12 Office Christmas Party Fails That Actually Happened

Office Christmas parties are meant to be a joyous celebration of the holiday season, a time to bond with your coworkers, enjoy festive food and drinks, and share in a little holiday cheer. But then bam! Something completely unexpected happens, and suddenly, your only option is to take mental notes (or maybe a few sneaky photos) to laugh about it with your friends and family later.

Here are some of the wildest Christmas party stories that prove the office holiday bash isn’t always merry and bright—but it sure can be memorable!

1. When Friendly Competition Turns into Chaos

• The company I worked for thought it would be a good idea to pit the two factories against each other in a big competition. The two factory directors hated each other as well.
  Cue the Christmas party: a 40-person punch-up erupted as the ’winning’ factory taunted the ’losing’ factory. That was the last time we had a fully open bar. © Thisoneissfwihope / Reddit

2. Dance Floor Disaster

• My manager removed her pants on the dance floor and flung them at a colleague’s husband. © yadyadyad / Reddit

3. Arm Wrestling Gone Wrong

• Last year, my new staff member broke my other new staff member’s arm by challenging him to an arm wrestle. He snapped him like a twig. © Alpha_uterus / Reddit

4. A New Job Gone South (Literally)

• I worked at an agency where we’d hired a new account executive to start in the New Year, but we invited her to the Christmas party to get acquainted. We’d booked out a bar-restaurant in Chelsea with a free bar.
  She threw herself into the festivities with full enthusiasm until she ventured towards the toilets, located downstairs in the basement. She tripped at the top, tumbled down the stairs, broke her leg, and, unfortunately, lost control of her bowels on the way down.
  The London Ambulance service stretchered her out in pungent glory, right through the partying crowd on the ground floor. She never returned to start the job with us. © Purple-Inside-1780 / Reddit

5. Surprise Guest Dancers—Or Not

• Our company rented a restaurant for the Christmas party. At one point, two women in uniform climbed onto a table and started dancing. Everyone cheered, thinking they were hired dancers.
  But as they began taking off their clothes, a colleague gasped, “Oh no, it’s them! CALL THE POLICE! These women are our former employees who were fired right before the new year with a big scandal, who let them in?”

6. Office Romance Sparks Scandal

• Apparently, a woman and a man found love—or something like it—at a Christmas party. It might have been a heartwarming tale, except for one small detail: they were both married.
  In the months that followed, the office became a stage for awkward moments and strained silences. Tense exchanges played out as they took ’personal calls’ or traded cold, loveless glances with their respective spouses.
  Fast-forward to now: they’re both divorced—and not together. Merry Christmas, everyone. © TheresNoFreeLunch / Reddit

7. A Bonus-Free Christmas Party Chaos

• The Christmas party was hosted at a really nice restaurant with an open bar. We all arrived, grabbed food, and started chatting and joking around.
  Then the CEO showed up and called us to attention. Naturally, we assumed he was about to congratulate us on a successful year and wish us happy holidays. Instead, he announced there would be no bonuses and that layoffs were coming in the near future. People were pissed.
  What followed was a mad dash to the open bar, with a collective cry of, ’No bonuses? Screw it, I’m drinking my bonus this year!’
  The next few hours devolved into absolute chaos. The receptionist threw up directly onto her plate of filet mignon. The CEO’s wife passed out in a chair by the coat rack and had to be carried out. It was glorious.
  Edit: Oh, and the aftermath? Half the company called in sick the next day. The rest of us who actually made it in spent the day taking turns puking in the bathroom. © HorseMeatSandwich / Reddit

8. Photocopier Mishap

• Our chonky colleague decided it would be hilarious to sit bare-assed on the photocopier. The glass promptly cracked, trapping his cheeks like a bear trap.
  He was yelling for help, but no one could assist because we were all doubled over, crying with laughter. Absolute office legend. © esquiresque / Reddit

9. Director’s Dancefloor Slip-Up

• It was the office Christmas party. Our portly director, full of festive cheer, decided to show off his moves on the dancefloor. Slip! BAM! He’s flat on his back, grinning like it’s all part of the plan.
  Before anyone can react, my usually quiet colleague sprints across the room and dives on top of said director. The timing was perfect—pure slapstick comedy: one of those “did that really just happen?” moments.
  It was all taken in surprisingly good humor, with everyone else laughing so hard they could barely breathe. This happened over 30 years ago, but I can remember it like it was yesterday.

10. Chandelier Acrobatics

• A nurse climbed onto a chair and tried to swing from the chandelier. The chandelier came crashing down.
  In a desperate attempt to cover it up, the nurse tried to hide the chandelier under a table. © Aggravating-Mousse46 / Reddit

11. Flaming Pants Fiasco

• We were at a pub with very cramped seating arrangements. At one point, a manager decided to climb over the table to get out but neglected to account for the candles provided by the pub, setting his trousers on fire. © cognitiveglitch / Reddit

12. Bowling Alley Catastrophe

• Not the craziest story, but definitely the funniest. There was this girl in the office who was annoying as hell—did nothing and was already being monitored for poor performance.
  She showed up to the Christmas party, started hitting on the female managers. At one point, she forcibly kissed one of them. But the best part? Somehow, the party ended up at a bowling alley.
  Completely lost, she decided not to let go of the bowling ball and ended up flying down the alley like Superman. She hit the pins (it wasn’t even a strike) and then managed to get herself stuck in the mechanism. The place had to call the fire brigade to get her out.
  I used to have a photo of them pulling her out of the mechanism—pure comedy gold. © orbtastic1 / Reddit

Share Your Crazy Christmas Party Stories!

Have you ever had a Christmas party moment so absurd it became legendary? Whether it’s an awkward karaoke, a wild gift exchange, or a table-dancing disaster, we’d love to hear about it! Share your unforgettable Christmas party memories in the comments below.

And don’t forget to check out these 17 Stories About Christmas Parties That Ended Up in Disaster.