Holiday party outlook: frugal

Low profile. Low budget. That's the outlook for holiday parties at many workplaces this year.

Hard on the heels of Halloween, party planners are looking ahead to the post-Thanksgiving/pre-New Year's period, the traditional time for holiday fetes.

According to an outlook by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 62 percent of companies will hold office parties this year, down from 77 percent last year. Two years ago, 90 percent had parties.

Companies that have had job cuts, wage freezes, or other significant cost cutting said they'd have a hard time justifying the expense, "let alone get in the mood for a party," said John Challenger.

Another austerity measure: Two-thirds of the parties will be for employees only, no guests.