Friday night at 7pm is the perfect day and time for the celebration, according to a study of 580 office workers by Freedeliveryland.co.uk.
Many claim the thought of a party on a work night and the hangovers to follow the next day are too much to even contemplate.
Clocking off early on the day of the party is another must, with 3.30pm being the ideal time for bosses to let staff head home and start getting ready.
Six to seven glasses of wine per person is agreed as the perfect amount of booze for the duration of the party.
When it comes to food, a traditional roast turkey dinner, with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding is considered the ideal meal.
A small minority say they would prefer something a little more out of the ordinary, but accept that it would not be a ‘Christmas do’ without the standard fare.
‘A bit of a boogie’ after the food is seen as the perfect entertainment with respondents feeling an hour or so on the dance floor is ideal.
To top off the evening, many agree the boss or a senior manager making a fool of themselves would be the icing on the cake.
One respondent says, ‘Our work office do is always a bit of a laugh and is a bit like the perfect Christmas do. The wine flows, the company is good, we have great food and always round the evening off with a boogie. Watching the boss cut some shapes on the dance floor is guaranteed to have us still smiling about it weeks later.’
However, another adds that her company never gets the Christmas party right. ‘We’ve been going to the same hotel for years – the food isn’t great, the entertainment is dire and the boss is pretty stingy when it comes to shelling out on booze. As soon as we can, we make our excuses, leave and head for the nearest club.’
A spokesperson for FreeDeliveryLand.co.uk says, ‘The office Christmas party is one of those do’s you can’t get out of – you have to show your face even if it’s just for a couple of hours.
‘The people we spoke to were almost unanimous in the fact that if there was plenty of booze, good food and a boogie to round the evening off, then it was the perfect party.’
Further reading on Christmas
