Christmas: Tired old tinsel

I’ve never been a huge fan of decorations in the workplace. There’s something incongruous about bright and shiny homogenised Christmas decorations draped half-heartedly over characterless office furniture or – as I discovered to my horror this evening – or otherwise attractive looking indoor plants. It just smacks of someone somewhere saying “That’ll do the trick. That will perk the place up.”

It doesn’t. It never does. Inappropriate position of tinsel and other cheap shiny tat makes my heart sink. The pseudo-designer in me casts a critical eye over it. I judge. I dismiss. I snort with derision. That’s me. Nasty, aren’t I?

I shouldn’t be quite so damning, I know. After all the area of the office I work in where these pictures were taken is occupied by people who are – technically my colleagues. In fact, they’re more than that. They’re colleagues who are on the same floor as me. I pass them on the way to my desk every morning. And even if I didn’t, you never know when I might need to call on the services of … employee relations.

I jest. I’m not having a go at those who see the decoration of the office environment as part of the annual Christmas tradition. After all, it’s not really that much different from the rituals I go through every year decorating the house. There’s love there. There’s a collective desire to mark the season. And there’s eagerness. It’s the 1st December. It’s quite early to be thinking about christmas decorations.

My favourites are without doubt the Dalek …

… and definitely the Cyberman. Camp old baggage.