Office Events Posts

With the explosion of workplace wellness programs among companies across the country, you probably already know that there are things you can do to help your staff improve their health. After all, with chronic diseases like diabetes, poor heart health and obesity accounting for 78 percent of American health care spending, it’s clear that employers need to encourage their staff to lead healthier lives. But instituting healthy options for your staff is actually the easiest piece of the wellness process–getting employee buy-in, and participation is where many businesses struggle. In fact, most companies see about 15 to 20 percent staff participation in healthy initiatives, which certainly shows that there is room for improvement.

So, if you feel stuck and are trying to get more employees to participate in your program, where should you start? Believe it or not, there are several great apps that can support your workplace wellness series and encourage more employee participation, helping your staff take charge of their health, which leads to happier and longer lives. To help you find the right apps to supplement your program, we’ve outlined three of the best options below.

Keas

The Keas platform is fun, social and promotes employee engagement both within your company and in your team’s actual work. It’s a turn-key program that requires little help to set up and allows employees to track their fitness and activity levels, suggests actions that team members can take if risks are identified (like high blood pressure) and also includes mind stimulating games and quizzes to encourage your team to learn more about their health. It can also be integrated with external apps such as Fitbit, which can help further encourage your employees to participate in your workplace wellness program. Plus, it offers a social component that allows your team to connect outside of the office by sharing photos, healthy recipes, exercise tips and more. Not only will the Keas platform help you to spread the word about your healthy living programs, it can help create stronger bonds among employees and more company loyalty over time.

Maxwell Health

While this platform was initially developed as an innovative way to shop for great health plans, it’s evolved into much more. The Maxwell Health app helps your team understand and stay engaged with their health plan beyond the open enrollment period. It empowers them to take advantage of tools that will show them how to lead a healthier lifestyle and understand what health care options are available to them. It also integrates with,  and helps your team find, the right kinds of products to support their healthier lifestyle, like the Fitbit, Doctor on Demand, and Hello Fresh — programs that support fitness, health and healthier eating. Plus, it encourages employee engagement by offering incentives for meeting their health goals, like gift cards to Amazon and Starbucks. Since it does all the heavy lifting for you, encouraging your team to participate in your workplace wellness program can become a breeze!

FitLinxx

Understanding that not getting active is what’s driving many of America’s health care concerns today, FitLinxx helps you to implement the best workplace wellness program for your office, and helps your employees stay engaged, as well as accountable for their own health. Their Pebble+ Activity Tracker is a small device that your team can clip onto their belts. It encourages them to take little steps throughout the day — taking the stairs, parking further from the building, and moving more over their lunch hour — to become more active. Your team can easily sync their activity and track their progress both on their own and through detailed monthly reports that are only available to them. It’s an easy way to help your team understand the benefits of healthier living, get on the right track, and encourage them to participate in your wellness series.

Healthier Employees

Helping your staff lead a healthier lifestyle should be one of your top priorities. Not only are employees more loyal to companies who offer unique wellness opportunities and care about them beyond what their able to produce, encouraging your team to become more active and eat better can significantly impact your company’s bottom line through the amount you spend on health care costs. Giving your employees the tools to better manage their health can help to make this a higher priority for them, and encourage your staff to make more of an effort to participate in the programs your business offers.

When you’re ready to take your workplace wellness series to the next level, consider offering some healthier eating opportunities through Waiter.com’s corporate catering or virtual cafeteria service. After all, a well-rounded wellness program can help your team live better and understand all of the things that impact their overall well being.

Forget the French fries, and put away the potato chips: it’s time to celebrate America’s favorite vegetable, but in an international fashion! Today is National Potato Day, and don’t roll your eyes at yet another made-up food holiday. Rather, think of today as an opportunity to break out of the humdrum routine of office lunches: burgers and fries, sandwiches and chips- all perfectly respectable ways to enjoy potatoes, but also utterly predictable. Instead, celebrate National Potato Day with one of the following delicious, potato-based dishes from around the globe. Get inspired to give the humble spud a fresh look, and liven up your lunch break while you’re at it. After all, couldn’t your work day use a little celebration?

Aloo gobi – A relatively healthy Indian dish of cauliflower and potatoes, this vegetarian meal is bright yellow thanks to the use of tumeric.

Boxty – These Irish potato pancakes are like combination of mashed potatoes and fried potatoes – and all delicious. They’ve even inspired a popular folk rhyme: “Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan; if you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man.” 

Gnocchi – These potato dumplings are native to Northern Italy, and beautifully paired with zesty tomato sauces or rich cream sauces alike.

Knish – These heavenly Jewish snacks are sort of like small, savory handpies stuffed with mashed potatoes and some combination of meat, cheese, onions, or sauerkraut.

