There are a few things you can count on this time of year: cooler temperatures, a plethora of B-rated Rom-Coms, decorations, a slightly tighter waistband, and Maveristmas! This was our fourth year to celebrate Maveristmas, complete with friendly competitions, earning MMMs (it’s like Maveris’s own cryptocurrency), and general tomfoolery.

As in years past, we kicked this year’s event off with a Logo Competition. This is each team member’s first opportunity to earn MMMs and sets the stage for all the happenings. Many of the submissions this year included Packet (our mascot). Some were hand-drawn and/or colored, with many others being AI generated images. This year’s winning submission checks two of those boxes.

In traditional Maveristmas fashion, the Caption Contest was next. We presented our team members with the image below and asked them to describe what they thought was happening in the image.

The winning submission:

“Five Palm Trees, Four PMs, 3 Port Holes, 2 Green Wreaths, and the Porpoise of Cybersecurity!” 

Up next was the Build It competition where team members were asked to build something representing Maveristmas using just about anything. We received a large variance of mediums for the submissions including hand-carved wooden figurines, marshmallows and toothpicks, gingerbread houses, cardboard, cookies, Perler beads, and 3d printed items. Some of the submissions that received the most votes are shown below.

In an effort to broaden the scope of submissions for the next competition, we expanded last year’s Karaoke Competition to be a Talent Show Competition. In addition to the singing related entries, we received snowboarding, woodworking, juggling, dog-training, and dancing entries. This minor change had a great impact on the variety of submissions and provided us with a glimpse at some of the skills and abilities our team members have outside of the traditional work environment.

Making a reappearance from a past Maveristmas, we included a Two Truths and a Lie Competition that provided an excellent opportunity for team members to get to know some small details about each other and test their lie detector capabilities. Check out some of the oddest truths submitted:

• • • • “I once rode on the same elephant as Kevin Bacon.”
      • “I don’t eat hamburgers”
      • “When I retire, I want to investigate haunted houses.”
      • “I have hiked Machu Picchu.”

Another throwback from Maveristmas past was the Photo Scavenger Hunt. We asked each team member to take us along with them as they engaged in their day to day events to give us a glimpse of what is going on. To provide some encouragement, we supplied a list of items for them to search for and grab a picture to submit to the competition. Some of these items included a parade float, a Salvation Army Bell Ringer, an ice carving, and a narwhal. Depending upon the anticipated difficulty, each item was allocated an MMMs value. Hundreds of photos were submitted, allowing each team member to earn up to 350 MMMs.

In years past for Maveristmas and Maveris Olympics, Capture the Flag (CTF) challenges have always been popular. However, the Party Planning Committee (PPC) and Allen wanted to change things up a bit. The answer was to allow team members from throughout the company to provide challenges to introduce us to the work they perform on a daily basis and the skills necessary to ‘do what they do’. The response was great! We received challenges covering just about every skill level to include recruiting, business development, cyber policy, cyber operations, steganography, networking and infrastructure, cloud, and everything in between. 

In an effort to spread a little holiday joy, we encouraged everyone to think of and give to others as well. The Volunteer Submission allowed them to provide a short description of how they served others and offered an opportunity to upload a picture if they would like. Examples of these acts of service included sponsoring children in the community to buy Christmas presents, donating and/or preparing food for those in need, celebrating and thanking a local firehouse, and honoring the men and women who served our country through the Wreaths Across America program. These submissions reminded us of the true spirit of the season.

To team up and multiply our efforts, we hosted a virtual toy drive again this year for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. At the time of posting, we collectively donated over $3,700!! The toys purchased with these funds will be given to the children receiving care at the hospital in an effort to add some cheer. The toy drive is still active. If you would like to join the team and make your own donation, you can use this Children’s Hospital Virtual Toy Drive link.

As with Maveristmas and other events in the past, we have just a few simple goals:  

• • • • Build community and relationships within the Maveris team.
      • Have fun!
      • Try new things and learn (shhh…don’t tell them).
      • Create a bigger impact on our community than any of us could do alone.

Based upon those goals, the PPC and Allen believe Maveristmas 4.0 to have been a success.

Not familiar with Maveristmas of years past?!? Check out Maveristmas, Maveristmas – The SQL, and Maveristmas 3.0.

Want to learn more about what it means to be a Maveris Team Member? Check out some of our other Maveris Insights posts!

Interested in joining the Maveris team? Check out our careers page to see what new opportunities may be waiting for you, and be sure to visit our website and LinkedIn page for more information and updates!