Spellbound TikTok users are drooling over lavish office holiday parties

As the festive season gets into full swing, young corporate employees are taking to social media to flex their high-budget company holiday parties. 

“My company just brought in a whole glam squad to do our hair and makeup in the office before our holiday party,” one TikTok creator posted. The video shows an office full of employees getting their hair curled and makeup touched up. 

“Sometimes I love corporate America,” she wrote in the caption. 

The comments were full of people desperate to know which company, and industry, she works in. “My company has an $11 per person food budget,” one wrote. “This is pre-covid tech company energy and I love it for you,” another added. 

Another TikTok creator, who works in consulting, posted one clip last week that shows an elaborately decorated ballroom-style hall, avant-garde dancers, a sprawling bar, and decadent food served on silver platters. “Corporate holiday party season,” they wrote.

“What a holiday party looks like at the largest hedge fund in the US,” another wrote, over footage of a tightly packed room of people in suits dancing to a live saxophonist.

In spite of what you may see on social media, the share of companies hosting any kind of holiday party has been on the decline for years. In 2007, 90% of firms said they hosted one, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement and consulting firm. By 2024, that number had dropped to just 64%.

Once upon a time, the holidays were an opportunity for the ultimate corporate flex. In 2000, Bloomberg reportedly spent £1m on a London Christmas party based on the seven deadly sins, which included 10 different bars. 

In 2006, Google threw a Greek myth–themed party at Pier 48 for a reported 10,000 guests, dubbed “Googlympus.” Setup for the bash took a reported five days. Nearly a decade on, Yahoo hosted a Great Gatsby–themed holiday party at the same location in 2015, which reportedly cost $7 million. 

Now the days of lavish, multimillion-dollar blowouts are long gone, especially amid ongoing layoffs and economic precarity. But if the envious comment section on TikTok is anything to go off, the appetite for corporate shindigs is still there. 

“Nobody throws a holiday party like a big tech company,” one TikTok creator posted earlier this month. The video walks through the evening’s activities, including floral arranging and a mariachi band. 

Young professionals are largely pro–office parties—the party just has to be worth actually attending.

Ninety-five percent of workers ages 18 to 34 believe holiday soirees “boost engagement,” according to an Indeed study. A recent KPMG report found that most professionals, and especially Gen Z employees, believe companies should encourage holiday parties and happy hours to help facilitate work friendships. In the same report, one in four employees felt their company wasn’t prioritizing those opportunities enough.

They may not be into forced fun. But actual fun? Workers are still down for that.