My wife works in the private sector for a medium-sized, family-owned business, and her employer stopped having a holiday party because he found out it was no longer tax-deductible. What an shiny happy person.
My employer has a holiday party that is so crappy, he has to beg people to come to it. The only reason I'm going it because I was voluntold that I would be the MC. (I guess that's what I get for skipping the holiday party planning committee meetings.)
Each of our major offices has (at least) one. The office I used to work in typically had a trifecta: carry-in lunch & white-elephant gift exchange(for the IT/IS staff, not sure what other departments did), an IT vs. Accounting lunch outing followed by the afternoon of bowling, then the official office party at a nice restaurant's banquet center - this typically involves door prizes, awards & recognitions, and last year they started a new thing where people put on a skit that then revealed the theme for the following year's Halloween decorating contest.
Those are really the only things I miss about working from home, but not enough for me to deal with the cold/snow to go back up there and join in. 
They make us pay for it, so I don't go.
If it's supposed to make me feel good, I should not have to pay for it.
alfadriver wrote: If it's supposed to make me feel good, I should not have to pay for it.
So...many...jokes...
maschinenbau wrote: Mostly dead. My company (50,000 employee automotive/industrial supplier) does a holiday luncheon at some of the plants where they feed us a large meal, but I wouldn't call it a company party. It's only for that one building and you still have to go back to work afterward.
yea... everyone always "goes back to work afterwards" 
We had a swanky gambling themed party this year. They rented out ballroom at a nice hotel in downtown Austin and had an open bar with food and casino games (BlackJack, Poker, Craps).
Our MI office is having an employees-only party this year, but I will be out of town at one of our plants, so while I'm missing the party I'm still getting some free food.
We have a pot-luck lunch in our shop. There is an official "holiday party" reception during work hours in which people shake hands with the director, eat mediocre food served by department heads, and generally act awkward.
In my mind a party involves alcohol and relaxing. The workplace isn't a wise place to do that.
Dead.
This year we're doing nothing? Lame.
I'd rather my company tone down the Christmas party, and build up my bonus check. I don't really need to party with those people. I don't even like working with them.
Plus, I work with a bunch of people who can't handle their alcohol, and are grumpy drunks. Last year took about 6 minutes and they were all sloshed beyond their ability to have a decent conversation.
I work from home, so my office party is low key. Last employer had a nice dinner that was usually sometime after the new year. Employer before that had a nice event every year.
We used to have a ton of food/candy dropped off by vendors. That too has been cut back.
I've been retired since the end of Q1/2014, and Annie retired a few months ago. We both worked at the same company for years. We were invited to this year's "unofficial" company Christmas party on Friday evening, and we will be going. The unofficial party was always better than the stuffy, pretentious, corporate affair. Always a veritable hoot. So I expect that it will be this year as well. I'm looking forward to seeing former colleagues and discussing politics and the election. Yes, we will definitely do that. Nobody will mind a bit. There might even be a good argument or two.
And tomorrow night we'll be going to a holiday get-together hosted by our financial advisory firm. No doubt it will be a more formal occasion than what we'll experience Friday night, but it'll include free food and drinks. (Well, not "free," per se, if you know what I mean).
slefain wrote: I just found out that the huge mega corporation I worked at for years killed off their holiday party soon after I left.
I'd take that to mean the party would be no fun without slefain, so why bother?
We dont do E36 M3 for christmas at work. When i started the owners did a lunch/small gift. Now were lucky we dont work it.
I don't do a holiday party per se but I do feed all my workers lunch once a month during the year. I would rather give each guy a little more in his bonus check than spend it on a party that they may or may not want to have.
Ours got axed during the 2000 downturn, along with the MUCH more fun summer picnic at old Coney Island in Cincinnati. The Christmas party used to be a formal, rather stuffy gig. I don't miss it at all. The summer party, on the other hand, is sorely missed by many except the check writer !!!
We had a big one for our division, at a banquet hall with dinner, drinks and dancing. Spouses and dates welcome. My wife has a company party with no spouse, and her division has a separate one for employees and spouses. (at the Hoffbrau House, my ideal location)
Not dead. The company I work for (a little less than 20 employees) has one every year and they pay to fly me and.the Mrs to Chicago, pay for a rental car and motel. Open bar, good food. Only downside is that is always way after Cheistmas. Last year it was in Feb. This year it's at least (barely) in January.
We all work from home, so this is the one time a year where everybody is together.
My company is awesome about it. It's a big affair too since we have ~165(?) employees now. Spouses and children are welcome. We use American Express as our corporate credit card, so they save all of the rewards money for that to make sure that every child that attends gets a gift delivered by Santa at the party. It's in a big hall, so the second half of the event is various corners of friends hanging out, children running around after each other in dresses or with light sabers/minecraft swords and spouses talking to each other (we're a friendly bunch so you get to know everyone's spouses at the various events throughout the year). It's a good time. The kids are always really excited to go and see their friends and Santa there.
Yes it's a tech company :)
I sort-of work for two employers. Both are doing "pot luck". I'm skipping both.
Pot luck? Really? So, you're throwing a party, and I have to bring my own food? That's worse than BYOB.
we have a party for the employee's kids. It is a really nice gesture, but that it is. As for my department, Christmas Day is the ONLY day my entire department has off. Otherwise there is always somebody (usually several) here running a show, even if it is only Comedy in the Music Box
We have one every year, it's usually super lame.
My wife and I went for an hour then went to a Starbucks that was completely empty and sat quietly for another hour. We didn't want to waste our sitter. The silence was pure bliss.
Went last night. It was a pretty good time. Bowled, had good drinks, decent food, schmoozed with important people, then left relatively early in the night. Still had too much to drink though. "Too much to drink" is now 6 drinks in a night--although I think that the White Russian I had was on the very strong side, so maybe its more like 8 or 9 drinks. I'm not in college anymore.
Venue was pretty good overall--a "fancy" bowling alley, if there is such a thing. You could go to this place on any random weeknight in a suit and you wouldn't look out of place--nor would someone in jeans and a t-shirt.
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