Feature: Corporate Christmas
Christmas parties and Covid-19
country and poses a serious risk to the hospitality industry. So what does this mean for the traditional workplace Christmas party? Unfortunately, many venues and events spaces have yet
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to reopen and large gatherings of people are likely to continue to be restricted for the foreseeable future. With health and safety the number one priority, many businesses have had to accept that the Christmas party will not go ahead as usual this year. However, as an employer it’s likely you feel that your
staff still deserve to be rewarded for a year’s worth of hard work and want to provide an opportunity for them to let their hair down, especially given the myriad of challenges they had to overcome in order to help keep the business running through the pandemic. While a proper party may be out of the question you
can, with a bit of creative planning, find a way to bring your staff together this Christmas, spread some much needed holiday cheer and pull off a worthy celebration.
Virtual party Break out your best dance moves from the comfort of your living room. Whether your staff are back in the office or still working from home come December, a virtual party is an easy solution to the Christmas party this year. Your staff will be able to celebrate together from the safety of their own homes via video call – and as an added bonus, they won’t have to worry about costly taxi rides home afterwards! Each staff member can send in their favourite Christmas song for the party playlist and encourage everyone to wear their ugliest Christmas jumper.
Virtual awards ceremony A socially-distant awards night is a fun variant on the virtual Christmas party. Gather your employees on video call and host an end-of-year awards ceremony that recognises the hard work and special achievements of your team. Whether serious or tongue-in-cheek, your staff will welcome the opportunity to dress up in their best formal wear and raise a glass to their successes.
Christmas care packages Christmas is a time for giving, so consider sending out care packages to your staff to make them feel appreciated. Gift vouchers or food and drink hampers are crowd favourites, but always keep in mind the recipients. While it might be difficult to personalise each care package (especially if you have a large staff) you should still pay care and attention to the gifts you send out – non-drinkers might not appreciate a bottle of wine, for example, while vegetarians won’t have much use for a turkey!
Give virtual gifts A secret Santa gift exchange might be a stable of your workplace Christmas celebrations. But instead of staff buying physical gifts for each other this year, why not opt
50 CHAMBERconnect Summer 2020
lthough pubs and restaurants across England began to welcome the returning public on 4 July, the threat of coronavirus still hangs heavy over the
‘A virtual party is an easy
solution to the
Christmas party this year’
for virtual gifts? Ideas include electronic gift cards, subscription packages, concert or event tickets and charitable donations. These can all easily be sent via email.
Treat employees to a party of their own Social distancing is still likely to remain in place for some time, but with pubs and restaurants opening up to the public, why not gift your staff the price of a meal or a drink that they can enjoy with their friends and family? It’s not quite the same as celebrating with the whole office, but they will appreciate the gesture and the opportunity to relax after a difficult year.
Donate the money Think about the amount you usually spend on the office Christmas party, divide it up between your staff and ask them each to donate it to a charity of their choice. Christmas is the time to think of others and the less fortunate.
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