check for $75. My own department (6 people) will go out for lunch at a very nice restaurant.
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aprilleigh
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Post by aprilleigh on Dec 16, 2015 13:50:15 GMT -5
I work for my family business; my grandparents started the company (retired now) and my dad's the president. We have about 20 employees, and everyone's family is also invited. The Christmas party will be at my dad's house. He and my grandma will cook all day Friday, and it's always delicious! Usually my dad makes tri-tip (multiple, for so many people) on the grill. Then grandma plays "Mrs. Claus" and gives little gifts to all the kids ... ok I take that back. She plays Mrs. Claus, but she makes me be the "elf" and read the kid's names. We have several Hispanic and Ukrainian families, and she's terrified of mispronouncing the names! <3 It's pretty fun, but mostly for the guys with families. The younger single guys rarely come cuz there's no alcohol! This has been the tradition ever since I can remember ...
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Dec 17, 2015 9:54:21 GMT -5
We just had our holiday luncheon yesterday. We went to a nice steak and seafood restaurant. Had a champagne toast, appetizers, a nice meal and dessert (which most of us ate 2-3 bites of and took the rest home because we were so full). We closed the office after lunch and everyone got to go home which was nice. Like flamingo said, I prefer a luncheon to an evening event. I spend enough time with these people already.
My CEO bought all the ladies a Coach wallet this year. I am not sure what she bought the guys as she gave all the ladies our gifts on a day when the guys were at lunch together. We are a small office of 10 people. It was nice of her but I personally would have rather received a gift card. I found the one she bought me online and it is $250. I could have done a lot with $250. Her heart was in the right place but having a Coach wallet doesn't mean anything to me. I know it does to some people but I am just not one of them. Also, it barely fits in my purse. I don't carry large purses so it takes up way too much space for me. Yes, I will stop complaining. It is completely the thought that counts and I will shut up now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2015 10:44:12 GMT -5
I found the one she bought me online and it is $250. I could have done a lot with $250. Her heart was in the right place but having a Coach wallet doesn't mean anything to me. I know it does to some people but I am just not one of them. Also, it barely fits in my purse. I don't carry large purses so it takes up way too much space for me. Yes, I will stop complaining. It is completely the thought that counts and I will shut up now. Coach items are hot on E-Bay. Have you considered selling it on E-Bay or Tradesy? I'm a practical person and would rather sell a gift than just throw it in a drawer.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Dec 17, 2015 11:08:02 GMT -5
I found the one she bought me online and it is $250. I could have done a lot with $250. Her heart was in the right place but having a Coach wallet doesn't mean anything to me. I know it does to some people but I am just not one of them. Also, it barely fits in my purse. I don't carry large purses so it takes up way too much space for me. Yes, I will stop complaining. It is completely the thought that counts and I will shut up now. Coach items are hot on E-Bay. Have you considered selling it on E-Bay or Tradesy? I'm a practical person and would rather sell a gift than just throw it in a drawer. I thought about it. I have never sold anything online before so not sure how much of a hassle it may be. There is a second hand store that is extremely convenient and I thought about taking it there.
