Glitzy Office Holiday Party is Dead, Long Live the Office Holiday Party?

Ah, the holiday office party, awkward and inebriated affair that it is. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times covered the decline of the holiday party trend, saying the recession means companies are pulling back on spending, so it's less champagne for the interns and more "office potlucks, client lunches, charity projects, and holiday snacks with less alcohol flowing," according to the Times. Statistics are grim: "Nationwide, 79% of companies will throw some kind of holiday event this year, a 2% drop from last year and down 16% from 2004, executive search firm Amrop Battalia Winston said." And here's what PR firm Casey & Sayre, a group which represents developers like Rick Caruso and CIM Group, did this year: "[The firm] 'adopted' a family this year and headed out to a Target store Tuesday to buy Christmas gifts for the parents and their seven children, [Barbara Casey] said."
· Office holiday parties are fewer and less elaborate [LA Times]