The percentage of HR professionals who said their employer typically doesn't hold parties increased from 17 percent in 2012 to 30 percent this year.

Employers with less than 100 workers were far more likely to host parties (83 percent) than employers with more than 2,500 employees (41 percent).

Companies (75 percent) are more likely to host parties than nonprofit groups (61 percent) or public sector employers (30 percent).

Among HR executives whose employer is planning to party, 83 percent have a budget in place specifically to cover the costs of the celebration.

It's not clear whether those with a budget tend to spend more or less on the parties.

The survey also showed that 59 percent of the work parties hosted this year will involve alcohol. Among those who plan to serve booze, nearly half say they plan to regulate consumption in some way or another.

Popular ways to prevent excessive inebriation include drink tickets and drink maximums.

But parties aren't the only way to recognize the holidays. In fact, they don't even appear to be the most popular way among employers.

More companies (82 percent) plan to engage in charity drives or other philanthropic activities than to hold a party. That's an increase from 2012, when only 74 percent reported such plans.

Employee gifts are a common, but not mainstream, way of instilling holiday cheer at the workplace. Twenty-three percent of HR pros indicated that their employer plans holiday gifts or bonuses to workers that are not tied to performance.

While it's okay to tell kids that Santa will only reward them for good behavior, it's apparently best to make holiday gifts to employees universal. Not even the worst workers should get lumps of coal.

More common are employers who will allow workers to shop for their own gifts at work. Fifty-five percent allow employees to browse online shopping sites at the office during the holiday season.