At this time of year the invites come in thick and fast, with client Christmas parties, the annual Law Society and Lord Taverners Dinner and our own Christmas event all vying for space in the diary.
Now, being the delegator that I am I will be attending as many of these parties as I can, which does unfortunately leave me little time to arrange my own, much to the chagrin of my colleagues.
By Liverpool standards I’ve left the planning of the Rees-Roberts Christmas too late; my experience working at other law firms in my early career suggests that the Christmas do should be booked by the June solstice and the set menu decided by late August - there’s nothing quite like choosing your turkey and roast veg combo in the dwindling days of summer.
Therefore, the topic of the Christmas has become a bone of contention in my office and although November seems late in the day by local standards we’ve at least decided on the restaurant (We have chosen Geisha, Rob Guttman’s new Pan Asian restaurant, despite the initial protests of the traditionalists in the office when they realised that turkey wouldn’t be on the menu).
Once the pressure of arranging the Christmas dinner is off you have to take the decision which could make you the hero or the villain of the piece; do we open between Christmas and New Year? And that’s before the stress of present buying!
One thing’s for sure; it’s the same every year and as ever the mantle of responsibility falls to me. And I’ve got to fit in two Everton away games in Europe!