help us spice things up!
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We celebrate our employees' birthdays with the typical birthday cake and a card that gets passed around the company, for everyone to include their warm wishes. After the lunch hour, everyone gathers in the kitchen and waits for the birthday person to arrive.
We then yell surprise, sing happy birthday and proceed to the cake cutting. We've done this for everyone in our company and it's started to become a bit monotonous. (Not to mention is no longer a surprise, and it’s pretty much expected).
I was wondering if you have any ideas to share in how we can continue this tradition, while we add some spice to our employees’ birthday celebrations.
We then yell surprise, sing happy birthday and proceed to the cake cutting. We've done this for everyone in our company and it's started to become a bit monotonous. (Not to mention is no longer a surprise, and it’s pretty much expected).
I was wondering if you have any ideas to share in how we can continue this tradition, while we add some spice to our employees’ birthday celebrations.
Comments
In the alternative, do breakfast with doughnuts and muffins so the surprise comes when they're not expecting it.
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
>a "special" birthday surprise for me. He hired a stripper to come in
>and perform. She was a real stripper from one of the local
>gentleman's clubs - his favorite hangouts. Well, I couldn't/wouldn't
>stick around for the show, so he sat in for me. He ended up getting a
>written reprimand for it, too.
This is along the same lines. One of our offices (full of women!) had a birthday party for another girl in the office and they had a cake in the shape of a penis! Of course, I got a call from one of the more "proper ladies" that she was highly offended, so I had to go counsel the office at their lack of decorum. (Hey...I thought it was a cake in the shape of Florida!)
One of our female staff members was about to go on FMLA leave for a surgical procedure. Her department co-worker (male, 25 yrs. old, kind of religious)had his MOTHER help him bake a "uterus" cake with the unforgetable (and regretable)phrase "Gone - but not forgotten" in red icing across the cake.
The staff member loved it! She's the one who showed the pictures all over the place - before I ever got wind of it.
Anne in Ohio
I can't wait to see what they do next year!
When I turned 40, the HR staff covered my desk in black and sprinkled little metallic 40s everywhere. I was picking them up forever, finding them in odd places, dumping them out of my keyboard. A few days later I was standing in the doorway of another's office when I smelled something burning. I looked over at my desk and my monitor had little flames shooting out of the top. You got it...metallic 40s strike again!
The owners frowned on this and said birthdays are private information and people may not want that information out. What the HECK is that? They said they felt the employee would be harassed too much about "having to buy beer on their birthday".
For each birthday, I e-mail the supervisor so they can at least say Happy Birthday to the employee. I also make sure I track down the birthday boy or birthday girl and tell them happy birthday. They seem to love it.
Do you think my "owners" are overly paranoid about something? If any of you remember my previous posts, these are the same owners that hang out at the bars with most of the employees. It's a majorly casual environment around here.
We have the same version of a new hire breakfast. Anyone hired in the previous month gets to go to breakfast with the COO. At that time, he is able to fill everyone in on the history of the C.U. A great time!
We are just so happy to be able to give a gift that just keeps on giving.
The owner of our company just celebrated his 80th B-day and we rounded up a picture of him that was taken 20 years ago and had it made into a poster size....put a funny saying on it and put it on his office door. We also had yard signs made with a picture of him when he joined the Navy (60 years ago?) and stuck them at the end of his road, on the interstate entrance, at the office, etc. Then we decorated his car (of course it was locked) with Austin Power stuff like tie die bandanas, shaggadelic flowers and fur. Also had 80 candles on the cake!!!
One year we made a sponge cake...with actual sponges!! Wait to see the B-day boy or girl cut that!
I think PRANK PARTIES are the way to go. As long as the person can take a joke and is a good sport no matter what the prank is. And we always make sure not to ruin the vehicle or physically hurt someone.