When you work in the Philippines, the Christmas season often means having to attend an almost endless amount of year-end office parties from the first of December up until the last week before Christmas. These are often big events that mark a successful year that has gone by with the hope of an even bigger new year. To say that HGS had a major 2016 would be an understatement, which would be why this year’s Christmas party was also one of the biggest to attend this month.
The Year That Was
On Friday, December 9th, staff from both of HGS’s offices gathered in droves to The Atrium at Enderun for their annual Christmas party. Given the success of our previous major event, our “year-end spectacular” had a lot to live up to and quite frankly, it did.
To open the festivities, HGS CEO Angela Vidler gave an opening message to the staff, thanking them for what has been an incredible 2016. From staff growth to our second office opening back in July, the continued success of HGS could not have been possible without the hard work put in by the staff every day. If there was a reason to celebrate a successful year, it certainly was on that evening.
The Show Must Go On
The theme for this year’s Christmas party had a Broadway flavour to it and not only did staff have to come dressed in their best but it also meant having to break into groups and perform a song from their selected show. Between the weekly crunch and having deadlines to meet by the end of the year, finding the time to practice – let alone even talk about the performance! – almost seemed like an impossible undertaking.
A scene from one of the many performances of the evening
However, it was clear right away that there was no shortage of performers within the HGS staff. From small groups to full ensembles, everyone knocked it out of the park with their chosen selections from Broadway musicals. All those that took the stage that evening managed to put on very rousing performances with songs from Rent, Grease, Cats and Miss Saigon that were still being talked about long after the party had ended.
Needless to say, picking the best performance overall might have proven to be difficult. In the end, however, the performance of “The Heat is on Saigon” from Miss Saigon was nothing short of perfect and was enough to be named the best of the evening.
A Prize Every Time
Regular raffles were also held in between performances in order for groups to prepare. As it was the season the giving after all, more than 60 prizes were raffled to the staff present that evening, which accounted for almost half of the people present. This meant a good number of HGS employees went home as big winners as won video game consoles, flatscreen TVs, home appliances and electronics. Prizes were awarded by various members of the management team, with the major ones raffled off by Angela Vidler herself.
Our grand prize winner took home a 49″ flatscreen TV
Thankfulness and Excitement
To close out the evening, the management team surprised the staff by also performing their own Broadway selection. Choosing to perform “Thank You for the Music” from Mamma Mia was a perfect way to not only cap off the evening but to reflect on HGS’s entire year as a whole. As Angela had said earlier in the night, there was a lot to be thankful for this year in terms of HGS’s success and the ones who made it happen were present at the Christmas party.
The HGS OSS Family looking sharp
Indeed, there was a sense of both pride and relief from the staff that the results of their hard work in the last 12 months were being recognized. Amidst all the merrymaking and the festive atmosphere, you could also feel the excitement building for what the New Year was going to bring to the company. Those challenges had to wait until 2017. For now, the evening of the 2016 HGS Christmas party belonged to the staff that made the company what it is today and they made sure their last major office event of the year ended on a high note.
Happy Holidays from HGS OSS!
