For the past 24 years, Margaret Jung, our Senior Account Manager, has hosted a festive luncheon for our team during the holidays. Some years we had as many as 30 people gather, and some years we’ve had as few as 8. We come together to share our gratitude for one another, review our vision boards for the year, discuss goals we’ve accomplished, and cheer in the new year. Even though we have been a remote company for 10 years, we have always celebrated the holidays in person at Margaret’s home. Except for this year.
This is a year like no other, so our 25th-holiday party was like no other. Although it was different, it was great fun and we connected from the heart. After all, living our core value of creating trusted relationships means connecting, and what better way to connect than to celebrate one another! And, while we couldn’t be in person, we still laughed, exchanged gifts, and ate together (via zoom). This year, the silver lining was that our out-of-town teammates were able to be “in-town” and fully participate.
Here is how we planned ours.
- Secret Santa gifts were organized via Elfster. We preselected budgets and set up our wish list.
- Each team member selected a song to be played at the event and shared why it was memorable. They selected a song from any period of their life as long as it either:
-
- Brought joy
- Energized
- Was reflective
Music is such an uplifting and powerful connector and allowed us the opportunity to learn more about each other at a deeper level.
- Secret Santa gift exchange took place, complete with oohs and aahs and zoom screenshots to capture the festivities.
- Lunch was pre-ordered ahead of time so we could eat together.
- Every year, each team member creates a vision board in January. We revisit them mid-year and then again at our December holiday party. So at our zoom gathering, every person reviewed their vision board and shared their aspirations and the lessons learned from this year.
- We shared our gratitude and wrapped up our gathering.
This year has been full of new learnings and wonderful, unexpected surprises. This party was no exception and it was the most fun two hours I’ve spent with my team in a long while. This team rocks!
If you are planning your first virtual party, I hope the above information is helpful.
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and a lively virtual gathering.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the 575th issue of our a.blog.