Last December 10, we had our company annual dinner and dance at Orchard Hotel. The theme was Casino Royale, so we had to dress up in style.
We had a corporate discount for hotel rooms that night, so we decided to book one so we could use it to dress up and put on make up.
After getting ready, we headed downstairs. The theme was casino, and to our pleasant surprise, we found that there were a lot of gambling tables at the back of the hall. You couldn’t gamble with real money, though. Instead, each employee was given some paper money which they could bet on tables and either lose or win. At the end of the night, each table pooled all their paper money together, and the top 5 tables won actual prizes like dinner vouchers.
But that wasn’t all that happened. Naturally we also had a sumptuous sit-down dinner.
Our table
While eating, we were entertained by a magician. Shortly afterwards, they picked out names for raffle prize winners. They announced the prize before calling out the winner. At one point, our MD Junior said, “The next prize is $500 travel vouchers.”
“Ooh! I could use that!” I squealed. “Come to mama!” I said, rubbing my hands together.
“And the winner is – ” Junior announced.
“Me!” I said, at the same moment he called my name.
Yan Ming, sitting next to me, was stunned. So was I, to be honest. I shakily stood up on my high heels and made my way to the front, as Junior informed everyone that I deserved the prize because I had worked very well on the Christmas postcard entry which ended up winning the global contest. 😅 That one didn’t have a prize, by the way, so I guess this is the universe’s way of giving me something?
Aside from eating and winning and gambling, there was also a lot of mingling and posing for pictures with colleagues.
As with most D&Ds, we had a photo booth, and this time they made moving ones, which was pretty cool.
After the party was done, Dred, Jemma and I headed upstairs to our hotel room to meet up with our roommate Bin and drink some Moscato on the bed.
Dred and Jemma were feeling a high from winning a bunch of paper money at the party, so they thought they’d be lucky at a real casino, too, so we headed to the Marina Bay Sands casino to try our luck. Unfortunately, we didn’t fare so well in the real world. 😅 It’s fine, though, we spent less than $100 including cab fare, a lot less than what the people who went on a binge-drinking after party ended up spending.
It was one of our more enjoyable yearend parties, I have to say!
P.S. Yearend parties from previous years:
- 2010 – Casino Royale @ Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre (yes, this year’s was a revival, but definitely a better one!)
- 2011 – Hollywood Night @ Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre
- 2012 – Gangnam Style @ W Hotel
- 2013 – Masquerade Ball @ St. Regis Hotel
- 2014 – Glam Rock @ Hard Rock Cafe
- 2015 – Roaring Twenties @ Alkaff Mansion
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