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Poll: Most embarrassing party goof-ups!

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

While we're finally done with New Year celebrations, folks are still in the party mood, what with weddings and many other celebrations lined up.

Since this is the season to socialise, however, everyone tends to go slightly overboard at some time or the other -- drinking a little too much, dancing on tabletops -- you get the idea!

Here, we have listed the most common party goof-ups guests are guilty of. And we want to know which ones are the most common, so take our poll and let us know about your faux pas moment!

1. Getting drunk, becoming an embarrassing loudmouth and creating a scene

Welcome to the general category, pals. If you are guilty of:

Congratulations! You deserve an honourable mention on this page. All in the spirit of good fun, right? Strangers giggle, friends burn with shame and you puke your guts out on your host's livingroom carpet. Way to go!

You're the life of the party -- NOT! Get real, everyone thinks it's high time you started staying home with coffee and a good book once in a while! Because having a nice time without ruining or overdoing it is obviously not your idea of a night on the town!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

2. Letting yourself go and dancing on tabletops like a stripper

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

Ever seen the sexy girl who fell off the tabletop and everyone laughed? No? Well, we have, Several times, in fact. And if you're not wise, it could well be you.

It usually takes a couple of drinks to drop your inhibitions and then another couple to have you clambering up anything at hand so that you can show off your sexy pole-dance moves.

But there's also a chance you'll be unceremoniously asked to get off the furniture, that you'll lose your balance and fall flat on your face (literally and figuratively), or that people will snigger because you dance like a turkey trying to do the Funky Chicken. And turkeys, you know who you are!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

3. Eating and drinking your hosts out of house and home

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

Some dance like a turkey. Others gobble like one. Everything in sight, actually.

To them, 'party' is spelled F-R-E-E-B-I-E-S. So they'll down you're dad's expensive scotch and toss back appetizers like they're peanuts. And if they've brought a gift along, they'll make sure to extract its price from you and more. Eat, eat, eat, guzzle, guzzle, guzzle, more, more, more! They can't bear the idea of going home without having made the most of things and having tried everything on offer. What's a spot of indigestion?

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

4. Actually stripping off a few of your clothing items at most dos

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

We see that doubting look on your face, but don't scoff just yet.

We're not talking about women stripping down to their innerwear or anything like that (although you wish we were!) -- we're talking about guys. That guy who must take off his shirt at every party he attends, never mind the beer belly, chest hair and sweat he's worked up. Guy takes off shirt, everyone cheers -- well, at least the men do, while the women cringe. It's an old party favourite. But this guy does it at every do -- it's practically tradition! If he doesn't, the party has flopped. Officially.

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

5. Spilling your secrets in conversation -- or a friend's

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

You go to a childhood friend's birthday, meet her college mates and tell them about the time she pooped in her pants back in kindergarten.

Or you inadvertently let your best pal's crush know that he likes her.

Or you tell someone you just met all about your piles problem.

Why oh why must you open your big piehole at parties and make inappropriate conversation? It seems like every time you say something another skeleton tumbles out, screaming because it probably belongs in someone else's closet! This is one of the worst faux pas you can commit at a party. And beware -- the glass-in-hand-looking-for-convo types are just the ones to do it!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

6. Getting sloshed and then puking all over someone else's car

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

We're guessing we're all unanimous when it comes to this one. It's bad enough that a friend has to babysit you when you're drunk. But when you've had one too many and don't even make an effort to lean out of his car, that's just too bad! It's icky, it's yucky, it should never happen because you decided to test your limits at a party.

And when the friend says it's okay, it's really not. He's disgusted, but is trying to spare you further embarrassment -- as if it matters after something like this.

'Aw, no sweat, Raj is a great pal, he won't mind.'

Well, how would you feel about Raj puking all over the backseat of your ride?

Hmmm. Thought so.

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

Having a one-night stand that you utterly regret

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

The previous night, s/he was "so hot", this morning it's "wh-a-at!"

You bring somebody home and then wonder what the hell you're doing with that person post the party. It's not uncommon -- you may not be guilty of such a goof-up yourself, but don't you think it happens often enough?

"Who is that guy with Kanika? He's not her type. "

"Does Jeet need glasses? What is he doing cozying up to HER at the bar?"

It's all good -- in the moment. It's once the moment has passed that you remember. And regret. And then regret a little more. Parties can cloud your judgement, so don't exercise it when you're there!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

Getting into a fight

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

To all our budding bhais -- please don't make like SRK and Sallu and get into scuffles at parties! It not only leaves you in a lousy mood, it spoils the do for everyone else.

