Germans Hot on Office Christmas Parties

The office Christmas party, already an institution of some notoriety in countries such as Britain, appears to be gaining in popularity in Germany, with more and more companies

organizing end-of-year shindigs for their employees, a new poll showed Friday. A survey conducted by the restaurant and catering federation DEHOGA found that 39 percent of the caterers polled reported an increase in bookings for office Christmas parties and a further 34 percent reported stable bookings. In Britain, the trend appears to be going in the other direction -- of 4,000 company bosses polled, 61 percent said they were planning to put on a party for their employees, down from 86 percent two years ago.