A very, very short dinner party

One of the hardest things I've encountered since my wls has been how to deal with dinner parties and other functions where the main focus is on food. It's not that I overeat, thankfully; it's just that I'm done eating so much faster than everyone else, and then there's not much to do besides watch everyone else eat. Talking, of course, is the obvious answer, but I'm not great at creating conversations, especially with people I don't know well. So, tonight is my work Christmas dinner, and it just seems like a lot of hassle to go through for half an hour of awkward conversation followed by six small bites of food followed by an hour of awkward conversation while everyone else eats. And I'm PMSy and frankly would just rather not go. I hate to be anti-social, but there it is. What would y'all do?