The fundraiser’s guide to the Christmas Party

In the corporate world, people get into the festive spirit with pay rises, hefty bonuses, and fancy black-tie Christmas soirees. They slowly take their foot off the work pedal in the week leading up to Christmas and grind to a complete halt around December 21.

This is in stark contrast to fundraising where Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year.

Rather than a pay rise or bonus to ease the cost and stress of Christmas, a £10 Secret Santa and a glass of Lambrini is often the only salvation.

If you fall into the latter category, look upon it as a stroke of good fortune. We’d rather be in the local Youngs with a small team of people we like than at The Savoy in a £150 rental tuxedo with 500 people we barely know.

If you’ve been to one of these events, you’ll know that they’re often cringe-worthy, mutual back-slapping affairs that begin with a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation about the growth of the company, the very antithesis of Christmas.

We also get the distinct impression they’re used as pseudo appraisals of how people present themselves after a few drinks … if you’re sat next to a senior manager from some other team, are they secretly taking notes on how well you’re doing? Are you asking the right questions about the intricacies of their job? Are you coming across as boring because you’re only talking about work?

It’s a minefield that people often choose to cross with the aid of alcohol.

All too often, we’ve seen the negative feedback loop of dulling the sense of awkwardness with wine. From a glass of red thrown over a pristine white shirt to a foam fire extinguisher being set off, the damaging effects of over-the-top Christmas parties outweigh the positives.

The best-case scenario? You get to sit at a table with some friends, eat your food in peace, and have a couple of drinks. Something you can do with ease on a shoestring at your local pub - something fundraisers know how to do better than anyone.