The end of the year is almost here and the time to plan a holiday/end of the year bash at work has arrived!
This year, you're in charge-what are you going to do?
Whatever you do-don't bring in some balloons and fast food and a keg of beer!
There are so many fun ways to have a great end-of-the-year work celebration-and without that much effort on your part either.
Here are some that I personally have been to and had the most fun attending:
A few years ago, the owners of our business decided we should all do something more than eat dinner and go home. They wanted something interactive that would get us all talking about something other than what we did all day at the "9 to 5" location.
What did they do? Where did they go? Not far from our business was an "entertainment" mall. You know the kind-a multi-plex theater, at least a dozen restaurants and shops to go into. One of the venues was a theme restaurant called Dave and Busters-they rented one of the open-yet-set-apart areas for all of us. The package they chose came with a buffet dinner, 2 drinks from the bar and $15 dollars worth of tokens each. The tokens could be used to play video games, indoor basketball, games of pool, group wifi games, etc...
We all had a blast! We found a new camaraderie that we never knew existed. We talked to one another's spouse, talked about our families and our outside interests. Then we took the tickets we won and went to the "gift" area and picked out a bunch of silly gifts.
It was a fun and memorable evening!
Another year at the same firm, the owners found a bowling alley that not only rented us several lanes, but set up a "tournament", an appetizer bar and a soft drink/beer bar. The winner of the tournament received 2 free sets of bowling for 4 at their next visit and the owners added an extra vacation day to the pot. Again, this made our group closer than before and raised our working moral!
If your business is part of the vast majority who have to cut back on celebrations this year-try hosting a potluck and "Pageant of the Regift"! Everyone does the usual for the potluck, but everyone brings something from home-unwrapped, puts their name in a hat and then start handing out the gifts. It's a great way to get rid of Aunt Sadie's homemade knit bunny hat or Grandma's hand-painted jam jar. It provides a good laugh for one and all!
Now the last idea is a slight re-make on the actual theme that the company I worked for did-our bosses always received a lot of gifts from vendors, everything from flat screen TV's to plastic key chains. So, they still would call it the "Pageant of the Regift", but they would start with the "best" gifts and work down the "worst" items. One year I received a 5 pound jar of pistachios and a vendor stamped coffee mug set. Another, I received a "spa" set (wash puff, back scrubber, a hot/cold eye mask and several scented candles), a box of Godiva chocolates and the all important vendor stamped new mouse pad!
The point is-make your year-end get-together one that brings your work buddies together and gives everyone a different point of view as to who you are and how much fun you can have!
Happy Holidays!
Labels: EndoftheYear
Godiva is a 10 month Birman chocolate point kitten playing with a piece of yarn.