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snapdragon
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Post by snapdragon on Dec 17, 2015 12:35:43 GMT -5
Our company does a Sunday Brunch at a large restaurant/golf club every year. Every child of a employee gets a gift and a photo with "Santa." Than if people are interested after the brunch we troop over to a tree farm and they will pay for a tree up to a certain size. It can be really fun or trying depending on the year. But my bosses are really sweet people and actually fun to be around.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Dec 17, 2015 17:28:19 GMT -5
We just had our holiday luncheon yesterday. We went to a nice steak and seafood restaurant. Had a champagne toast, appetizers, a nice meal and dessert (which most of us ate 2-3 bites of and took the rest home because we were so full). We closed the office after lunch and everyone got to go home which was nice. Like flamingo said, I prefer a luncheon to an evening event. I spend enough time with these people already. My CEO bought all the ladies a Coach wallet this year. I am not sure what she bought the guys as she gave all the ladies our gifts on a day when the guys were at lunch together. We are a small office of 10 people. It was nice of her but I personally would have rather received a gift card. I found the one she bought me online and it is $250. I could have done a lot with $250. Her heart was in the right place but having a Coach wallet doesn't mean anything to me. I know it does to some people but I am just not one of them. Also, it barely fits in my purse. I don't carry large purses so it takes up way too much space for me. Yes, I will stop complaining. It is completely the thought that counts and I will shut up now. Sell it
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jeep108
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Post by jeep108 on Dec 17, 2015 17:32:23 GMT -5
My boss is having a Pizza party at his house. We have a wheel with different amounts of money on it that us hourly employees spin for. My daughter won me $328 spinning the wheel for me a couple years ago. The most I've spun is $80. I told her she needed to be my plus one to spin for me again this year.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Dec 17, 2015 17:51:09 GMT -5
They bring in a catered lunch to the office. The company buys a bunch of gifts and we do a white elephant (but they provide everything.) They give a lot of gift cards mostly to places I don't care for. It was an unspoken rule that the higher level people never took the big prize (there was always one or two biggies) but the new managers didn't get the memo. Last year the CEO'S wife whose net worth is 10 million won the big prize and lorded it over everyone. What an asshole.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Dec 17, 2015 18:24:05 GMT -5
Management usually puts on a gala at a hotel, with dinner and dancing. There's a raffle but no gift exchange. The unions have their own parties. Those are usually way more fun, as management is not permitted to go.
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sesfw
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Post by sesfw on Dec 17, 2015 19:15:09 GMT -5
The company I work for is a small electronics firm that is family owned. We have about 40 employees and that includes 4 of us that are part-time temps. Spouses and family were invited.
Our dinner party was at a local golf clubhouse, and was dinner (very good) and a band (loud) after. The owner passed out envelopes to all adults and each has some folding green stuff in it. Most were $20s but had a few $50s and at least one $100. DH and I both received $20s. Later in the evening all employees were handed another envelope and I was shocked. Me, a part-time temp, was given a bonus check of $200. I have no idea what the full time people received.
The owners are very charitable people and care about the people that work for them, and care about the business. I'm very glad I have this job with them.
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quince
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Post by quince on Dec 17, 2015 20:13:25 GMT -5
I believe my husband's company is taking their employees to see the Force Awakens. I would take that over food/drink/socializing. (though I expect there will be a restaurant with those three things before or after.)
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myrrh
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Post by myrrh on Dec 18, 2015 10:23:13 GMT -5
State employee here so we do our own party or we get nothing. So potluck and white elephant gift exchange ($10 limit.) It also served dual purpose as four people are retiring at the end of the year. The party was great. DH's company is taking all employees to see the Force Awakens as well. And DH got me a ticket! So we'll get to see it without having to pay for it.
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jelloshots4all
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Post by jelloshots4all on Dec 18, 2015 19:14:25 GMT -5
Phoenix, they have been giving away hams for years. We also give a grocery store gift cards at Thanksgiving. We are a manufacturing company, and I think our employees appreciate the ham. I know my parents appreciate the one I get (I don't like ham)
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Dec 18, 2015 19:29:00 GMT -5
Phoenix, they have been giving away hams for years. We also give a grocery store gift cards at Thanksgiving. We are a manufacturing company, and I think our employees appreciate the ham. I know my parents appreciate the one I get (I don't like ham) A lot of people don't eat ham. Jews, Muslims, vegetarians, Buddhists, etc. I don't eat ham, either.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Dec 18, 2015 20:06:54 GMT -5
I believe my husband's company is taking their employees to see the Force Awakens. I would take that over food/drink/socializing. (though I expect there will be a restaurant with those three things before or after.) I would not be happy with that as a gift.
