Surviving Holiday Parties and Tech Gift Giving

It's Friday and we're in the mood for something a little lighter to close out the week.

At news.com, check out "Holiday Do's and Don'ts from the Geek Squad." (The Geek Squad is a unit of Best Buy, so one can't help but look at this as just great ad placement.) This article includes helpful advice like:

DON'T buy another person the gift you would like to get. (Dear Son - I know you'd love a Slingbox, but I won't get you a Cuisinart Mini Chopper if you promise not to get me a Slingbox.)

DON'T buy an incomplete gift. .. it's not nice to buy someone a slick new photo printer, but not the USB cable to connect it to the printer or camera.

Moving on the the tricky terrain of holiday parties. eWeek offers some good advice in the article, "10 Office Holiday Party Landmines to Avoid." We all have one of these memories, preferably of a colleague's over-the-top performance at a holiday party, rather than your own. I still smile fondly at the memory of a sloshed colleague taking the mic on a Boston Harbor cruise and quite publicly critiquing a former manager's style for all of us. (I am happy to report that we got through our Red Cross fundraiser this week without any eyebrow-raising incidents.)

Most of the pointers in this article repeat the common warnings about getting tipsy, sounding off to your boss or dressing appropriately ("...it's unnerving for people to see extra skin on their boss or work buddy, and it's an image not quickly forgotten when you are at your next budget meeting.")

Perhaps a more subtle point is the suggestion of straying outside one's comfort zone to get to know some new people.

"Make sure the people who should, know that you are there. Say hello to your boss and bosses first and stretch yourself a bit, introduce yourself to people you don't know," Halverson said.

"Even if it's just talking to a few people, as long as you're not just talking to the same people you always do, you're doing great."