Nikujaga – The Japanese equivalent of meat-and-potatoes, this dish is mostly potatoes, with a little beef for flavor, stewed with soy sauce and a broth (usually dashi or bonito).

Papa a la Huancaína – The homeland of potatoes, Peruvian cuisine includes a lot of wonderful dishes starring the spud,  but the classic is this cold salad of boiled potatoes dressed in a spicy cheese sauce.

Patatas bravas – This quintessential Spanish tapas dish is simple and straightforward: chunks of potatoes fried and served with aioli or a spicy tomato sauce.

Pommes Anna – French food is famous for its richness, and this dish is no exception: the only two ingredients are sliced potatoes and butter, layered and baked into a cake-like dish. Yes, a potato and butter cake. And you thought French fries were a guilty pleasure!

Poutine – Perhaps Canada’s greatest contribution to the culinary world (sorry, ketchup chips), poutine is essentially French fries smothered in a gravy-like sauce and cheese curds. Poutine might be more appropriate for post-bar-hopping midnight snacks than for office lunches, but really, fries, gravy, and cheese are going to taste good at any time of day!

Rösti – This Swiss breakfast staple consists of circular patties of coarsely grated potatoes, fried with butter or another fat, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Think hash browns, but fresher and rounder.

Samosa – Fried pockets of dough stuffed with spicy potatoes and veggies (like peas or onions) and occasionally ground meat (like lamb or beef)? This Indian snack food is popular worldwide for a good reason – it’s delicious.

Tombet – Similar to ratatouille, this dish hails from the beautiful Spanish island of Majorca – and it’s a delicious layered concoction of potatoes, red bell peppers, and eggplants fried in olive oil, and topped with a “crust” of tomatoes, garlic, and parsley.

Fried, baked, stuffed into dumplings, or made into dumplings themselves, you can see that potatoes are a lot more diverse than we usually give them credit for. Celebrate their big day with a round of globally-inspired, spud-centric office lunches – you’ll be able to find dozens of menus to peruse for the perfect potato dish at Waiter.com, with easy online ordering and fast delivery to boot!

Company picnics may be a long-standing tradition, but they don’t have to be old-fashioned. Saying thank you and showing appreciation to your staff never goes out of style, and gathering your entire staff together for a day of celebration can have a huge impact on the way your employees — and their families — view the workplace.

Of course, simply hosting a potluck at the local park may not send the message you wish to communicate. From interactive games to corporate catering, here are our six tips for a modern company picnic — if done right, one that will leave your employees feeling appreciated and rejuvenated for the rest of the summer!

1) Make the day interactive

Why not just pay for everyone to spend a day at the closest amusement park — the new normal for company picnics? Essentially, because your employees will naturally gravitate towards forming the small groups that mirror their dynamics at the office every day. And while there’s nothing wrong with having “work friends”, a picnic is an opportunity for employees from different departments to socialize and get to know one another. Sometimes these casual relationships can lead to incredibly productive interactions that wouldn’t occur otherwise (the same reason Google places communal dining tables in their cafeterias).

2) Show you support family – of all kinds

A company that values work-life balance tends to have happier, more satisfied (and thus more productive) employees. The company picnic is a golden opportunity to not only support that balance indirectly, but to offer your employees’ family members a direct thank-you by including them in the celebration. Of course, families don’t always look the same, so take the extra step to let employees know that whomever they consider family is welcome. That might mean your social media manager brings her sister and niece, while the IT supervisor brings his two best friends — the important thing is that your company includes the “life” part of the work-life balance in the festivities.

3) Level the playing field

The days of the CEO putting in a cameo at the picnic should be long gone — they should be the first on the playing field when it’s time for games and activities. Putting employees — and managers — in new circumstances can also help reinvigorate workplace dynamics and relationships. The intimidating manager won’t be so scary once he laughs at his own inability to throw a softball, and the junior level intern can gain new respect by scoring a home run in the kickball game. As long as a playful sense of humor governs the day, leveling the playing field can be a very healthy reminder that whether you sit in a corner office or a crowded cubicle, every coworker is an individual with their own unique skill sets.

4) Don’t take “picnic” too literally

Don’t make your employees spend the morning in the kitchen: resist the urge to make your picnic a potluck. This is your chance to show your employees’ families that you really care enough to provide a wonderful experience for them, and it’s easy to use corporate catering and food delivery from Waiter.com to put on a wow-worthy spread. Consider a drool-worthy barbecue buffet, a crowd-pleasing spread of Mexican food, a New England-style crab feed, or an Oktoberfest theme with bratwurst, sausages, soft pretzels, and a mustard bar.

