Recap and lessons learned from this year’s squadron holiday party. I’ve been to 3 of these – twice as a wife and once as a girlfriend. Thoughts below:
1. Plan your parking route ahead of time for the squadron holiday party.
This is a big one that is now a lesson learned. If you recently PCS’d and are unfamiliar with the location of squadron holiday party, do some research. Some parties may take place on your installation – so no stress there. But if your event is downtown in one of the biggest cities in America, I’m begging you to plan ahead.
Apparently San Antonio is a holiday destination?
My husband and I aren’t completely clueless and we gave ourselves an extra 20 minutes to park. His squad holiday party took place at a nice hotel along the San Antonio RiverWalk, and we assumed the hotel would valet our car. We were even ready to splurge on the fee just to not have to think about parking. However, that was not the case. After missing the hotel valet parking turn, taking 20 minutes to circle back to our street, we made it to the valet. Only to be told that only hotel guests can park there. So this led us on another 20 minute wild goose chase downtown, where we passed at least five parking garages that were FULL.
Eventually, we found a public parking lot several streets over. But when I tell you that we contemplated going home after running into the third consecutive one way street, I am not joking. Plan ahead and you will feel so much better.
It gave me an idea, shouldn’t there be an app that can give you a map to parking locations near your destination? Well OF COURSE there are! Just by hopping on my appStore, I’m seeing several options for parking apps, like ParkMobile. Get one of these apps before your party!
Bonus Tip:
If you are 7 months pregnant, don’t be prideful. Let your husband drop you off at the entrance and allow him to park the car. I had a Braxton-Hicks contraction in the middle of the crosswalk. It was a painful walk and took all of the energy out of me. Not to mention I was ready to demolish the buffet by the time we made it inside.
2. Bring some cash. Because RAFFLES.
This was my third squadron holiday party and I still haven’t learned. There’s usually pretty awesome raffle prizes at these events – most likely fundraised by the squadron or spouse’s group. I’ve seen PS5’s, Yeti Coolers, espresso machines, Air Pods, tablets, TV’s, spa day gift cards, etc. and yet I never bring cash. I’m sure many squads/units take the various payment apps, but our last one did not and several people were running down to the nearest CVS to withdraw money.
3. There may be cliques at the squadron holiday party.
But isn’t this true with any group event? People naturally gravitate toward who they feel most comfortable around. There’s bound to be coworkers that get along better, and others they’d rather not spend time with at a social function. The same may be true among spouses. If your spouse’s unit has a spouse group, some may know each other better than others. I went to my first squadron holiday party two years ago, before we were married and before I had any idea what to expect. At the party, I noticed there were groups that had formed. I made it a point to ask my husband to introduce me to anyone he talked to, and therefore their spouse. It was easy to get conversation started and become friends with strangers!
Take advantage of the laid back, non-formal event to get to know other spouses like you. There will likely be a bar too – this definitely means people will have their guards down and be looking to have fun. Don’t be afraid to make small talk at the raffle table, in the buffet line, or the dance floor! My go-to is to compliment someone. It usually gets a conversation started!
If you already have a close group of friends in the squad, invite some new faces to sit at your table! What I love about these events is there’s almost always some type of holiday games. One year there was holiday movie trivia, and we had so much fun sharing our trivia knowledge with a random group of people at our table. This year a group played musical chairs on the dance floor. This was the funniest game of musical chairs I have ever seen!
4. Don’t Stress the Dress…Code
Our holiday party this year was a masquerade theme. A theme I have been waiting my entire life for!!! My husband definitely went all out. I went as all out as a super preggo woman can. And we loved it! However, when we walked into the ballroom at the venue, there were maybe 20% of guests actually following the theme. I was sad because I LOVE THEMES. But at the same time, it made me realize there is nothing to stress over with these events. Wear whatever you’re comfortable in, or whatever makes you feel the most festive! There were Phantom of the Opera-esque couples, full on Christmas sweaters, ball gowns, jeans, and everything in between.
Whatever you do, if the dress code is holding you back from attending the squadron holiday party, do not worry for one minute. It’s more important that you go and support your spouse and their squad, and enjoy yourself while you do it! If you are curious about the theme, do ask your spouse for more details. Usually, if there is a theme or requested dress code, it will be on the invite. Or better yet, ask your spouse group Facebook page (see how to get involved on the spouse pages)!
Whether you decide to go all out or be more chill, I promise you it will be a good time. I can recommend putting some effort into it with your spouse. 2 out of the 3 parties we’ve been to, we’ve decided to have some fun with the theme. And it’s been fun for us, brought us closer, and usually been a hit at the party. Just know there is no right or wrong way to dress for these things!
5. Childcare at the squadron holiday party
If childcare is holding you back, there is a good chance it doesn’t have to. At all three of the parties we’ve been to, another squadron volunteers to provide childcare either on the installation, or at the party venue. Squadrons/Units will often trade with each other, so that while each enjoys their respective holiday parties, the other will offer childcare. If that isn’t an option with your unit, I would, again, head to that spouse page and search for childcare. It’s likely a topic that’s already been asked, so you’ll find great resources, or maybe even fellow spouses who are willing to help out!
Sometimes there aren’t too many opportunities to get to know your spouse’s coworkers, whose names are being rattled off to me every evening. I’ve yet to have a holiday party experience that wasn’t worth it. Whether you’re looking to meet new friends, get a better idea of who your spouse works with, or just want a date night to feel festive for the holidays, I highly recommend you attend a unit holiday party!
