Politico takes a look at the holiday party scene in Washington this year, and unlike ABC’s blotter the other day, finds it wanting. There are fewer parties this year, according to the article–a function of the recession, hangover from the convention, and the parties anticipated for the presidential inaugural:

Things are so sparse this year that Washington fundraiser Monica Notzon didn’t even bother creating the holiday party calendar she usually distributes to her clients, who include 20 GOP members of the House and Senate.

The economy notwithstanding, Notzon said the party shortage of 2008 is part of a predictable cycle. “Every four years, we get in this weird place where we blow it out at convention, then you have an election, and then you have Christmas, and then you have Inauguration. And it’s just too much,” she says.

The Distilled Spirits Council is holding off on partying until the inaugural. The National Association of Manufacturers pared back its holiday party for employees only. Debbie Dingell, wife of Rep. John Dingell (D-MI),  and Marlene Malek, wife of GOP businessman Fred Malek, canceled their annual holiday lunch.

Yet Politico notes that some parties are still going strong:

Washington lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates threw its holiday party last week, and the event was as packed as ever. “We had the same number of people we have had in past years,” Jack Quinn says. “We had terrific feedback from clients and friends who were disappointed that we didn’t hold a holiday party in 2007.”

Party Time readers may remember that Quinn Gillespie was the source for our initial list of convention parties back in the summer. So these guys not only know where the parties are–they know how to party.

Of course whether and if and how there are more or less parties in any given time is ultimately a guessing game. There is no formal disclosure of these events. Here are Party Time, we do our best to bring these parties to light by collecting and posting as many invitations as we can from anonymous lobbyist sources.

ABC news is on the party watching case, reporting on holiday parties being thrown for members of Congress and staffers by the likes of the Nuclear Energy Institute, Southern Company, Lockheed Martin, the Air Transport Association, and the the U.S. Telecom Association:

One day after the U.S. officially acknowledged it was in a recession, it was party time in Washington for lawmakers and their staff, courtesy of the nation’s corporate lobbyists.

For weeks, invitations and event lists have been circulating on Capitol Hill, carrying promises of open bars and free food. Though some organizations say they have cut back on events in the wake of the sharpest economic downturn since the Great Depression, many of 2008 ’s parties are shaping up to look a lot like the parties of earlier years.

These parties appear not to be fundraisers, but rather gatherings designed to fall under ethics rules pertaining to receptions (food must be limited to hors d’oeurves, beverages, i.e. the “toothpick rule”).

Yours truly is quoted in the story. I’d add to my comments there that the problem with these events is that they are hidden from the public eye. While these parties may be publicized in lobbyist circles around town, the only way the general public hears about them is because of the enterprising reporters at places like ABC News and the efforts we make here. So while it’s true ordinary people don’t get invited to these events, what’s even worse is that they don’t even know they take place.