School Staff “Christmas Drop-In”
The week coming up to Christmas is a stressful week for both students and teachers. Students are excited about upcoming vacation, Christmas and then stressed beyond words due to a week of finals. Teachers are just trying to make it across that finish line. Six or seven classes means finals for a couple hundred students. A couple hundred students means a couple hundred tests to grade and get into the grade book before break. Not to mention last minute conferences with frantic students and parents about missing papers, grades, etc. There really is no extra time for anything else.
Last year, I wanted to somehow treat the staff to some sort of Christmas party but I knew that it would be crazy to expect them to “be able to” or “want to” spend any extra time at school at any point. I came up with the plan that I’d invite them to a Christmas Drop In. I wanted them to know they were invited to come in and visit or just drop in for a treat and leave if needed.
We have a little over a hundred staff members. (As long as I have been doing PTC for our school system, I’ve always included the full staff – not just teachers.) I set a date and sent out e-vites and proper invites. We do not have a huge budget so PTC funds were budgeted based on paying for paper products and drinks. Any decorations would be donated. I spoke to all of our bakers and they collectively promised 20 dozen Christmas cookies.
On the day of the event, we covered the tables with green and red table clothes, set up a few Christmas decorations that were brought in from our homes. We served hot apple cider, eggnog and fruity water (oranges, lemons, apples). . We set up cookies around the room on various tables and at a long table across the front. It really looked nice. (I wish I would have gotten a picture of the cider but somehow I missed it. Doh!)
Staff began arriving the last hour before school was out and our last staff left at 4:30 pm – end of the party. We had so many come to just pop in to have a cookie but they ended up staying, pulling out a chair and just visiting for 20 minutes to an hour. They truly enjoyed it. We received many thank verbal, email and thank you cards, all saying how much they appreciated the ‘break’.
I did the same thing this year. Everyone seemed to be looking forward to it and we couldn’t let them down:)
Speak soon!
take care,
~kat
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