The company party: a great opportunity to chat casually with coworkers, get free food, market yourself to big-name clients and—oops—have one too many Cosmos from the open bar and trip right in front of your boss. Despite the professional strides that can be made at a company party, there is always the chance that something might go terribly, job-riskingly wrong. Savvy Miss asked readers to reminisce about their office party experiences, hoping you can learn from their mistakes and keep cool at your office bash.

DO chat with everyone.
And we mean everyone. There are benefits in getting to know all event attendees: from the interns to the most important execs. Katharine, 27, sees this tactic from a networking perspective. “You never know who will one day be above you in office hierarchy, or who has the ear of the executives.” If they’re important to the company, they should be important to you.

Approaching a guest—especially one that could promote you—can be a bit intimidating. James, 27, says that the “approach is all about confidence,” so fumbling over that plate of shrimp cocktail in front of the head honcho will only showcase your nerves. “Go straight up to them and introduce yourself,” he says. Remember that if they don’t know who you are, it won’t be to your benefit. Try to mention something memorable about yourself: something positive that they’ll associate with you when passing you in the hallways and, hopefully, when brainstorming over who should get that next pay increase.