AIBU to think £40 ticket for an Xmas work party isn't obscenely expensive?

[Henners7]

My first post on MN having been an avid reader for some time! I genuinely don't know whether I am being unreasonable so would like some other opinions.

I work on a small, close knit team - something like a team of paramedics -and I've been here for a few years now. I organised the Christmas 'do' last year in a local restaurant (£20 not including drinks) and getting people to confirm places, menu choices, deposits etc was such a stressy and thankless nightmare I've refused to do it again.

We have (once again) left the xmas organisation very late this year because although e everyone says they want to do something no one wants to organise it. I'm up for pretty much anything I just think it would be nice to celebrate Christmas together. In the end a lady whose just returned from a long period of leave looked into the options we have left and floated the idea of a local nice hotel offering cocktail,nibbles, three course meal, disco, 'casino' and pre taxi bacon roll for £40.

As we work shifts she wouldn't have got a consensus/thoughts from everyone as quickly as she needed so she asked the hotel to hold 25 spaces for two weeks with the option of booking less spaces if some people didn't want to attend or bring partners.

Many of the team have said that £40 is far too expensive for a works do and we should just go out for a meal instead. However, no one will actually step up and organise this and i think once you've had a meal and a few drinks you're getting torwards £40 anyway. I understand some people just don't like work christmas events and that's fine, but everyone is saying that they definitely do want to do something.

Am I unreasonable to think they are being unrealistic? To get a meal and some entertainment somewhere decent at christmas these days isn't going to be £20. I'm one of the lowest paid of the team and I accept this.

AIBU to think either step up and organise something low cost, make an excuse not to be there or just pay £40? But don't moan at the only person willing to put the effort in and try and book something so late in the year.
How much would you pay for a similar package for a work christmas party?

What is a pre-taxi bacon roll LOL?!

It's really subjective isn't it, whether £40 is worth it or not. On the face of it £40 each (for everything you get) is ok...... But then again, if people are going to have to buy drinks on top, and also pay for a taxi, they may not get much change out of £120. (for the couple...) I certainly would not pay this for a works get-together. I would just go out with the 4 or 5 people I actually like, and have a pub lunch for a tenner!

Currently, my husband's workplace is organising a 'Christmas do' for 20th December, and in a 'posh' hotel, and has musical entertainment, and a 5 course meal (one is after eight mints and a coffee!)

They want £65 for it. EACH. Me and DH are not going. With drinks and taxi, we would not get much change out of £200 for that night. They can fuck right off if they think we're paying that to spend the night with a bunch of people from his workplace - most of who we don't even like.

As a number of posters have said, any decent boss or company would pay for their staff anyway. My BFF's boss paid for her and the 23 colleagues to have a meal last Christmas in a nice country pub, and even put on a bus for them. Cost him about £750 in total, but that is what you do when you care about your staff.

Plenty of companies could easily weather this amount for a Christmas meal for their staff, they just choose not to.

I've spent that before on a works Christmas party and it wasn't worth it. Dreadful food, poor service and lacklustre entertainment. On an nhs salary I refuse to do it again

£40 isn't a lot of money to me but i wouldnt be spending it on a works Christmas party much rather put it towards something with my actual friends

It’s good value for what is being offered. No venue is going to be cheap near Christmas

It is so annoying when people all say they want to do something, but no body says what or wants to step up and organise something. You then suggest something and they moan about the cost 🙄 organising a works do is the worst, thing is your never going to please everyone.

We've paid £45 for the school patents Christmas Do, it's in a fairly swanky spot though and there is "sprout purée" on the menu which I think is meant to be posh 🤣

*parents

BTW YANBU. I was the "do" organiser for many years in a previous role and it's a thankless task - you do everything wrong, everyone else knows better but won't actually bother their backside to book anything!

Your company should be paying for this. I've never worked for a place where staff pay for a Christmas do themselves... or know of any friends where this happens (except for someone who works in a museum where staff were asked to contribute a small sum). What kind of company do you work for? Sounds a bit mean!

It isn't a lot for what is being offered but I wouldn't have wanted to pay that to hang out with some of the people at my work.
We had the same issues and ended up going out for an alcohol free meal at lunchtime which was pleasant and people ordered and paid for what they wanted.
I go out with my friends at work in my own time.

