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NEXTnc Gift Guide: The art of giving - Holiday Gift Guide |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Thursday, 23 November 2006 |
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Page 2 of 8
OFFICE PARTIES FOCUS ON CONNECTION, WITH PC TOUCH
By Erin Frustaci
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 When it comes to throwing great office holiday parties, it’s not the size of your business that matters, it’s about making a connection that gives employees that warm, fuzzy holiday feeling.... and getting yourself through the fete without becoming the subject of next year’s conversations.
“We all work so hard throughout the year,” said Keri Bowser, administrative assistant with First National Bank in Fort Collins.
Bowser has had a leading hand in planning the company holiday party the last couple of years.
“Typically we have it at the Hilton,” she said. “Because we are spread out across different offices, we don’t get the chance to see each other often. The holiday party gives us a chance to get together in one centralized location.”
The bank’s big to-do usually draws about 600-650 people. About 480 employees attend and have to option of bringing one guest. Caldera Creative Services elegantly decorates with a beautiful theme — this year it’s red and white. The night kicks off with drinks and hors d’oeuvres, leading up to a catered sit-down dinner. A professional photographer comes in to capture the memories of the night and musical entertainment sets the mood. The dessert bar features a rich chocolate fountain.
“People wear anything from jeans on up to a ball gown,” Bowser said.
After the president gives a speech, the employee committee draws winners for giveaways, with prizes ranging from a weekend stay at a condo in Steamboat to gift certificates at local venues and businesses.
“I think the bank realizes how hard everyone works,” Bowser said. “It’s definitely a perk to have something so special. We get people asking months in advance what we are doing.”
Other offices may do similar things on a smaller scale. The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, with a staff of nine, will come together in the kitchen this year.
Tiana Nelson Amell, communications coordinator with the chamber, said employees and guests will work with a chef to prepare dinner together at The Edwards House Bed and Breakfast in Fort Collins.
“It’s kind of nice to be more casual with the people you work with,” she said.
Even in a more relaxed setting, it’s important to mind your P’s and Q’s.
“With any other business function, you have to keep a level of professionalism in the way you act,” she said.
This also goes for gifts. Instead of giving cheesy ornaments or holiday mugs that co-workers will stash away in the back of their filing cabinet, the chamber does something different.
In lieu of staff gifts, employees pool their money and adopt a family through Project Self-Sufficiency, a nonprofit organization that assists low-income single parents in the community.
“When buying staff gifts, you can only spend so much,” Amell said. “We felt like this really expresses the holidays a little more,” she said.
While office parties are usually a hit, they are not always a given. In recent years, some corporations have gotten away from traditional holiday parties in an effort to be more politically correct.
Sandy Pedersen, an administrative assistant for Hewlett Packard said her office used to have a big celebrations, but with all of the cultural changes and high cost, it is now left up to individual departments.
“Many of them don’t do anything,” she said. “Our department does a breakfast. Others still go really big and might even have a dinner at a manager’s home.”
She said they do have a half day off before the holiday and play holiday music for a few hours.
“They make sure to play music that touches all religions,” she said.
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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