AN EVEN BETTER VIRTUAL HOLIDAY PARTY 

Having recently flexed their creative muscles to bring the Maveris Olympics to life, the Party Planning Committee and Allen set out to organize a holiday event to top all others. Maveristmas – The SQL was born. 

The event was announced in mid-November as a two-week, company-wide, virtual celebration centered around a series of competitions and events designed to spread holiday cheer. Building off the success of the original Maveristmas, there were a total of nine events and one bonus challenge included in this year’s festivities.  By participating in events, employees would earn “Magic Maveris Medallions” or “MMMs” (/m/) which would then be entered into a drawing where employees had the chance to choose from a generous assortment of prizes.

THE PLAYLIST

Before the official start of the competition, employees were asked to share their favorite tunes for a seasonal playlist to get everyone in the holiday spirit. The Party Planning Committee and Allen gathered a total of 30 holiday songs and added them to Spotify and Apple Music playlists that could be downloaded and enjoyed by all. 

THE COMPETITIONS

LOGO COMPETITION

To kick things off, submissions for a Maveristmas – The SQL logo design were opened, and employees voted on their favorite image to represent the event. The winning logo was used throughout the competition and featured prominently on the Maveristmas  – The SQL website.  The winning logo can be seen at the top of the page.

CAPTION CONTEST

For the first official event, participants were provided with an image and asked to generate a unique caption to describe it. This popular competition produced a tie among the winning entries and the top three are included below:

• “Elves Gone Wild”
• “Audition rejects from Broadway’s, “Elf the Musical” attempt to recoup their costume rental fees.”
• “Subway GRIFTING to pay for Maveristmas GIFTING”

KARAOKE CONTEST

Next up, a good old-fashioned karaoke contest! Employees (and their families!) joined in the fun to record their favorite song karaoke-style. The submitted entries utilized family members, pets, and props to serenade the team in an attempt to steal the competition.

MAVERIS FEUD

This year, a new competition made its way into Maveristmas – The SQL in the form of Maveris Feud. Prefaced by a company-wide holiday questionnaire, the Party Planning Committee and Allen used the information collected to formulate the questions and answers for Maveris Feud. Just like the game show, participants answered a question with what they thought the top answer might be and were awarded MMMs accordingly. Some examples include:

• • Name an item you’d need to dress up as Santa.
    • Top answer: Beard
  • Name a gift a child doesn’t want to open on Christmas morning.
    • Top answer: Socks
  • Name something people might start doing on December 1st.
    • Top answer: Decorating 

POEM CONTEST

Another new addition to Maveristmas – the SQL offered the chance for participants to wax poetic – literally – by submitting their best poem to represent Maveristmas. The winning poem, which so eloquently summarized the Maveristmas mission, was appropriately titled: “A Maveristmas Reflection”

It’s time to celebrate Maveristmas,
which is almost better than Christmas.
We used to meet up at The Hub,
and sometimes ended up at the pub.
Many lunch trips to Habanero,
with friends that have since moved to Orlando.
Year one was a small gathering at Kobe,
with kids in tow who wanted to play.
The next year was a grand time at Brix 27,
followed by a late-night Uber stop at 7-11.
COVID showed up and ruined it all,
until the party planning committee answered the call.
Two weeks of prizes and fun,
trying to be number one.
Laughing at your friends as they dance and sing,
hoping to take home the gold prize bling.
Virtual lunches to keep us in touch,
seeing the people that we’ve all come to like so much.
Building the best display out of Legos or clay,
how will I pick my favorite they say?
Cookies and poems and activities galore,
this time of year is never a bore.
Looking forward to the gifts we might win,
and hoping to soon see each other in person again.
Here’s to hoping that Maveristmas is one reason,
that everyone is smiling throughout this holiday season.

COOKIE DECORATING

What are the holidays without some sweet treats? For the next challenge, participants rolled up their sleeves and got baking, submitting their best cookie decorations. The winning designs were awarded MMMs but all the submissions were deserving of “mmms”.

BUILD-IT

Guess who’s back, back again? It’s Build-It! For the third time, Maveris employees got busy building something to represent Maveris(tmas) by using whatever materials they had on hand. Legos were a popular choice this year, but submissions also included candies, magnets, and even family members.

NAILED-IT

In the spirit of creating things with whatever was lying around, for the next challenge participants were asked to create their best replica of an item. The item in question was a hand-carved ornament by our very own CEO, Ron Cangley.

Employees submitted drawings, more legos, rice krispies, and even a few carved attempts. The winners below received MMMs for each of the following categories:

PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT

The final challenge was available for submissions throughout the entire two weeks of Maveristmas. Participants submitted pictures of themselves with various season staples, earning between 1 and 3 MMMs for each submission. Employees could submit and track their total point value using the handy list below: 

VOLUNTEERING

Finally, in the spirit of giving back, Maveris employees were encouraged to volunteer in their communities and share their experiences. This year, employees participated by assisting local Cub Scout fundraisers, distributing food and donating gifts for underprivileged children, and volunteering their time as first responders.

Like Maveristmas (the original) and the Maveris Olympics before it, Maveristmas – The SQL was a smashing success. For two weeks employees participated in challenges, attended virtual lunches, and wracked up MMMs to win prizes. Great fun was had by all and holiday cheer was successfully spread as the year closed out with this final virtual event.