Bah, humbug: Holiday parties downsized, canceled

In brighter times, employees of Seattle-based cruise line Holland America could look forward to a themed, black-tie holiday party for 1,800 staffers and guests at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

But several months ago, with the recession posing less-than-smooth sailing for the industry, company executives pondered the annual event and reconsidered.

"In light of the uncertainty in the economy, we decided to cancel it," says company spokeswoman Rose Abello.

Instead, this year the company is offering employees holiday cookie-and-caroling socials and the chance to take paid time off to volunteer for food-bank network Northwest Harvest.

"We wanted an opportunity to give back," Abello says, "because there's so many people in need."

'Tis the season to be frugal, and companies throughout the area and across the country, if not actually canceling their holiday parties, are at least scaling them down. According to Chicago-based consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which does an annual survey on the topic, 77 percent of companies polled are planning holiday parties this year, down from 90 percent in 2007.

"With the impact of the housing collapse rippling throughout many sectors of the economy, we are seeing the toll," said John Challenger, the firm's CEO, in a statement accompanying the summary of the survey of 100 national human-resources executives in a variety of industries.

Event facilities have been feeling the effect.

"The number of my holiday parties this year is cut in half," says Tamara Turner, general manager of the retired state ferry Skansonia, a popular Lake Union party site for companies such as REI, Pagliacci Pizza and photo-image agency Corbis, which held its casino-themed celebration there last weekend.

Certainly one casualty of the mortgage-lending crisis and economic downturn is Washington Mutual, which in light of massive, recently announced layoffs has canceled its holiday party altogether. "With everything that's happened, it's just not the right environment," says spokeswoman Darcy Wilmot.

Others are finding that dimming the lights is better than pulling the plug entirely. At Microsoft, where individual divisions within the 40,000-employee company throw their own parties, a few smaller events have been canceled.

"Those people see each other on a more regular basis," says company spokesman Lou Gellos. "So maybe it's not something you need to do this go-round. There's many things throughout the company that people are taking a look at — do we really need to do this, or go on that trip?"

Some see the belt-tightening times as all the more reason to party — not only for morale's sake, but to acknowledge the year's successes.

At legal firm Perkins Coie, the annual holiday event — typically a buffet lunch, with skits and entertainment provided by staff — will take place on Friday at Benaroya Hall, across from its Seattle offices. But this year, the company is cutting corners by, for example, outfitting the lunch tables with disposable cameras rather than hire a professional photographer.

The celebration "is very much part of the culture here," says managing partner Nancy Williams. "... And when people are concerned and wondering whether things are going forward as usual, this is kind of a nice way to say: Yes."

Others are celebrating as much as ever. "Most everyone I know is going ahead with what they already have planned," says Christy Miller, a recruiting manager for semiconductor company Impinj.

Meanwhile, at Metropolitan Grill, a trio of small, private dining rooms are "pretty much booked for the holidays," according to general manager Schuyler Adams. "You know the old saying: People drink in good times, and people drink in bad times."

Just not as much, maybe. Victoria Haberman, general manager of the Lake Union Cafe, says her clients aren't so much canceling as they are downsizing their holiday shindigs, cutting back on the alcohol or slimming down the number of entrees. While a few parties are actually bigger this year, the downturn did prompt one client to call the whole thing off.

"They didn't want it to seem like they're wasting money," Haberman says. "They just felt by doing it they could use their money in different ways, charitable ways, versus eating and drinking a lot."

Even the Woodland Park Zoo's annual "Hibernation Celebration" — held in January — is hunkering down, despite the zoo's highest attendance levels since 2002. "This year we're going to host it on zoo grounds, just to cut back on some costs," says the zoo's Rebecca Whitham.

Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center, which hosts parties for between 500 and 1,500 people, has seen several cancellations this season. In addition to one scrapped holiday lunch for 900 people, "we had a holiday party cancel on Saturday night that was huge," says Brenda Dotson, the center's sales director. "They had rented our 36,000-square-foot space."

Typically, a non-holiday event would never be able to claim that space this time of year, Dotson says, but as a result of the economy, "we've replaced it — with a boxing match. ... It's an interesting sign of the times."

Marc Ramirez: 206-464-8102 or mramirez@seattletimes.com