Holiday Traditions 2014: Office Party/Ugly Sweaters

Holiday traditions mean office parties.Some office parties include themes and party games, but these evolve and change depending on people and fads. If you MUST attend the holiday parties, because your office is so small you would be obvious in your absence, act as a documentarian AND have laryngitis. And wear an outfit that speaks for itself.

This year's Caramoor Office holiday party involved three thematic components:

Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Guess Who I Am??? "celebrities:
and
the Holiday CD Swap.

The whole ugly sweater thing this has taken on a life of it's own. I did order one, for better or worse, but it never did arrive. I kept telling one of the organizers that the theme needed to extend to wearing Christmas tree skirts and Christmas capes, because she had a skirt and I had a blanket. With no sweater arriving in time, I decided to wear a bunch of my own crafts. Either an homage to Jacob Marley with a "chain" scarf and all-black, Bah! Humbug! (Can we make a CURMUDGEON category?) or my Christmas cape with an extra embellishment on the back.

 I never had a chance once I saw the competition.

People made their own sweaters, and Christine's "pug"ly sweater and Christmas Tree Skirt combo was a killer.

And SOME secure dude unashamedly went into his granny's closet and "borrowed" his grandmother's very special sequined cardinal Christmas sweater ... and walked away as a contest winner in the category of:
"What, did you borrow that from your grandmother?"

 Then we had people who somehow ended up cluing us into their secret celebrity identity. 

 The holiday brought unlikely political types together.

Much merriment was made.

 

Meet Beyonce and Hugh Hefner (above l-r).

 By all kinds of stiffs. Doubles even.

 It's so nice to celebrate with color, not shades of black, white, and gray ... 

 

 

I was doing my best to muffle my coughing jags, hide the fact that I was still sick, and not touch anyone/anybody to spread the germs. It's hard not to cough when laughing that Tammy won the contest for the loudest sweater,

 

or that our CEO was inadvertently doing "jazz hands" and looked ridiculous, thanks to his holiday ugly sweater dressers...

Or to exclaim over the CDs that were exchanged as part of the activities. We were supposed to bring one to exchange. I made a mix CD, and was the only one, but everyone else exchanged "real ones." From hits from the 80s, to folk, to Weezer to my very Afro/Celtic/Muse/PianoGuys/McCreary mix*, it was eclectic.

 It was a wonderful afternoon, with lots of wonderful people, and good food.

And that's no bull....

Which is actually another office party game, but one we didn't play.

*Here's my set list for the CD. 

photos by iTouch