Holiday parties are a staple this time of year. The calendar gets booked every weekend with events; the company party and obligations to friends and family this time of year can be exhausting.

When mixing the holiday with professional events, it is important to remember a few tips to avoid regret and over-commitments.

Here are my tips to survive the holiday work events and not kill your career

• Show up. This should be a no-brainer, but skipping the office holiday party will get you noticed, and not in a good way.
• Don’t be a complainer. Worse than not showing up is showing up and complaining about the location or the food. Nobody had to throw you a party and if you didn’t do the work to plan the event you certainly shouldn’t be ungrateful that someone did!
• Don’t drink too much. This is not a night out with friends and you should be on your best behavior. Alcohol loosens us up and for some, it turns them into really obnoxious assholes. Don’t be one of those.

I have been to company parties where someone danced on top of a table and unbuckled his pants before someone grabbed him and pulled him down. I’ve seen couples get in fights after they had too much to drink. And, inevitably, someone gets just drunk enough to tell the boss what they really think of him/her. All of those minefields are best avoided if you aren’t getting plastered.

My father taught me a wonderful trick when mixing business with alcohol. I have one cocktail and then sneak back to the bartender and give him a large tip. (Which reminds me, don’t complain about the cash bar. Your boss doesn’t want to hear that you think he is cheap and that you are ungrateful. And, tip your bartenders even if it’s an open bar.) Anyway, I tell the bartender that when I ask for another drink, put it in a cocktail glass with a stirrer but to not add any alcohol. This way while others may be getting boozy and thinking about climbing on a table for a impromptu strip show, I am remaining sober and not creating a humiliating and potentially career-ending YouTube moment.

Remember, it is possible to have engaging conversations and an enjoyable event without alcohol. It is also nice to not have to explain what you were doing in the corner with someone’s young assistant.

And, never call in sick the next day because of a hangover. Everyone will know and think you can’t handle your liquor.

• Don’t sexually harass your coworkers. Just because you’re out having a drink don’t feel someone up or make an inappropriate comment about how hot someone looks. You still have to work with these people. If you feel the urge to do this, leave the party…you violated a previous rule of drinking too much.
• Mingle. Introduce yourself to people you don’t know. Say hi to the boss (but don’t throw your arm around him or her and try to be besties). Make people feel comfortable and thank people that have helped you out throughout the year. It’s also ok to thank the people that planned the party. There is nothing wrong with being gracious.

Once you get past the holiday party, there’s a few other situations that often arise during the holidays at work.

If you deal with clients they probably expect a small token from you. This is true even if there’s a corporate policy against them accepting gifts over a certain dollar amount.

I have discovered that clients probably get a lot of bottles of wine or buckets of popcorn (our joke when we receive popcorn is that we must be a tiny client they hate.) So, I usually take some homemade treats or ask them out to lunch. I love lunch and getting to see my clients in a social setting and talk about something other than our business together helps build lasting relationships and is often more appreciated than dropping off a bottle of some wine they won’t ever drink anyway. And for the love of Pete…don’t drop off corporate logo mousepads!

I do prefer to schedule lunches over dinners. I’m a little selfish in that I like my evenings free, if possible. Chances are, so do my clients.

Keeping my evenings free allows me to spend time with my family and friends and that is truly what I love most about the holidays.

With that all said, I’ll see you at the next holiday party with my fake drink and genuine smile!