Associations & Holiday Events
Amid the constantly changing public health guidelines of the pandemic, it can be difficult to plan a holiday event for your organization. The FORUM Editorial Committee asked CSAE Trillium members what they planned for the holiday season. Here are some of their responses.
Emma Roberts, DES, Vice President, Base Consulting
Our team is having a virtual Elfster gift exchange. It gives us the ability to celebrate the end of another year as a team, reflecting on the highs and lows. We have had so many successes in such difficult times. Our Team Secret Santa pre-covid was always fun and being able to still swap gifts with each other is something to look forward to! We cap the price at $25 and use www.elfster.com to help us match gift recipients. Everyone makes their wish list and then you buy something for the person you are assigned to and have it sent out to them. Then we all hop on a zoom, open gifts, play some games and relax a little.
Cathy Bouwers, Communications Manager, Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science
As part of our holiday tradition at CSMLS, we run a gift basket raffle with staff. The gifts are made up of donations collected throughout the year from our employees and partners. The money collected from the raffle goes to help 1-2 local families in need, buying gifts for the kids and gift cards for grocery stores.
With some creativity of staff, we have been able to continue this tradition virtually. A website was created to showcase all the gift baskets available. Tickets could be purchased via etransfer. The basket winners were announced by hosts at our office location, while those who stayed home could still watch the festivities online. It’s been great for us to continue this long-standing tradition with a few creative twists.
And a submission from an anonymous contributor whose organization deferred their event this year!
Call me the Grinch but a staff holiday potluck via Zoom doesn’t exactly bring on the festive feels. However, I suppose, it’s the ‘better than nothing’ end of the candy cane. Frankly, I’d rather lick a frozen metal pole than wear an ugly sweater and an eggnog moustache on another staff social zoom hour. It’s to the point in the pandemic where Zoom should only be launched for whatever can’t be resolved in an email. How about a Merry HO-HO-HO message done old school? Gather around kids, this Gen X’er is going to tell us a Christmas story.
Twas the week before Christmas break shut down, and all throughout the office at home,
We said to hell with any social life that requires a head set and Google Chrome.
And then, out on the lawn arose such clatter,
It was a colleague (no, not the Amazon delivery driver) with a visit that matters.
They said, “I’m keeping my distance but I wanted to say hi,
As I’m bringing you personal Christmas wishes and a bottle of rye.”
Ba humbug. I mean, Merry Christmas.
The Pandemic Grinch
