9 ways to recover from (and avoid) holiday party embarrassment

9 ways to recover from (and avoid) holiday party embarrassment9 ways to recover from (and avoid) holiday party embarrassmentWeve all been there, the holiday party that goes straight to Hades. Theres food, theres drink, (then some more drinks) theres the slow loosening of inhibitions and then suddenly Bam Someone says the wrong thing to someone else and its slo-mo career suicide in front of everyone theyve ever worked with.So, now what? Is it time to look for a new job while everyones so hungover they forget to blacklist you forever? In a word, no. In most situations, you can probably save both your pride and your gig.1. Youre not the only oneBelieve it or not, this happens more often than youd think so even if youve puked in your co-workers spare pair of shoes, chances are good youre neither the first nor brde to do so.2. Apologize. Then stop.Carolyn Thompson, Managing Principal of the Merito Group, a talent acquisition and consulting firm said, If you are the one that over-imbibes its up to you to apologize and inform those you may have affected that youre quite sorry and that it wont happen again. And then just drop it.If you keep talking about it the situation can take on a life on its own and affect your professional reputation, Thompson said.3. Apology acceptedIf you happen to be the one slighted or sloshed with red wine during the festivities, your best bet is to accept their apology and move on.It can be hard to take someone seriously in the office after youve witnessed that kind of behavior in a social setting, Thompson said. Politically savvy people wouldnt call someone out on it afterwards, but would graciously accept an apology from that person if they said they were a tad tipsy and to excuse anything that they said or did during that time.4. Leave earlyIf you sense that the merriment is about to go awry, make your excuses and just leave. You dont have to be sucked up into the drama either as a participant or witness.5. Turn a blind eyeNot always, b ut if you happen to catch your married boss in a clinch with someone they shouldnt be snogging, its fine to pretend you havent seen a thing. If, however, youre worried they might try to get rid of you for possessing potentially awkward information, consult with your HR officer to let them know you saw something uncomfortable at the holiday party without naming names.6. Learn from past mistakesWhether youre the one who goofed the last time around, or the one who was mightily insulted, remember that an open bar at a work event isnt the place to slam dunk cocktails. Keep to two alcoholic beverages and drink club soda or water in between them if you feel you need to carry a drink on your hand, Thompson said. Club soda with cranberry looks just like vodka soda with cranberry and the only one who knows the difference is you.7. Try to be supportiveIf possible, try to help a colleague whos screwed up in the past. Laura Handrick, an HR Analyst at Fitsmallbusiness.com, shared a story that hap pened some years ago when her best friend, a recovered alcoholic with 10 years sobriety, backslid.During a holiday party that included bar hopping, Handricks friend started drinking and went from fun and silly, to loud and obnoxious so much so that a security guard had to physically remove her from one of the venues.Handrick said on the next work day her friend did the most gracious thing possible. She apologized, individually to each one of us who had been there. She apologized for insulting a co-worker. She apologized for embarrassing us as a group. She apologized for every detail of the evening, she said.Since it was a party and not a work event, Handrick said, There were no real repercussions from a work-standpoint, so her apology wasnt meant to get out of trouble. She owned up to her behavior, asked forgiveness of anyone she embarrassed and meant it. There was nothing more really to be done on her part.Whats most interesting though, is that Handrick and her colleagues all kne w her friends struggle, felt her remorse and promised ourselves and her to be better friends and co-workers by not making alcohol so available. While it isnt your responsibility to keep a work friend from making a fool of themselves, theres nothing wrong with exercising compassion in trying to help them when possible. If anything, it shows your boss that you can be compassionate and take charge of complicated situations.8. Be a planner/Dont plan at allIf you hated the venue last year and felt that too many people had too much access to alcohol or dark alcoves, consider joining the planning committee and suggest neutral locations or lunchtime festivities. On the flipside, if you were heavily involved in the planning last year and got blamed when things went belly (or bottom) up last year, feel free to skip the planning part and show up only to the event.9. Have a strict no tagging rule and stick with itIn a world of selfies and social media, send out a request as rule with the invita tion, informing guests that posting and tagging guests will be frowned upon. Use wording that makes it sound fun and friendly, so that everyone is free to enjoy - but delay posting. Upload a page of approved shots to a private social media page, so that everyone can share without oversharing. Or have a photo booth or photographer instead.