December is a month of many calendars. Hanukkah begins at sundown on Friday 4 December and runs to 12 December this year. Some colleagues will celebrate Christmas, some will celebrate both, some neither, and almost everyone appreciates being thought about rather than assumed about.
Inclusive does not mean bland. It just means the celebration is designed so nobody has to opt out of their own team’s party.
Dishes, dates and mint tea laid out for sharing.
Let the food carry the meaning
Food is the easiest way to honour more than one tradition without turning the office into a seminar. Sufganiyot or latkes next to the mince pies, a spread where every dish is worth trying, little notes about what things are. That is inclusion people can taste.
Offer more than one way to join in
Not everyone celebrates by staying late. A lunchtime spread, a craft table at a winter social, an afternoon decorating workshop: these give people who do not drink, do not do evenings, or do not do Christmas a way to be part of it. A good rule of thumb: if joining in means having to explain yourself, the format is the problem.
Sharing food and conversation around the table.
Ask, do not assume
If you have Jewish colleagues, ask what they would enjoy rather than asking them to organise it. The same goes for every tradition. Being asked is lovely. Being voluntold is work.
An office buffet in full swing.
We plan workplace celebrations around the people actually in the room, with menus and workshops shaped by chefs and makers who grew up with the festivals they cook for. If you are planning something inclusive this December, we would love to help.