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lurkyloo
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Post by lurkyloo on Dec 19, 2015 9:55:10 GMT -5
This is the season I miss being in industry Used to have a paid-for holiday dinner party with drinks (although the last few years the filet mignon was so undercooked I brought a creme brûlée blow torch after the first year of send-it-back-wait-45-min-receive-it-back-essentially-untouched). It was pretty funny; the second year we were passing the torch around the whole table because everyone had ordered the beef and gotten essentially raw lumps of meat including the lady who was 7 months pregnant. We also got 1-2K bonuses. This year, it was $30 each to go to the department lunch and back to work after. No bonuses, and I wound up organizing and covering cards and small gift cards for our support staff. To be fair the people who knew about the gift cards asked to contribute; I just felt ridiculous trying to collect $3 from everyone... Oh well, the lunch was interesting and the vacation thing fell out in my favor because I wind up with these two weeks off So looking forward to three days with DS at daycare next week! I'm cleaning the house, baking cookies, finishing shopping, wrapping gifts and getting a haircut, all guilt-free.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Dec 19, 2015 16:19:46 GMT -5
This is the season I miss being in industry Used to have a paid-for holiday dinner party with drinks (although the last few years the filet mignon was so undercooked I brought a creme brûlée blow torch after the first year of send-it-back-wait-45-min-receive-it-back-essentially-untouched). It was pretty funny; the second year we were passing the torch around the whole table because everyone had ordered the beef and gotten essentially raw lumps of meat including the lady who was 7 months pregnant. We also got 1-2K bonuses. This year, it was $30 each to go to the department lunch and back to work after. No bonuses, and I wound up organizing and covering cards and small gift cards for our support staff. To be fair the people who knew about the gift cards asked to contribute; I just felt ridiculous trying to collect $3 from everyone... Oh well, the lunch was interesting and the vacation thing fell out in my favor because I wind up with these two weeks off So looking forward to three days with DS at daycare next week! I'm cleaning the house, baking cookies, finishing shopping, wrapping gifts and getting a haircut, all guilt-free. Undercooked or rare? Filet mignon should be rare.
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milee
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Post by milee on Dec 19, 2015 16:54:57 GMT -5
This is the season I miss being in industry Used to have a paid-for holiday dinner party with drinks (although the last few years the filet mignon was so undercooked I brought a creme brûlée blow torch after the first year of send-it-back-wait-45-min-receive-it-back-essentially-untouched). It was pretty funny; the second year we were passing the torch around the whole table because everyone had ordered the beef and gotten essentially raw lumps of meat including the lady who was 7 months pregnant. We also got 1-2K bonuses. This year, it was $30 each to go to the department lunch and back to work after. No bonuses, and I wound up organizing and covering cards and small gift cards for our support staff. To be fair the people who knew about the gift cards asked to contribute; I just felt ridiculous trying to collect $3 from everyone... Oh well, the lunch was interesting and the vacation thing fell out in my favor because I wind up with these two weeks off So looking forward to three days with DS at daycare next week! I'm cleaning the house, baking cookies, finishing shopping, wrapping gifts and getting a haircut, all guilt-free. Undercooked or rare? Filet mignon should be rare. That. I don't mind if I have to actually chase it down to eat it.
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lurkyloo
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“Time means nothing now,” said Toad. “It is just the thing that happens between snacks.”
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Post by lurkyloo on Dec 19, 2015 19:31:22 GMT -5
Lightly seared on the outside, otherwise raw and cold to the touch. I was seriously worried that the creme brûlée torch was going to run out of fuel... Ironically enough, several people who wanted theirs extra rare reported receiving charred bricks. Not sure about the fish option, but the vegetarian one was basically supermarket cheese ravioli with what tasted like Prego; not what you'd consider upscale dining They eventually moved the party to another venue. Still, better than two years prior, when we were still hungry after the three course dinner.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Dec 19, 2015 21:41:57 GMT -5
We had our luncheon yesterday. It was fun. Every year we close at 1 pm and go to a restaurant. The company reserves a private room for the party. After the party winds down, around 4 pm, we get to go home. It was fun because they organized it well. We had trivia contests and everybody in the table contributed. The winners got a price. My table got the second price, which was a $15 voucher for the cafeteria for each of us. They also made sure to mix people, so I sat with others from different departments, and I got to talk and get to know them better.
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