Thanksgiving in IT

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There are no gifts involved, you get together with people you generally like, there’s more food than imaginable, and a little football (either on the television or in the backyard.) It’s also a chance for you to have a warm team event.

You can serve a turkey dinner with the fixings to the entire department.

Say what? It’s a large group.

Being an aficionado of Thanksgiving….here’s a great formula for success:

• Location – use the office. Find a large meeting room, someplace large enough for everyone to get in.
• Schedule – try for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Many people will try to “hit the road” by noon time Wednesday to be with family and friends, and the Classic Rock crowd will be listening to Alice’s Restaurant.
• Plates/utensils – most companies will provide
• Fixings and dessert – invite the staff to bring in one “batch” of their favorite “native” dish. This is important. This gives everyone a fun task to bring in their specialty, and then talk to others about it. Whether stuffing, vegetables, salad, dessert…. Inevitably someone will forget to bring in their contribution….and they can then get drinks!
• Turkey – Cooking the turkey can be the most challenging thing. For a small group, you can cook at home. For larger, you’ll need assistance. I’ve discovered pizza ovens can cook a bunch of turkeys at once. It seems every town has a house of pizza. The Westborough House of Pizza has prepared turkeys on more than one occasion for me.

The next key thing is serving. Set the area up buffet style, so everyone can go through and select their favorites. Someone has to carve the turkeys and that someone is you!

You’ll be running the carving station of the buffet line. (If you’re not a pro carver, look online for turkey carving videos. You’ll want to make this happen quickly). As each person comes through the line, take the time to learn a little about them. Ask where they are going for thanksgiving; ask what their favorite thing is about the holiday. In smaller groups, have each person share their favorite holiday traditions.

By having the management team serve the staff, there are important messages exchanged and the staff will really appreciate the effort.

One last thing. I often use an office white board and let people draw “hand” turkeys. While a flashback to second grade, it’s another opportunity to chat informally with people about their holiday and genuinely show interest in each other. It’s also amazed me how some people will simply draw the hand turkey, while others will make it an artistic statement.