Covid: Can we rescue the office Christmas party this year?

我们能挽救今年的办公室圣诞派对吗?

"This is the year to do this, if there was ever a year," says Helen Lacey. "I know everybody's 'Zoomed' out, but this will be a little bit different."

“如果曾经有过这样的一年，今年就是这样的一年，”海伦·莱西说。“我知道每个人都被‘放大’了，但这次会有点不同。”

Helen is the creative director at Enact Solutions, a drama-based training company in Huddersfield.

海伦是哈德斯菲尔德的一家戏剧培训公司制定解决方案的创意总监，。


Virtual Shindig promises companies a bespoke panto-style show with a sprinkling of in-jokes, sketches, songs and awards for team members.

Virtual Shindig向各公司承诺，将提供一场定制的panto风格的节目，其中包含一些笑话、小品、歌曲，并为团队成员颁发奖项。


When the team at Enact Solutions dreamed up the idea, they didn't know if there would be any enthusiasm after such a difficult year. And although the Christmas party is a tax deductible expense, Helen was worried the cost of £1,500 for a team of 30 people might be a deterrent. But, she says, they've had a huge response with people saying that this was just what they'd been looking for.

当制定方案公司的团队想出这个想法时，他们不知道在经历了如此艰难的一年之后，是否还会有任何热情。虽然这个圣诞派对是可以免税的，但海伦担心30人的派对花费1500英镑会让她望而却步。但是，她说，他们得到了巨大的反响，人们说这正是他们一直在寻找的。

One of those was Kirsty Gaunt, learning and development manager at Anabas facilities management company. She's been involved in the company's Christmas plans this year and says she feels "10 stone lighter" knowing that someone else will do a lot of the work.

阿纳巴斯设施管理公司的学习和发展经理克斯蒂·冈特就是其中之一。她参与了公司今年的圣诞计划，她说，知道有别人来做很多工作，她感到轻松了很多。

"The fact that I don't have to do it all is just amazing. And it looked so much fun," she says.

“事实上，我不需要做所有的事情，这太神奇了。而且看起来很有趣，”她说。


"Let's be honest, Christmas parties aren't everybody's thing either are they? Some people don't even like Christmas, so it's been tough to try and find something for everyone. This way people can choose if they want to come to it."

“老实说，圣诞节聚会也不是每个人都喜欢的，是不是?” 有些人甚至不喜欢圣诞节，所以想为每个人都找到圣诞礼物很困难。通过这种方式，人们可以选择是否愿意来参加。”

If you've ever had to organise the annual Christmas bash, you'll understand the dilemma - it's not a task to be undertaken lightly and there are some people breathing a sigh of relief that they've been let off the hook this year.

如果你曾经组织过一年一度的圣诞狂欢，你就会明白你所处的两难境地——这不是一项轻而易举就能完成的任务，有些人会因为今年摆脱了困境而松一口气。

But that's not the case for Manchester-based HR technology company.

但总部位于曼彻斯特的人力资源技术公司就不是这样了。

Normally its 38 workers would be treated to a day of exchanging presents and playing games, followed by a night out. But this year they too are going for the virtual option, although the presents will still be real. Each employee will have a Christmas treat box and a Secret Santa present, delivered through the post.

正常情况下，该公司的38名员工将在一天内交换礼物、玩游戏，然后晚上出去玩。但今年他们也选择了虚拟聚会，尽管礼物还是真实的。每位员工都将收到一个圣诞礼盒和一份邮寄的神秘圣诞老人礼物。

Opening them will be part of a day of online festive activities where everyone will be encouraged to wear a Christmas jumper, given an allowance to create a seasonal sandwich or lunch, and perhaps follow that with a drink and a social catch-up at the end of the day.

打开它们将是一天线上节日活动的一部分，在活动中，每个人都会被鼓励穿上圣诞套头衫，并得到一笔零花钱来制作三明治或午餐，或许在一天结束后再来一杯饮料和一次社交聚会。

Although the company prides itself on looking after its workforce, did it think about not bothering with the party this year?

尽管这家公司以照顾员工为荣，但它有没有想过今年不要为派对操心?

"No," says Abigail Silvester, the firm's PR, social and events manager. "It was always really important for the company to do something like this.

“不，”该公司公关、社交和活动经理阿比盖尔·西尔维斯特说。“对于公司来说，做这样的事情真的很重要。


The lockdown in England is due to be lifted on 2 December. But even so, Abigail says, going back to a pre-pandemic-style celebration, with people actually in the same room, is not an option this year, partly because it would involve team members travelling.

英国的封锁将于12月2日解除。但阿比盖尔说，即便如此，回到大流行前的那种庆祝方式，让人们实际上呆在同一个房间里，今年也不太可能了，部分原因是团队成员要出差。

"We hope to be back together as a team next year, but it's hard to say right now."

“我们希望明年能重新团结在一起，但现在还很难说。”

There's an expectation that the tier system will come back into force in England, and with restrictions across the UK, Natalie Haywood, who runs three cafes and two corporate venues in Liverpool, thinks real world parties - even for limited numbers - just won't chime with the public mood this year.

人们期望等级制度将在英格兰重新生效，在全英国都有限制，娜塔莉·海伍德，在利物浦经营着三家咖啡馆和两家公司，他认为，现实世界的派对——即使数量有限——今年也不会与公众的情绪一致。

"I think the office Christmas party is just done. I can't see how they're going to do it," she says.

“我觉得公司的圣诞派对刚刚结束。我看不出他们会怎么做，”她说。


The lead-up to Christmas is normally Natalie's busiest time of year and a chance to build up cash reserves to see her through the leaner winter months.

圣诞节前夕通常是娜塔莉一年中最忙的时候，也是她攒钱度过寒冷冬季的好机会。


But the virtual route is not for her. "I don't believe our product really transfers. In either a takeaway or a virtual way," she says.

但这条虚拟路线并不适合她。“我不相信我们的产品真的能转换。无论是外卖还是虚拟的方式，”她说。

"Our product works because the venues are beautiful and great spaces to be in, but if you can't be in those venues then it's just not the same thing."

“我们的产品之所以有效，是因为这些场馆都很漂亮，是很好的场所，但如果你不能在这些场馆里，那就不是一回事了。”


"The idea is the whole office pre-orders for 20, 30 people, that'd be great. Kind of bring the meals to them," says Jamie Hoare, co-founder of The Hive, which opened in mid-March for all of two days before lockdown.

“我们的想法是，整个办公室都能预订二三十个人，这太棒了”杰米·霍尔说

It's not clear how many workers will be back in offices, but Jamie says they'll give it a try with two Christmas menus.

目前还不清楚有多少员工会回到办公室，但杰米表示，他们将尝试两种圣诞菜单。

He and his business partners spent lockdown creating the "perfect space" for office Christmas parties and were planning a "big, big marketing push", but like so many other businesses, they've had to adapt.

他和他的商业伙伴把时间都花在了为办公室圣诞派对创造“完美空间”上，并计划进行“大规模的市场推广”，但像许多其他优德棋牌官方下载一样，他们不得不适应现状。

"We're fairly used to being flexible now. We're forced to be, with all the different restrictions and rules that come in every week," he says.

“我们现在已经习惯灵活变通了。我们被迫这样做，每周都有各种各样的限制和规定。”