IME most people go to the Christmas party under duress anyway, but feel they have some kind of obligation to go and socialise with a load of people they probably don’t like because of office politics.
My mum never went to the office Christmas party, and neither did she participate in secret Santa on the basis it’s a waste of money and people just buy a load of tat because for the price you can’t really buy anything worth having, and as she didn’t want to participate she didn’t.
The number of people who felt that they were able to not go/not participate in these events because she didn’t give a shit whether people objected was significant. As was the number of people who talked up the Christmas party, said how people should all go etc, and then, about 2 days before would say they wish they didn’t have to go to the bloody thing was also significant. And she was one of the most valued employees there.
I’m not currently working, but in the first company I worked for they had this major social aspect. It was expected that you attend the Christmas party where there was a free bar and most people drank so much they could barely stand.
It was expected that you go to team lunches/dinners,
It was expected that you be a member of their social club and so the list goes on.
And partners were very much not encouraged, and as such the numbers of people having affairs with other co-workers was unreal. And this was a big, corporate, financial services organisation.
I would check what kind of event it is, i.e. is there a corporate aspect to it. But nobody should be forced to stay at a free for all where people are expected to get pissed at the free bar.
As for PP saying she’d think twice about giving a job to someone who didn’t attend the Christmas party, I’d imagine a lot of people would consider whether they wanted to work for someone who was so focussed on their work social life that their employees’ jobs depended on it. Certainly not an attractive look for a manager.