In fact I remember in a bid to please everyone one year I found a lovely place that had a set menu but I persuaded them to offer us 1, 2 or 3 courses if we wished, so people could make it as cheap or expensive as they liked. 1 course was £13, I think 2 courses was £19 and 3 courses £25, in a restaurant that had great reviews and comments on trip advisor etc. They also threw in a welcome drink for everyone.

When I sent the menus round asking for a pre-order, guess what...."£13 for some turkey and sprouts!! This is SO expensive. Can we get somewhere cheaper" 😡😡 it's probably the closest I've come to telling a manager to fuck off.

Moral of the story - you'll never please anyone, especially not the moaning Minnies who are NEVER pleased.

I also notice it's always the high earners on £100k+ (doubtful their outgoings are high we live in a very cheap area) who are the tightest.

Previously I've worked for LG or the NHS and have literally never had a Christmas meal paid for. Nor has a manager ever bought their team so much as a drink.

I now work in a private school and the Do is paid for, I couldn't believe it when I asked what I owed and they looked at me like I had 3 heads.

hellomumsne any local authority or charity will expect workers to pay for their own event. People don't stand in the streets raising money for other people's staff xmas dinner and they don't their council tax for it either. In 20 years of work I have never had a work funded xmas function.

BTW I don't expect NHS or councils to pay for staff meals, nor should they.

love the number of posters who think that budget for a new outfit for the office christmas party is a necessary expenditure

£40 for an enforced "do" with people you're paid to work with and whom you may not actually like?

Nope.

@hellomumsne

Not being funny, but many companies expect the staff to pay for their own meal. Moreso than the ones who will pay for it for their staff.

It's a lot of money for some people to find, particularly close to Christmas.

For a £40 a head do, I'd expect that to be the company paying. I've only worked places where the company pays for Christmas do, or it's a buffet in a pub type.

Buffet food in a local pub, you should be able to get that closer to £10/15 a head. Then people can decide if they want to drink or not.

Op has said it's similar to a team of paramedics so really doubt they're having subsided Christmas events to all those demanding that the business pays for it. Not everyone gets a free meal at Christmas works dos. We don't get a drink. Public money innit?

It’s a good deal but I’ve never paid for a Christmas do for work so I wouldn’t love it

Thinking about it the places I’ve worked tend to throw a lot of money at things.

Obviously not always possible, depends on the sector

And if it’s NHS I can see why not

Here’s a different idea, which has worked really well in a previous workplace of mine. Forget doing anything before xmas, it’s an insanely busy time for most people anyway and prices get bumped up by venues. Why not go out for a long lunch or evening meal in January, call it an un-xmas do? That way it’s very unlikely to clash with other things as it’s such a quiet month and you will likely have the pick of venues with few other bookings and could work out quite cheap. I realise people are often super skint that month, but may work better. Good luck!

I like that idea Trilby but you can find that sort of thing is spoilt by people who are 'being good', doing dry January, or who are truely skint so can't even manage a cheap thing out.

Nice idea though and something we are looking at for a sporting group I'm involved in, partly due to lack of interest in doing something bigger before Christmas.

I'm private sector, and the xmas do normally falls to me to organise as most senior manager ( and because the boss can't be arsed and is unbelievably tight, although without fail every year has complained bitterly about my choice!)

We've tried everything from dinner at a hotel through to drinks at a local pub, BYOB restaurants, chi chi little local bistros and so on. Without fail, 50 percent of the staff complain about whatever is on offer without coming up with an alternative.

One year we managed £10 a head for food at a pub ( required to allow us to book a table/ area) with everyone paying for their own drinks on top. Food was things like wedges, sausages, chicken wings, Pitta and hummus etc. Huge spread of food, everyone's dietary requirements covered. People STILL complained. ( Boss most loudly, who hadn't even put in for his share and ended up being comped by me!)

Last year we went to the pub. Rounds were running out at £70 a time. Two people ( including me) got rounds in , then everyone else left!

I've got absolutely no idea what to suggest this year, apart from forgetting the whole thing altogether!

A disco or casino sounds like hell to me even though I really like my colleagues. I'm spending much more thsn that on my own Christmas thing but that's because it's with my friends. So not a lot for what it is, but it is if you don't want to attend anyway

We keep things simple in our team and have a christmas coffee rather than a meal. Saves all the faffing around with bookings, deposits, childcare, food options, no-one wanting to step up to organise etc. Much easier to pop to starbucks to have a coffee, cake and chat.