The holidays bring out the best in all of us. People start to give, even if they only gave advice throughout the entire year. Bad things the kids do will slide a little bit more because you are being a little more loving. The friend you haven’t called in five years is on your mind but you still don’t call. It’s the thought that counts here, right? What I’m trying to say is here is an opportunity for you to be part of the holiday season. Along with Santa, Jesus, Best Buy, tree lightings, the Salvation Army, The Christmas Story and the mistletoe there is an amazing activity called the Holiday Party! Don’t act like you don’t know about the annual event hosted by your family, friends, job or local promoters. Let me see if I can set this up.
I remember my first holiday party. I got a guy to pick me up from the airport in a limo and we drove to this amazing building downtown LA. My estranged girlfriend worked for the company hosting the holiday party. I entered into the building and met her manager and then a couple of her coworkers. One of her coworkers was an asshole but hell I didn’t care I was just glad to see her. All of a sudden while getting half way dressed from a shower I heard gunshots from semi-automatic rifles. Wait a minute?!? This isn’t my holiday party, this is “Die Hard”. RIP Alan Rickman aka Hans Gruber. (Best Christmas Movie In My Book)
Holiday parties signify my favorite time of the year. I’m a host/emcee and part owner of an entertainment company called DC Money, LLC. Our job is to make your night as memorable as it can be. Personally I feel that each event I conduct is an opportunity to allow others to see just how I view fun. What makes a good holiday party?
Good Entertainment
People are coming to a holiday party to kick it with their crew at work but also to kick it with stuffy Larry and boring Susan. The entertainment needs to be able to captivate all audiences. For the last three years my company has provide Karaoke, a live DJ and a Host (myself) for the entertainment. How do you get boring Susan to loosen up? You have to interact with Susan to make her feel comfortable. This is almost the same with stuffy Larry who possibly believes that he’s still working with everyone around. Captivate the audience with a variation of music and stimulating entertainment and your holiday party will be great.
Good Food and Drinks
This is a place where a lot of holiday parties fail. Not everyone can rent out hotels or restaurants. You know your budget so work within it and make wise decision on good food and drinks. Some holiday parties are BYOB while others create holiday party drinks named after Naughty and Nice things. For instance, my girlfriend fell in love with this drink called the Scroogedriver! Awesome name! The food also needs to be on point. Whether it’s Uncle Yul or Aunt Loquesha cooking, someone has to give your party a reason to say “Damn that food was amazing.”
Being That Guy or That Girl
There is always a “That Guy” or “That Girl” at the holiday party. You know that one person that goes a little too far with drinks or possibly finds themselves doing dances that Jesus could not have commanded them to do. There is always one! I was that guy once. I had magically invented this drink called “Ice Water.” It was Patron and Ciroc on ice. At my first holiday party with my pervious company I decided that I was gonna drink six “Ice Waters” (12oz glass), one Patron and Sprite (16oz Glass) and two shots of a drink called “Stop, don’t think.” I was finished. Slurred and sloppy. But that wasn’t the best part. The best part was that I left the part around 10:30pm and got on the train to go home. All of a sudden I feel the conductor tap me on the shoulder and say “Sir, I don’t know where your stop is but the train is going back one last time.” I asked the conductor what time it was and he said “2:30 in the morning sir. What stop are you looking for…” I had been sleep on the train all that time without my amazing gift bag given to me by my company because it had been stolen. Don’t be “That Guy”.
This year I enjoyed returning to Washington DC to host my former employers holiday party. It was the debut of myself and my partner in crime. It was also the debut of me being at the holiday party strictly as a host and not a host and employee. Needless to say it was one of the best holiday parties to date. Great entertainment, great food and this time I wasn’t That guy.
