Christmas Parties and Alcohol

Christmas time is one of the biggest party times of the year.  Family and friends get together, companies have parties for their employees and customers, it is overall a very busy time for the catering industry.  Alcohol and whether to serve it has become quite a hot topic for all involved.

In the United States the drunken driving laws have become quite strict.  The liability involved with supplying alcohol to your guests has become a major liability to any who host a party.  You can be sued for allowing someone to leave your affair if they have an accident and are considered impaired.  This used to be just a problem for liquor license holders but more and more there are cases going after the company or person who hosted the party too.

More and more company Christmas parties are no longer allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed at their affairs.  The bigger the company that you work for the much more likely that this will be the case.

Now if you are having a party at your house here are some things you can do to protect yourself.

• Have a designated driver for your guests.  Some now use a limousine service for their guests.  You can have someone who will drive the guests home instead of allowing them to drive themselves.
• Make sleeping arrangements for your guests.  We originally started doing this when I was transferred 100 miles away from my home town.  We always created sleeping arrangements for those that came up to visit as the drive back could be a bit much for most.  

Serving alcohol at your party can have some liability and as long as you are aware and make proper arrangements you can definitely limit the risk you have while not putting a kabosh on the fun and festivities.