Practical Tips for Business Parties

It's nearing the New Year, and your boss has decided to invite everybody to the company clubhouse for a dinner party. While everybody is excited and all, you can't help thinking that this is harder than it sounds. Navigate this one with care: your entire workplace is there to watch your every move. Remember to give some of our suggestions some thought before leaving for the party.

First things first, make sure you attend the party. If you cannot confirm your attendance straight away, then RSVP, and then make sure you attend the party. Attendance for a company dinner and dance is not explicitly compulsory, but turning down your bosses' act of goodwill isn't exactly a very good career move. While you may have a genuine reason for declining the invitation, it does not make your boss like you any better, only worse. Therefore cast aside all other commitments and attend - remember that your job is on the line.

Then, decide what to wear. Stop at something conservative. While this is a party, it is not the place and time to stand out. Let the hosts (your boss) take the limelight for the time, because this is his or her party. At the same time don't wear the same thing that you would wear to work. That would immediately classify you as a square, and would earn you nicknames at work. Instead, go for the more conservative or classic looks, and everything should go fine.

Do not go out with a blind date. While having no date for the party at the moment may seem of utmost concern to you, having no date is better than having a lousy date at the dinner and dance. Everybody at the party will have to get to know your date, and if they like him or her, you might have to answer random questions about him/her. Which might be slightly difficult considering that you barely know him/her either. On the other hand, your date could be horrendously looking and have the manners of an orc, in which case if you do bring him/her as a date, you'd find yourself having to explain away her behavior and endure the pity and ridicule of your colleagues for a long time.