Christmas Do's......and dont's.

Monday today. Not any old Monday but the Monday following the works Christmas do. A nerve-wracking and cringeworthy day for many as their Saturday night exploits are re-lived in the cold light of day. This year wasn't too bad for me in comparison to previous years embarrassment. I can't deny I was well and truly spannered and was guilty of a bit of profiterole-throwing and a couple of episodes of dirty dancing but that's about the long and short of it. Just to confirm my behaviour wasn't too offensive I made a furtive Sunday afternoon phone call to a more sober colleague who agreed that I hadn't upset anyone too badly on the night as far as he was aware.

Whilst this was of some relief to me I still wasn't feeling totally confident this morning. Given that, on the equivalent Monday in 2003 following my most notorious Christmas do experience, I had been completely oblivious to the storm that awaited me on my arrival at work, it was with no little trepidation that I entered the office today.

Everyone was quite quiet for the first half hour- so far so good thought I. In time little tit-bits of Saturdays activities were discussed confirming a couple of my misdemeanors but thankfully no skeletons were emerging . As the day wore on I was becoming more confident that I had come through this festively decorated minefield pretty much unscathed.

I was pleased. After all, this had been my 'comeback' do following my year-long suspension from works functions following the 2003 Xmas bash when I committed a catalogue of faux-pas and my own, self imposed two year sabbatical in protest at the afore mentioned suspension. I wouldn't have gone this year, to be honest, were it not for the fact that it was possibly my last Xmas do seeing as we will hopefully be living in Australia this time next year. But went I did and determined to have a blast, I succeeded.

They're an odd concept works do's. Drinking with people you don't really count as friends, people you wouldn't normally socialize with. People you don't know that much about really, even though you spend the vast majority of your waking life with them. So they can be quite awkward events to say the least, the very least. I think my little break from such gatherings helped, plus the fact that I'd spent a good portion of the afternoon in various Chester pubs by way of 'warm-up'. All in all it was a blinding night and more importantly I didn't make too much of an arse of myself for once. Which is nice.