The Office Christmas Party
A lot has changed over the last year. The office is much different to how it was twelve months ago and it looks like the usual Christmas celebrations won’t be going ahead.
Since COVID-19 first hit earlier this year, business owners have had to adapt to suit new safety guidelines. Much of the UK has been working from home, left trying to balance their working and home lives, while others have continued to work in the office. However, the office isn’t the same place it was twelve months ago – they have been adapted to become COVID-Secure environments with sanitising stations and social distancing measures, plastic screens, dividers and new policies in place.
Fortunately, these measures have allowed businesses to continue to operate and, while many may not be as profitable as they once were, they are managing to ride out the storm in the hope that some normality will one day return.
Sadly, it’s becoming less likely every day that the Christmas party, the one event of the year where we can all get together to celebrate a year of hard work and meet with our colleagues on a more social level, will be able to go ahead. Even if it could, the uncertainty of what the future will bring caused many of us to write-off the idea of any gathering quite early on, leaving little time to make plans.
However, with a little creativity, and some forward planning, maybe we can rescue the Christmas party! Ok, so it might not be the same, but a well planned virtual get-together could still raise the Christmas spirit (and a glass or two) and let your staff know that you appreciate all the hard work they have been doing.
A Festive Virtual Meeting
We are all familiar with virtual meetings. Meeting people face-to-face has been less than ideal for a while now, so no doubt we all have access to a platform where everyone can meet virtually. Even if it’s not something you already have been using, there are plenty of free options that you and your teams can get set up in no time.
Arrange a time, perhaps on a Friday evening so no one has to do any work the next day, and encourage everyone to don their best festive outfits before logging onto your virtual shindig.
Delivering a Gift
What better way to show your staff that you appreciate them than with a bottle of their favourite tipple? You could even provide snacks for the party. Arrange to have these delivered on the day of the party so everyone can enjoy them while you host your get-together. There are plenty of companies offering timed delivery so it should be easy to organise. It’s likely that local companies will be making regular deliveries, so, if your team is based in the same location, perhaps take the opportunity to support a local business.
It’s likely that pubs and restaurants and other catering establishments will only be able to open for delivery. Many of these will be providing a Christmas meal in a box, so you could go all out and enjoy a three course meal with everyone (virtually).
Keep them Entertained
We all know that large groups of people on a group video call can be difficult. If your teams are big, then divide them up into smaller groups and put someone in charge of leading each one.
Provide an activity – there are lots of options here – a comedian to tell some jokes, a DJ, a musician or even just host a quiz that everyone can get involved with. Organise some online games that people can break off into groups to enjoy. A quick Google will reveal plenty of ideas and there are even companies out there that will host and provide all the entertainment for you.
Getting Back to Normal
Hopefully, by this time next year, we’ll be able to celebrate in a more traditional way but, for now, we have to try and make the best of a bad situation. Until things return to normal we need to do what we can to keep our staff healthy and safe from the coronavirus that has affected us all so much.
Global Office Supplies have everything you need to promote good hygiene practices in your workplace and help keep COVID-secure. Whether you need hand sanitiser stations, wall-mounted dispensers, antibacterial pens, sneeze shields, face shields, social distance stickers, signage, flags or banners we have it covered.
Get in touch today to find out more about how we can help your office go green: