Hub Friday: Wearing your holiday cheer on your sleeve

We do have a dress code here at The Hub. Our associates wear name tags and dark trousers or skirts. Of course, it's nothing like the dress code at UBS (it encourages women to put on their perfume right after a hot shower, so as not maximize the effect, and has pretty strict notations about the color of your nail polish and the shape of men's ties), but we do ask that our staff keep their shirts tucked in.

photo: WTFHub.com

But the holidays are funny. How do you stop the Christmas cheer from becoming too much, without seeming the Grinch? Here, drawn from real-life experiences at other workplaces, are our favorite mishaps, from head to toe.

• Ribbons and headbands okay, reindeer antlers not. We had an experience in a past life where an associate went on a sales call in a hat with ears on it. She thought it was cute. We thought not. Put it this way: Anything that looks like it belongs on an animal does not belong on a working professional.
• The sweater question. To applique or not? Bad-Christmas-Sweater parties are fun, but they're definitely not for the workplace. Your guideline here is whether or not anything on your sweater sticks out more than--okay, your guideline is whether or not anything on your sweater sticks out. Same for things like brooches, pins, and other jewelry. If it's flashing lights or making noises, leave it at home. A nice tasteful snowflake will do wonders. No need to hang mini tree lights from your ears.
• Color me happy. Newsflash, people: Red and green do NOT go together. They never have. (See "anything that sticks out" cautionary note above.) Red is fine by itself, and very very cheery. Stick to it and you won't go wrong.
• Noisemakers belong to New Year's. We had an ex-boyfriend who wore socks that played "Jingle Bells" every time he moved. They had reindeer on them and a tiny box in the cuff that was motion-sensitive. It. Was. Horrible. The relationship didn't last, and we're pretty sure his socks weren't long for the workplace, either.

What are your favorite holiday-dress snafus?