Do an internet search for 'office Christmas party tips' and the danger of excess drinking comes top of the list. Remember to provide alternatives - soft drinks, plenty of water and something to munch on. Also remember bosses can not allow under-18s to drink.
The Christmas party is not the place to conduct a performance review says bytestart.co.uk You may say more than you mean to and even if you say good things, this may raise expectations which, left unmet, lead to resentment. Instead why not learn something new about the 'other life' of the people you work with?
Secret Santas are fun - just remember to set the spend barrier low - ten quid may not seem much to you but what about the office junior? Themes add to the fun, for example the caveat 'it must be something that can be worn' means gifts can be worn to the party. Alternatively, you could raise an office donation to a favourite cause.
Think about how staff will get home. What time does public transport finish and what are the local cab numbers? If an employee has clearly drunk too much at an office event employers have a duty of care to make sure they get home safe.
Christmas parties are about having fun - remember that and you're on the right track.
Times may be tight but that doesn't need to spoil the Christmas party says Charity Business CEO Mark Freeman
The starting point for any organisation is looking at the beneficiaries of the work you do - the stakeholders - and understanding their situation and the mood in the marketplace before simply going off and doing what you did in the past.
We've looked at our clients and the bulk of them aren't having Christmas parties because times are tough - so a major Christmas party with a big spend would not be gauging the mood of the area we work in.
But also it's about realising internally that people work hard and deserve to have the opportunity to enjoy themselves.
So this year we're doing what we've done in the past which is having an office party within the office itself . To increase the fun we're also having a theme - which is again something we've done in the past - I can't reveal this year's theme but in the past our 'pink' theme was a great success.
In past office parties we've got everyone participate by bringing in their own bits of food and then doing a raffle with proceeds donated. This year we've decided that senior management would 'host' the party providing the drinks and food.
There's always going to be internal politics and people asking why couldn't we just go out to the pub - the important thing is explaining the rationale and making sure that everyone has the chance to participate - for example we always run a secret Santa. It also helps that our parties are staged during the day not after work.
At the end of the day it's about remembering to be light hearted and the ethos of the season. Christmas is about giving not receiving and it's important to think about what your organisation is trying to give to employees or to customers at this time of year.
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