Hosting a New Year’s Eve party can be extremely stressful - especially when it comes to the guest list. 

Are people going to get on? When mixing friendship circles, could there be fireworks after a few drinks? 

But think about it, who is better in volatile situations than teachers? 

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Here’s why everyone should have a teacher or two at their New Year bash.

1. Tactful mixing

Teachers are right in the melting pot of society, being forced to mix with children and parents from all walks of life.

In my opinion, this is one of the best things about the job, as you meet people you might never otherwise be exposed to but it definitely requires a certain amount of patience. 

So, if you have that one friend who always makes a fool of themselves when they’ve had a few, you can rest assured the teacher will be able to deal with them.

2. Creative ideas

Party getting a bit flat? Never fear, the teacher is here. They spend their days making Pythagoras’ theorem and sentence structures sound interesting, so livening up a get-together is a piece of cake. 

You can bet that if a party game is called for, your teacher guest will be full of ideas and, what’s more, they’ll be the first in the queue to take part as they are used to forced fun with all those cringey CPD activities. If they’re a PE teacher, they might even get their whistle out and help you to organise everybody.

3. Compassionate listening

When it gets to that time of the night when everyone has had a bit to drink and is starting to get emotional, teachers will be excellent listeners.

Nobody wants to be stuck in a corner listening to your mate Dave lamenting narrowly missing out on a career as a Premier League footballer when he was 13, but your teacher mate will soon make him feel better. 

Teachers are also brilliant at reflection, so they’ll be able to help him see the positives. After they’ve reassured him and given him a metaphorical hug, he’ll be feeling much better and ready to party again.

4. Team spirit

When it comes to party games, teachers are the ultimate team players. Collaborative working is at the centre of everything they do, so, of course, they can fit into any team seamlessly. Bring on the charades!

5. Buffet behaviour

If you’re worried you’ve not bought enough food, fear not. Many teachers are used to subsisting on a meagre lunch of a dull sandwich, gobbled down in a five-minute window at their desk, in between lunchtime interventions or meetings.

Your sausage rolls and vol-au-vents will seem like a five-star feast and they’ll be very appreciative.

6. Dancing queens

When it comes to busting a few moves on the dance floor, John Travolta had better move along if there’s a teacher around. At school, they’re already seen as the most tragic people ever, so inhibitions are non-existent. 

They’ve also honed their moonwalking and robots at years of school discos, so get ready to see some spectacular moves, which are sure to get everyone dancing.

7. The aftermath

If there’s anyone who knows anything about tidying up it’s a teacher - particularly after a two-hour English lesson with a boisterous Year 9 class. After years of picking up pen lids, bits of paper and even the occasional sweet wrapper, a few empty bottles will be no problem. 

Having a purposeful learning environment is so important to a teacher, so at the end of the night, you can really on your educator pal to give you a hand with tidying up.

They’ll do it in record time to and be ready to meet and greet and latecomers at the door.

Haili Hughes is an English teacher at Saddleworth School in Oldham, Greater Manchester. She tweets @HughesHaili