A sit-down lobster dinner in a historic mansion is so 1990s. Today's holiday party, if a company throws one, will more likely feature turkey, mashed potatoes and other comfort foods served at the office or in the CEO's home.

That's what caterers are discovering as they gear up for what is generally their busiest time of the year, if not the most lucrative. There are indications that this office party season won't be an easy one for caterers.

More employers are delaying decisions on whether to hold a party, waiting to gauge earnings for the current quarter or to get approval from number-crunchers at the corporate office, caterers said.

Often, businesses are asking for bids instead of using their usual caterer. And some companies are seeking to trim party costs by inviting fewer guests, combining several parties into one or adopting a less-expensive menu, caterers said.

Some local caterers say their business isn't down, although they are working harder.

"Instead of doing one fabulous corporate party for 500, I'm doing five smaller ones to make the same money," said Susan Niemann, a principal with Ridgewells in Bethesda. "It means we have to work twice as hard to make the same amount of money."

In the boom years of the late-1990s, companies across the board were trying to out-do one another with parties, said John Challenger, chief executive of the outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. in Chicago.

Now, holiday parties are a casualty of the weak economy. "Companies are hitting year-end and they have not met their numbers," Challenger said. "This just doesn't feel like a very celebratory time. If you are downsizing, it's hard to justify a costly party."

A survey of 150 businesses this month by Battalia Winston International, an executive search firm, found that 95 percent of the companies will hold a holiday celebration this year, up from 83 percent last year - a period muted by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Still, 43 percent said the festivities will be more modest than five years ago.

"Most corporations are staying the same or are going to spend 10 to 20 percent less than they have in the past," said Debra Lykkemark, a Vancouver, Canada, caterer and president of the International Caterers Association.

"It means that we have to be very creative with the dollars we are getting."

The cutbacks are evident in the technology sector, where some companies have postponed their parties until January, said Jerry Edwards, a caterer and president of the National Association of Catering Executives in Columbia.

"They told us, 'We know we could get a better price in January.' They're quite savvy," said Edwards, co-owner of Chef's Expressions in Timonium.

Another way employers are cutting costs is by replacing sit-down dinners with cocktail parties or lunches, caterers said. And rather than use pricey venues, such as historic mansions, companies are holding parties at the office or in the chief executive's home.

"It's a little more personal, a little more connecting with everybody," Lykkemark said.

Menus, too, have changed from filet mignon, crab cakes and lobster to turkey, casseroles and less-pricey seafood, caterers said.

"A lot have turned toward the comfort food," said Leslye Kandel, owner of Absolutely Perfect Catering in Howard County. "We have an event booked with a menu of ... meatloaf and mashed potatoes this year."

Gina Stratakes, manager of Sterling Caterers in Rosedale, said she hasn't noticed a change in the type of food, although companies are ordering less of it.

"Some of them might have gone overboard with too much variety" in the past, she said.

Of course, not every office party is on a diet.

Edwards said he sees businesses actually spending more money, but on fewer people.

"They're still taking care of their upper management," he said.