We had lunch at the Tangier restaurant and then headed back to the office for more festivities.

Days in advance, the staff made the office look merry by decorating their cubes. On the day of the party we held a cube decorating contest and, as you can see, we have some true artisans in our midst. Santa showed up, as well as reindeer, penguins, the North Pole, and even Lucy van Pelt’s counseling booth. It is amazing what can be done with post-it notes, lights,  and cotton batting!

Next, we pitted the Compliance, Research, and IT departments against each other in contests requiring feats of skill, endurance, and great courage. A political button quiz was followed by stacking apples, blowing balloons, building chapstick architecture (with chopsticks, of course), and a tissue-pulling contest. Much was at stake for each department, but the Compliance Department came out the winner of the day.

My personal favorite event was the baking contest with an amazing array of sweets. The pictures speak for themselves. There was, of course, the Herculean task of tasting all of those fine creations, but we the staff managed just fine.

Our holiday Giving Tree was full, with the gifts going to the Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit County.

We were thankful for the chance to get together for a party. It has been a good year.