And with a couple of drinks down, it's far easier for folks to start throwing punches at each other. So save up on the self-respect and if someone else gets aggressive, have the common sense to walk away or tone things down. Let someone else deal with them instead of drawing unnecessary attention to yourself by tangling with a tipsy tooter!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

9. Hamming for the camera and ending up on the Internet

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

This is one trap most people step into with their eyes wide open.

They squeeze into every possible shot, grinning widely and trying to ham it up, sometimes without even knowing who the camera belongs to! Next thing you know, wham -- you're on Facebook, cross-eyed and spaced out, on display for friends, friends of friends and sometimes even your boss to see!

On video, it's even worse. You may get your guffaws looking up funny personal videos on Youtube, just don't end up featuring in one as the prize booby yourself!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

10. Wearing barely-there clothes and inadvertently giving people an eyeful

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

You know what's worse than yanking at your blouse straps or pulling down your skirt all through an evening? Not doing that and flashing everyone you meet.

And you know what's better? Not wearing such clothes in the first place.

Once you're in the mood, you may forget that your teeny-tiny barely-there garments are hiking up with every dance move and while you think those around are appreciating your slick moves, they're actually getting an eyeful. So please, dress sensibly and be comfortable.

As for guys, we don't want to be mooned each time you bend over, so please ensure that your jeans start at the hips and not at your knees!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

11. Emotionally unloading on strangers even though you know you're boring them to death

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

"My last relationship was a disaster, she cheated on me with my best friend, I walked in on them at a friend's house where I wasn't expected, it was a Tueday evening in July, slightly rainy, it made me even more depressed..."

Please, oh please, reserve the emotional baggage for a chat with close friends over popcorn at home! Fellow guests you've just met don't want to know about your personal life and hold your hand while you whine about what is wrong with your life. They're at a party to have fun and look forward to meeting new people, without having to seek an escape from them within the first 10 minutes of a conversation.

If you have issues, either attend a social event to lighten your mood or then don't go. Just don't end up ruining other people's frame of mind -- or their first impression of you!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

12. Hitting on every member of the opposite sex

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

It's sad that many folks look upon parties as an opportunity to get laid. Flirting outrageously only makes you look desperate, thereby slimming any chances you may have of getting lucky.

"My grandmother just passed away a month ago..."

"Giggle! You're so funny!"

Get the point? Stop trying too hard and hitting on every person you come across, because pretty soon, the opposite sex will be avoiding you like the plague. And you don't want to be known as the guy who used the same line on seven different women in the same night and still went home -- predictably -- alone.

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

13. Messing up the bathroom and sneaking out so they don't know it was you

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

Sigh. Face it -- we've all been guilty of this one at some time or the other.

Either you discover the flush doesn't work a little too late, or you unknowingly trail mud into the bathroom, or you drop a handtowel into the sink. And then you seek a route of escape, because you don't want to be seen coming out from there -- everyone will know it was you!

And yet, when you walk in on a dirty bathroom yourself, you'll complain to whoever will listen that it's a pigsty and people don't know how to use it! So here's a few tips:

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

14. Ending up making out with a co-worker -- or your boss!

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

This is probably the worst goof-up you can possibly make -- risking your reputation at the workplace for a quick snog. You're out with co-workers or worse, at an office party and before you know it, you're in the arms of a colleague -- or (eep!) your boss.

Exercise a little control, people. Yes, even if you bump into Mr Hottie from marketing at a party. Office liasons are complicated in themselves, so don't go so far as to 'hook up' overnight. While office romances can work, there's a way of going about things and this is definitely not one of them!

Which is the party slip-up you're guilty of? Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow!

15. Getting evicted for bad behaviour

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST

This may be the result of any of the previously-mentioned slip-ups, but whatever the reason, it's really, really humiliating to be evicted from a party.

Don't do anything that will compromise your relationship with the host, who has been so good as to invite you. You've been asked so that you can contribute to and enjoy the fun, not ruin it for yourself and everyone else.

And yes, if you're kindly put in a cab before you want to leave because 'you've had too much to drink' or 'need to cool down, because you're all angry right now', that's still an eviction! You're a liability to everyone around and they want to be rid of you, at least for the moment. Nobody appreciates being a babysitter, so handle yourself appropriately. Or you may not make it to the guestlist the next time around!

Move on to the next slide and register your votes!

Cast your vote!

Last updated on: January 7, 2010 19:00 IST