Halloween has always been one of the most anticipated events at HGS. Each year, our teams showed off their creativity and innovation through their thought up costumes and redesigned office workstations they put plenty of effort into. Our office Halloween huddles also serve as a trick or treat route for the children of our team members that we invite. We’ve done different themed Halloween parties throughout the years. From celebrating heroes to channelling our favourite anime characters, HGS’s Halloween huddle was always something to look forward to.
True, it was clear that we would not be able to celebrate Halloween like we often did this year. However, Each member of the HGS community once again exceeded all expectations and held a different kind of Halloween huddle. One that showed its spirit of togetherness and, with just a hint of spookiness on the side.
Preparing for the Zombies
Preparation and planning for our first ever virtual Halloween huddle began early in October. While we’ve had our share of virtual huddles these last few months, our Halloween celebration needed to be extra special. As the huddle required to be virtual, there were a few more things to consider than before.
It was decided that this year, teams would present themselves as “online zombies” for the Halloween huddle. Everyone was encouraged to put on their best zombie makeup and costume to be part of a unique virtual huddle HGS was going to have. Sure enough, many took the idea immediately and more than dressed up for the occasion. There were so many that stood out with their looks during our Halloween huddle that it gave an extra hint of spookiness. We were still able to continue our huddle tradition of playing games, celebrating company milestones and doing some birthday shout outs as well.
Making Halloween More Special
While our zombie-themed huddle was a success, we didn’t want to stop there. From the virtual huddle, there were so many creative people that we wanted to give a bigger platform to. As a result, we held our first-ever Halloween-themed makeup competition called “Face Your Fear.” Through the use of makeup, lighting and a little imagination, several HGS employees transformed themselves into the scariest, most creative look they could make. There were so many creative and scary entries that it was difficult selecting who would be the best.
To cap off the festivities, we ended with our first-ever online Halloween Jam Night. As we’ve seen in many of our events, HGS isn’t short on talented musicians and storytellers. Many of them banded together for one memorable evening. The musicians took in song requests as an eager HGS audience cheered them on virtually through Facebook Live. It was very much different from our previous Halloween huddles, but the HGS spirit was alive and well.
Looking Ahead to December
We’re only a few days removed from the event, and there are still so many people talking about what a fun evening it was. One of the biggest concerns going into this lockdown period was how all our teams were going to stay engaged. Unsurprisingly, everyone at HGS banded together to create an incredibly memorable Halloween in such unique circumstances.
Our Halloween celebration was also a clear indication that the best is yet to come this year. With December on the horizon, preparations are already underway for a different kind of Year-End Party. Seeing how memorable Halloween was, we plan to close it out this year as only HGS knows how.
