Having your work Christmas party in January means you’ll have time to savour the occasion and look forward to the year ahead, rather than trying to fit the party into the next few hectic weeks.
Does anyone contemplating a work Christmas party feel a bit fatigued or frazzled in advance? As in, yes it will be fun, but also there’s already WAY too much to do in these next four weeks, especially if you’re going away for Christmas (me) and even more so if you’re hosting your extended family for it.
Many of us are ‘time poor’ in December, as we try to squeeze two or three months’ worth of tasks into just one month. You’ll likely have work deadlines looming, and at the same time need to prepare for Christmas. When it comes to a work Christmas party, you might be busy that evening, or perhaps you’d prefer an early night (if you have kids, the babysitter is probably busy). Sometimes people just attend Christmas parties because they think they should, then maybe leave early (or don’t attend at all) because they’re exhausted.
So here’s an idea: why not hold your Christmas party in January? Perhaps not the week of January 7, when people are still trickling back to work, but how about the week beginning January 15? It would be something to look forward to, and help negate the post-holiday blues.
You might have the party at someone’s home, but if you need to book somewhere, more party venues are available in January than they are in December, and often at lower prices, which means more money to put on the bar tab! And if you drink a little too much, or barf out the window of your Uber, you don’t have to go Christmas shopping or hang lights on the tree the next day.
You could call it a ‘January Christmas Party’ and do the usual Christmassy things: Christmas crackers, Santa hats, tinsel etc. Or you could call it a ‘Summer Soiree With Rosé’, minus the Christmassy part. Either way, it’s a nice way to relax and savour the occasion. You could treat it as a chance to look forward to the year ahead, and maybe talk about your successes and your hopes (though just ignoring work stuff and getting through a lot of rosé is great too).
A ‘January Christmas’ can apply not just to workplaces but to other groups too: for instance your social sports team or, in my case, my book group. We’ll be having Christmas drinks in January!
Christmas stress is real
In a Psychology Today article called ‘Holiday Blues: Why Christmas Causes Stress’, American sociology professor Dr Thomas Henricks points out that “it may be, as the song has it, that Christmas is ‘the most wonderful time of the year’. But that hectic festivity may also be the circumstance for unwanted stress or anxiety.”
“Christmas,” he writes, “has become a time to go and do. People rush about buying presents, cleaning and decorating houses, making travel arrangements, and preparing elaborate meals. There are [also] parties to host and attend.”
So why not take your work party off your list until January? I know a few people who do this already. One jokes: “Heaps better. Celebrating that awful Xmas thing being over!”
A friend of mine says: “I like the idea because in January it would be no big deal to postpone it to February. From February, it’s only a short postponement to March. A short hop of a postponement brings you to April. Any fool could postpone that to May. From May, why not June? June sounds like July with a few Christas eggnogs. Then there is actually snow but who has time for Christmas in ski season? That takes you to October and a few more postponements to January because then Christmas is ‘so last year’”. YES VERY FUNNY MATE.
My friend has a point though. There’s the risk that the party will be postponed as January seeps into February. To get around that, set a date – and if you need to book somewhere, do it NOW.
Some people will be adamant that the Christmas work party should happen in December. It’s a way to cut loose as the holidays beckon – and it’s tradition. But if you’re not as attached to that idea, why not make a new tradition that works for you and your colleagues? Christmas party in January, anyone?
