Economy Forces Changes In Holiday Office Parties

CAROLE FELDMAN

At O'Keefe Communications, employees will celebrate the holidays this year as they did last, with a potluck in the office rather than dinner at a nice restaurant.

"We have a lot of people in our office that like to cook and swap recipes and it worked out nicely," said Catie O'Keefe, president of the Washington-based media and event production company. "It was a good change of pace. I think it was so well received that we'll do it again this year."

Last year, at the height of the recession, many companies scaled back or canceled holiday parties altogether. Others donated to charities that money that would have been spent on parties. This year, even with signs the economy may be improving, many businesses still are reluctant to throw big holiday blowouts, especially after rounds of layoffs and pay freezes.

"Companies' budgets are still very tight," said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "They're not convinced their business isn't going to turn south again."

Tracy Bloom Schwartz, owner of Creative Parties in Bethesda, Md., remains optimistic. Corporate holiday parties, she said, are "coming back," although maybe not as strongly as in the past. Overall spending on holiday parties is being cut by about 20 percent across the board, she said.