I was in my mid 20's, a recent college grad just starting out at my first professional job, when I was invited to the event we all dread...the office holiday party.
I had only been at my job for a few months, I was friendly with my co-workers, but didn't know any of them too well. As a result I found myself reluctant to attend as I felt somewhat out of place.
My company was not large, we have maybe a few hundred employees. We manufactured technical equipment used in a variety of industries, the manufacturing team, customer service, and finance teams all worked at our campus. We also had sales people who were based out of their home and worked in small regions of the country.
I worked in customer service, so I knew most of those folks, as well as those in finance. The manufacturing and sales groups I only knew of by name or a brief phone conversation, none had I met in person.
The company had set a record for profits this year, so they were going all out for their holiday celebration with big ticket raffle items and a catered dinner. The event was being held at a upscale hotel downtown on a Thursday after work. This gave the sales people an opportunity to fly in so they could attend, and fly out the next business day.
Sales had booked rooms at the hotel for each of their representatives. They had a reputation as heavy drinkers, something I've learned is common among salesmen.
I ultimately chose to attend. I figured it would be a good opportunity to network, and maybe I could win a raffle. The rumors were that there would be several cash prizes of $1k or more, and even some 75" tv's. I confirmed the tv portion was accurate when I saw the boxes in the party coordinators office, so I had to assume the remainder of the prizes was also accurate.
The day of the party finally arrived, everyone was dismissed early so they could go home and prepare for the evening. As it was a upscale event, I went home, showered and put on a grey suit.
I took a look in the mirror, I wore a light blue shirt, pressed and crisp. The suit fit moderately well, it was off the rack so it was not a perfect fit, but luckily it looked good. I am 5' 8", and hit the gym most days, so I was lean and muscular, which helped fill out the suit.
When I arrived at the party most of my fears were realized. People were split off into little cliques, with each group choosing tables with their respective groups. I found a table somewhat near the back with a few co-workers I was friendly with and sat down for the meal.
Both prior to and during the meal there was an open bar, so alcohol was flowing pretty freely and you could tell some people had already gone overboard. Following the meal the raffle began.
All employees had their name in a bowl that was drawn at random, and the first prize went to a customer service representative who won a Fit-Bit. When you won you went to the front of the hall to receive your prize. The prizes were handed out by one of the VP's of sales, who was dressed as Santa Claus.
Apparently there were some gag gifts as well, because the second raffle winner was from sales, and the prize was a werewolf mask. Bowing to peer pressure he put on the werewolf mask to howls from the crowd.
Several more raffles occurred, jumping from real gifts (TV's etc.) to gag gifts, which appeared to be random seasonal items the got on sale. There were Halloween masks, decorative pool floats, and little decorative items.
I had decided that I had enough and stood to make an early leave, as I rose I heard my name being called from the front of the room. As I was already standing all eyes turned to me, and I had no choice but to make my way forward to collect my prize.