Crossing my fingers that no one here is having an in person office holiday bash.
Did your office/workplace do something different this year in lieu of a typical lunch/dinner, gift basket, gift card or whatever???
While we don’t have much in the way of tangible perks at my workplace we usually have had a nice dinner at a local club for the holidays. Anything social like that is sort of my nightmare so I’m ok not having it. Our department instead took the $$$ they would have spent on that evening out and donated it to a local emergency shelter home for families.
We are all being encouraged to also send the same shelter a personal gift if we can to increase the impact.
I’m so happy to see this instead of a small gift card or random treats for each employee.
My D is having a virtual cookie decorating party today. Hubby is buying lunch for his small office and playing Xmas tunes while they take turns eating.
I think people still want to have holiday cheer. I haven’t heard of anyone doing any actual parties.
In the old days, when our office was like a family, we would meet at a local diner for breakfast. That got taken away for being unethical since it bled into working hours. We also had a big potluck lunch for our floor. I stopped going several years ago as we just arent close as before. I don’t even know now most of their names down the hall. They are not having it at all this year.
I had been coordinating a potluck breakfast for our small office the last few years, but I am in anti holiday mode at work. I am saving all my Xmas joy for my family and people who care about my health. My employer does not. And if I don’t coordinate it, nobody else will pick up the slack so nothing was done.
And speaking of my employer, last week I saw all the HR people brining up big containers of food. They obviously still had their big holiday potluck. Not surprised in the least.
My office usually has a catered lunch followed by a gift basket raffle in one of our large conference rooms. People would also be encouraged to leave treats/warm drinks outside of their offices for coworkers on the day of the party.
This year, we had a boxed lunch and virtual party over Zoom. Upper management tried to make it fun but, between the pandemic and recent layoffs, the office isn’t feeling a whole lot of holiday cheer. Like @ClassicMom98, I’m saving my holiday joy for my family.
My town usually does a holiday volunteer appreciation dinner. A pretty big deal at a local wedding type venue with a full cocktail hour and dinner. This year they sent out a virtual dinner - I got a gift bag with a gift certificate to a local restaurant, a box of truffles from a local desert place, a bag of coffee (again local), and a mug. I thought it was a very nice substitute and supported the local businesses.
I’ve worked remote for years and the best thing I’ve seen a company do is pay for a choose-your-own-adventure. For tax reasons, the company paid for food and entertainment, but each employee had their own budget. One year I took my family to Cirque-du-soleil. Last year I took them ice skating. Some people just used the money to buy an expensive bottle of Scotch. Other people bought pizza and rented a movie at home.
And then people shared their experiences in the company chat room. It’s a lot of fun to see how other people created their own parties.
Now this year the options are somewhat limited. Giving to a local seems like a great choice. Still, I think there is a real value in giving employees an experience or tangible gift. Working remote can be very isolating and so can the holidays for many people. In the grand scheme of things, a small investment can make a big difference for people.
My college department Zoomed over end-of-semester bingo. Fun and mostly it was just nice to chat with people I didn’t see all semester–which was everyone.
DHs company had an online awards thing and then a game of some sort. Over 100 employees took part. It sounded like fun, but we didn’t do it.
I put together individualized gift baskets for my husbands team of 8 because we thought the company wasn’t doing anything. I sent a survey out (you know…from the elves) and got ideas of what folks might like. Everyone got some of the things on their list. I think I got that idea on this forum!
Those were delivered a week ago. Then on Saturday, we received a gift thing from the company. They ordered a gift basket for each employee from Sam’s Club. I have to say…the thought was really nice! And it was a total surprise! But they spend a huge amount on their holiday party and the owner and wife wanted to do something.
We all received gift cards with a nice thank you note. We usually have a big holiday party with way too much drinking IMO. I was pleased to NOT have to come up with yet another dressy holiday outfit that I will wear absolutely NO WHERE else. That doubles or triples the value of the gift card!
