The (7th Annual) Freelancer Christmas Party

It’s that time again! Yup, my solo self-employed Christmas party for one!

I’ve been freelancing for nine years now, but I started throwing myself a holiday party seven years ago after feeling sad that I no longer got to attend an office Christmas party.

I’ve had one every year since!

I can’t believe this is year SEVEN for my annual party!

This year, I was planning my usual solo party when I realized I didn’t need to be COMPLETELY alone.

After all, I may work alone, but there were plenty of other people in my “office building” who were happy to celebrate with me.

Behold! The first building-wide office Christmas party!

My first stop was the building’s third floor. The party planners have a suite there and they’re always throwing wild parties for no reason at all. They even have a HOT TUB right in their office!

I decided to pay them a visit and drop off a holiday card. It gets super rowdy up there in the evenings. Sometimes when I’m working late, I can hear them carrying on and splashing loudly.

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There’s a popular bus stop near my office building where I hang out with some lovely friends. While none of us technically get on this bus when it arrives, we do stand at the top twice a day so it’s an important part of our daily routine.

I invited these ladies to come into our building’s lobby for hot coffee/tea and a light breakfast. We had a great time and I didn’t take any pictures other than this one. Merry Christmas, ladies!

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There’s a huge plastics company right down the hall from my office, and this year they invited me to a holiday Lunch and Learn. I happily accepted.

I’d hoped it would be on something helpful, like accounting tips or marketing, but the topic was “How to avoid getting attacked by the building’s security guard.”

Their tactics seem a little extreme but I promised to do what I can to help them. They’re nice folks and super quiet office neighbours.

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The head of our building’s tech support team is also the co-owner of my entire office building, but he’s so chill that you’d never know. He has a very relaxed vibe that’s nice when I’m feeling stressed.

We had lunch together in the building cafeteria. I really think there’s something happening between us. 😍

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Later that afternoon, my office building’s security guard hosted a wineless wine and cheese. Her hygiene was questionable as she kept sniffing the cheese cubes I’d pick up.

It was nice of her to invite me to her office, though. Typically she’s just waltzing into MY office whenever she feels like it. She’s a very capable security guard but quite needy and doesn’t have nearly enough responsibilities.

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The office building’s interns planned a lovely afternoon open house, complete with snacks and glasses of (my favourite!!!) Diet Coke.

While these interns are young and inexperienced, they’re so enthusiastic and fun to be around. They do ask me to do a lot of their own tasks, though. I really must reevaluate their deliverables for 2020.

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While our office building does not have its own fitness centre, it provides punch cards for Zumba classes nearby. Getting out of the office is a huge stress reliever and I have these ladies to thank for it. We met at a nearby restaurant for dinner and it was so nice to spend time with them.

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And, after an unfortunate shut-out at last year’s party, I was fortunate enough to be recognized as the 2019 Employee of the Year!

Thank you for believing in me, me! I promise not to let you (me?) down!

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Our office building hired five executive assistants over the last year so this is the first Christmas party for all of them.

My own personal executive assistant, Alexa (actually I think they all share that name — must be a regional thing) is always patiently listening and politely speaking up whenever I need to know how to add two numbers, what I need to do, what the weather is outside the office, or when it’s time to help the interns with something.

I gifted my wonderful executive assistant a spa treatment (dusted her off) and she liked it so much, she lit up!

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This was the first time our entire office building celebrated together, and it was great to have so much company!

Thank you to everyone for continuing to read my work, share my shenanigans (like these parties), and support my writing.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and safe holiday season!