There has been a lot of talk around our the Sandstorm Design office about possible “days.” Accent day, musical day, Spanish day (DĂa de Español), wacky socks day, potluck day. But pajama day is the one that really got our staff excited. So we brought this office talk into fruition and deemed the day after the holiday party Pajama Day. It was already a half-day workday (one of our cool holiday gifts was that the office didn’t open until 1:00 PM the day after the holiday party), so coming to work in our pajamas was only appropriate.
It turns out, sleeping in and wearing pajamas is good for business. We were on top of our to-do lists, our brainstorming sessions left the whiteboard overflowing with ideas, and the overall office vibe was relaxed, comfy, and productive. What? Holiday stress? Not at Sandstorm Design.
At Sandstorm, we’re experts at a lot of things – branding, usability, marketing… and general holiday merriment. Yes, at Sandstorm we know how to do the holidays! We gathered Sunday night with our significant others at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba for the annual Sandstorm holiday party. For some of us, including me, it was our first holiday party with Sandstorm, and I’m sure I speak for all of us newcomers when I say it was even more fun than I had anticipated. With sangria in hand (or beer, or margarita), we laughed the night away. Everyone ordered a few tapas, and then the plates just started passing. Fried goat cheese? Yes, please. Spicy potatoes? Yup, right here. Something with mayonnaise? I’ll take it. Something with bacon? Pass that to Zak. We ate, drank, and cracked jokes until our cheeks were sore from laughing so hard.
Then there was the Dirty Santa game. Alma stole Holly’s #1 spot this year, and got to be the first to pick a present, and the last to steal. Even though we had a private room, I’m pretty sure the whole restaurant could hear our Ooooh’s and Aaaah’s as each gift was unwrapped, and our bursts of laughter when someone would steal a coveted gift (like the Christmas Story leg lamp, or the neck massager, or the vampire Abe Lincoln book). And just when you thought you couldn’t eat, drink or laugh any more, they brought the dessert menu. To make the night even better, Sandy made an announcement that the office wouldn’t open until 1:00 PM the next day. Like I said, Sandstorm knows how to do the holidays.
Here at Sandstorm, we all tend to take on the same mood of the day. You’ll know when we’re in our Friday mood because the jokes are more frequent and the laughter is a lot louder. We also get in seasonal moods, enjoying cider in the fall and tea in the winter. And now that the holidays are upon us, we thought it would be fun to deck the halls to accompany our festive mood!
So on this extra wintery Monday morning, the Sandstorm staff arrived to see lights strung, gifts wrapped and stockings stuffed. To add to our already hefty supply of sweets, there are now candy canes, old-fashioned candies, peppermints and lollipops on just about every table. Everywhere you turn there are decorations to remind you of the season. Along with all this snowy weather, we now have a fully decorated office to keep us in the holiday spirit!
Speaking of holidays, I still need to get my Dirty Santa gift for this weekend’s Sandstorm Holiday Party…
