‘Tis the season to be jolly, and the SMTP2GO elves are getting into the Christmas Spirit!
It can be difficult to feel festive when you work remotely, but at SMTP2GO we make a point of enjoying the festivities together even when we live and work thousands of miles apart. Here are our top tips for sharing the Christmas magic from afar:
Work Online, Party Online
Being part of a small support team means that communication is critical. Not only do we work online, but we also party online! On occasion, we’ve held a Skype party to celebrate Christmas together. The tricky thing is finding a time that works for everyone. For example, our last party was held at 7pm Spanish time, 6pm in London, 7am in New Zealand and 1pm for our US colleagues. Sorry New Zealand, you drew the short straw! If you don’t have the opportunity to meet in person, set up a Skype date, grab a drink (and some marshmallows) and enjoy a chat that’s not about work!
Secret Santa
Last year we organised a Secret Santa swap through Elfster. Everyone who’s interested can sign up, you set an agreed budget, and the website draws the swaps. Since it was obviously going to be impossible to swap the gifts in person, we agreed an opening date, and we ordered the gifts online and had them sent directly to the recipients’ addresses. Afterwards, we all posted pictures of our gifts in our work Skype chat and had great fun trying to guess who had drawn who.
Make the Most of Short Distances
If you live close enough to get together, then make the most of it! This Christmas, Rick (who lives in Nelson) will be taking a road trip to our offices in Christchurch to join the rest of the New Zealand team for laser tag and pizza, and the next day they’re taking a trip to a wine and food festival. Teresa, who’s based in Madrid, is flying back to the UK to spend the holidays with her family – but is calling in to spend an evening with Charlotte (who lives just outside London) and her family first. They’re planning a fondue extravaganza and there *might* be some wine involved! 🥴
Christmas Conferences
If your team is planning on attending a conference this year, why not kill two birds with the stone? Make it a Christmas Conference! This year Charlotte, Teresa and Louise attended the Women in Tech conference in Amsterdam. The city was decorated in beautiful lights and there was nothing cosier than finding a snug little pub for a glass of wine at the end of a long day listening to inspirational speakers. In January, our US team will be travelling to MailCon in Las Vegas. Make sure to say hello if you see them!
How do you share the Christmas Spirit with your colleagues?
