It’s the last few days before Christmas and all your friends have finished work, but you’re stuck at the office until Christmas Eve. Frankly, you’re really not in the mood to work. Yes, there might be an office Christmas tree and even tinsel on your desk, but TBH that’s only making the scene all the more tragic. But, having used up all your annual leave in the glory days of summer, you’ve got no choice but to dutifully prop yourself up at that keyboard and at least act like you’re working. Well, we feel your pain. So, to help us all through this difficult time, we’ve come up with some ways to have fun on the sly while you count down the minutes until you can flee the office for Christmas.
Listen to a mega Christmas playlist
Plug your headphones in and listen to Cliff’s Mistletoe and Wine - go on, I defy you not to feel Christmassy. Also, it's highly recommend you watch the video to get the full effect, if only for the brilliantly crappy CGI snow. Once you’ve got yourself in the mood with that, set yourself up for the rest of the day with a whole playlist from Now That’s What I Call Christmas, which is conveniently on YouTube to bring Christmas joy to your ears. Highlights include: The Pogues, a bit of Mariah and obvs some festive Wham.
Stuff yourself with Christmas sandwiches
Everyone knows the best part of Christmas is the food. You might be at work but don't let that stop you chowing down on some festive fare. There are two options with this one - if your colleagues are into Christmas sandwiches (and who isn't?) then get everyone to buy a load of different Christmas sandwiches and do a kind of Christmas taste test. Cut them all up so everyone can try each one, and crown one the winner. It might end up being the underdog from Tesco (but probably not). If that seems like too much effort, just go to Pret and buy as many of their Christmas sandwiches as your bank balance will allow - everyone knows they're the best ones anyway.
Play some games that look like work
All work and no play? Not for you. This cleverly disguised game makes it look like you're hard at work on an excel spreadsheet, when in fact you're just playing a good old game of Tetris. Once you've exhausted that, you can revisit the Google Pac-Man doodle and play Pac-Man while you give the illusion of doing important research on Google.
Stealthily watch iPlayer
This depends on 1) how bold you’re willing to be in your quest for entertainment and 2) which direction your computer faces. If it’s not in your boss’s eyeline, you’re good to go. We all know that Christmas is the best time for TV and it’s just not fair for you to miss out on that. Kick back and watch some crappy Christmas TV or the inevitable re-run of The Santa Clause. Just don't get too comfy or people might get suspicious.
Play the phone game
A little game I picked up during some dark days working on a helpline. Choose a word (the more niche, the better), and whichever of your colleagues casually slips it into a phone conversation first, wins. Go on, try and get ‘hippopotamus’ into your next phone chat.
Turn yourself into an elf
Seriously. Words cannot explain how great this is. Elf Yourself lets you create a video of all your friends dancing around as elves in different scenes and with a load of different music options, including office party, EDM and hip hop. Log in through Facebook so you can easily access pics of your friend's faces to crop them onto the elf's body. If you're not sold yet, here’s me and my pals as a couple of elves just having a ball dancing the night away at our office party.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.