Originally Posted by OpenTuning

If not going isn't an option at all, perhaps start right now coming up with your exit plan. A reason why you can't stay long that is firm, and unbendable. You forgot about a family event you simply can't miss and you really do have to leave by X time. That kind of thing. Christmas season is full of clashing events, so nobody will be surprised. Tell a few people early on so you can't back out on it if the booze starts to prove too tempting. Stay long enough to be sociable, do the networking with clients and management that you need to do, leave full of regrets and apologies for abandoning them so early, then head home sober.

And you'll have the advantage of knowing you weren't involved in a drunken CRI (Career Retarding Incident).

I did something similar the other day. A networking event held in a pub. I wanted to skip it, but there was one person I really had to see, because he'd organised it, invited me as one of the guests of honour, and I was hoping we'd be able to work together on a project. So I turned up, talked to exactly enough people to be seen to be properly networking, cornered the guy who invited me for a very positive 20 minute chat, then apologised that I had to head back for a conference call with LA and Australia which we could only do late at night here due to time zones (and reason I had to stay sober) and left. I did indeed have a conference call with LA and Australia. Just not on that particular night.