Tis the Season for Giving and Togetherness

by | December 15, 2014

Blog written by Michelle Bomberger, Equinox Business Law Group

Tis the season for giving and togetherness.  For most of us, these words conjure up images of family — scurrying around to find the right gifts and preparing for beautiful family celebrations of the holidays.  But what about those other people in your lives – the ones you spend one-third of every day, Monday through Friday with at work – should there be sense of togetherness and giving with them as well? Companies often try to celebrate the season with their employees in a similar way.  The annual company holiday party is a classic example – it’s a gift of togetherness for employees, a celebration at a busy time that requires them to do nothing but show up!  For small businesses, however, such an event may be impractical due to the small number of employees or the cost of hosting such an event.  Many other ideas can create a sense of togetherness – and incorporate giving as well.  Here are a few:

  • The annual holiday party doesn’t need to be a big, expensive production.  Everyone eats lunch and employees can enjoy a shared meal where each person brings in a special recipe or just something yummy!
  • Lunch on Us.  A twist on the potluck that requires no effort by employees is for the company to purchase lunch for the team in the office.  Pick a favorite food or restaurant, have it brought in, and your employees will enjoy a lunch treat on the company.
  • Ornament or gift exchange.   People are inspired by many different things, and their personalities show when they are asked to bring in something like this.  Everyone is busy this time of year, so to be successful, the request should be easy to accomplish for everyone.  We did an ornament exchange one year along with a potluck lunch, and it was festive and joyful!
  • Giving for others.   Many charities host toy, food, and clothing drives this time of year and they make it simple to participate in their programs.  At Equinox, we sponsor a giving tree for Olive Crest where our employees and other tenants in our building can purchase gifts for the foster children that Olive Crest supports.  In addition, one of our clients hosts an annual coat drive and we place one of their bins in our office to accept donations on their behalf.
  • Charity work.   Another way to bring employees together is to encourage a day of service together.  People come together in a different way when they are serving others.  Your group could volunteer to wrap presents for needy families, create food baskets and deliver them, or serve at a soup kitchen.   Taking a ½ day from the office for such an activity fosters togetherness in a unique way.

There are many, many more ways for your team to share in a spirit of togetherness and giving this time of year – and it’s not too late to make it happen!  Whichever way you choose to bring people together this season, we wish you all very happy holidays and the best of everything in the New Year!