How thrilling to be invited to a Christmas lunch my second (well, technically third) week at Rice Communications! I couldn’t imagine a warmer welcome. I’m not even sure where to start blogging about it, though.

We gathered in the conference room for lunch on Monday. (Aside: the conference room is just *begging* for a name – I vote for The Rice Bowl!) Almost everyone was festively dressed , in accordance with the red dress code. In future, perhaps we might send out colour swatches to make sure that everyone agrees what red is, exactly. Suzanne was the stand out with a strikingly red knit top – pity she felt obliged to cover it up with her shawl. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Aaron’s idea of red … well, let’s say that it needs some work.

The table itself was covered with a pile of food. Grace did an outstanding job of providing for everyone, with assistance from Regina, thanks to both of you! While there might have been some mishaps and misadventures during the preparation of the food, it all turned out well. The spread included a giant turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken wings, crispy squid, two kinds of sausage, two kinds of salad, strawberries and the sweetest, juiciest longans ever (according to Natasha). I might have missed out something – oh, wait, there was stuffing, and gravy for the turkey, but no cranberry sauce. And sambal. And coarsely ground black pepper.

The one lone bottle of wine went down a treat: just ask [names redacted to protect the innocent] who became increasingly more amusing as lunch went on. (I’ll admit to having had a swig or two of the wine myself.)

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we gave out the presents. As part of the Secret Santa gift exchange, everyone bought a gift for someone else in the office and there was an impressive pile of gifts under the Christmas tree. My wrapped-in-newspaper environmentally-responsible present looked a bit out of place against all the others, but it was well-received despite its humble covering. I can’t list everyone’s present, but I know there were fancy pouches, a Towkay luggage tag (no prizes for guessing who got that) and a fancy teacup with a convenient magnetic spoon. Between the eating and the drinking and the gift-giving there was no shortage of conversation – how clever it is to name your son Batman Bin Suparman, and what gender are turkeys? It turns out that some people in the office have far better taste in clutch bags than one would expect, and somewhere in a carefully tucked away corner is a stash of 24 … oh, I’d better not say.

It wasn’t long before lunch was over, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves, and went back to their desks in a good mood for the rest of the day. Now, aren’t you sorry you missed it?

Check out the rest of our photos from the lunch party on Facebook!