5) And don’t neglect special diets

Provide a few options for vegetarians and healthy eaters — and not just a collection of side dishes. From quality veggie burgers to hearty, protein-rich salads to fresh fruit, it’s fairly easy to pleasantly surprise your guests with delicious yet healthy picnic fare.

6) Create a modern memento

If your picnic is really fun and festive, chances are the camera phones will be out in full force (who doesn’t want a photo of the boss coming in last place in the potato sack race?). Post a suggested hashtag for the event, and afterwards, gather the Instagram goods into a yearbook-style memory book of the day! It might become the most popular conversation piece in the break room.

At the end of the day, a modern picnic should leave employees and their families feeling happy and grateful to be part of a dynamic, fun-loving company — and Waiter.com’s corporate catering program and prompt delivery can make organizing the big event a breeze!

On Earth Day, everyone tends to feel a little greener! Take advantage of the good vibrations to get your team together and celebrate with an Earth-friendly lunch — going green together during meal breaks can help boost teamwork and a sense of pride in the workplace. Here are a few ways to make sure your break room is ready to host eco-friendly office meals, every day of the year:

Serve meatless meals. Choosing plant-based meals isn’t just better for your health: it’s much better for the environment. Estimates put the meat industry as the culprit behind nearly twenty percent of the man-made greenhouse gases emitted each year — considerably higher than what we generate from transportation.

Focus on locally-sourced foods. Restaurants that serve locally-grown fruits and vegetables and locally-raised meat aren’t just capitalizing on a hot foodie trend. Some experts believe that locally-sourced food can be better for the environment, thanks to reduced transportation emissions and preserving local soil balances. Many smaller, local farms may also raise organic produce, which reduces the amount of pesticides in the food supply. When choosing a local eatery for a group takeout order, find one that sources local ingredients when possible.

Be sure to supply real plates and flatware, along with cloth napkins. While paper is better than styrofoam, and compostable is better than paper, reusable beats them all. Plus, the ritual of eating lunch on a real plate with a real fork and a cloth napkin may help you engage in more mindful dining, which can enhance enjoyment and prevent overconsumption.

Supply shade-grown coffee. Shade-grown coffee (that is, coffee plants grown under the shade of rainforest canopies) is undoubtedly the eco-friendly choice when it comes to buying Latin American beans. Coffee plants grown under a tree canopy preserve the natural habitat of the rainforest, along with the animals, birds, and insects that call it home — and also reduces the need for pesticides. And it’s easy to find shade-grown coffee: most beans that are shade-grown will proudly advertise their green street cred right on the bag.

Give up overhead lights for the day — especially if your office still uses inefficient fluorescent fixtures from decades past. Turn off the overheads and turn on desk lamps equipped with energy-efficient CFL or LED bulbs… or, best of all, open up the blinds and let the sun shine in your lunch room!

Reduce individual-serving packaging. Condiment packets, chocolates, mini-bags of chips and snacks, sugar packets, coffee creamers — individually-wrapped servings generate considerably more waste than their “bulk” counterparts. Instead, keep items stored in canisters and containers, and make sure items are easily accessible for employees.

Have an eco-educated coworker host a lunch-and-learn focused on easy ways to go green in the office. Set your computer to go to “sleep mode” when you’re absent for more than a few minutes. Unplug the electronics around your desk on Friday afternoon. Choose one day per week to walk, bike, or take public transit to work. Make a pledge to bring your reusable water bottle or coffee mug every day.

After all, the point of Earth Day is to get everyone involved in making our planet a cleaner, greener place. And with prompt delivery and online ordering from Waiter.com, it’s never been easier (or more efficient) to provide eco-friendly office meals!

Office manager, receptionist… party planner? As many administrative assistants can attest, their numerous job duties tend to include organizing office celebrations, birthdays being a common one. And with an already packed schedule, it can be easy for admins to find a reliable bakery and fall into a routine of ordering a box of their delicious cupcakes every time a birthday rolls around — especially if your workplace recognizes every employee’s birthday individually, rather than holding a group celebration for all the birthdays falling in each month. But is your office birthday routine causing your celebrations to lose their sparkle?

Cupcakes are great — they’re tasty, and they’re conveniently pre-portioned so no one has to cut a cake or dole out slices. But chances are the reason your workplace celebrates birthdays is to recognize each employee, making them feel special for a day; it also gives everyone in the office a little break from the daily routine and time to socialize together. However, when they’re always the same, you might be undermining that intended purpose by making birthday parties just another predictable task in the workday.

Switch up the routine by implementing some new, unexpected office birthday ideas! While you don’t want to play favorites (like staging a grand party for Amy in marketing and then just plopping a candy bar on the desk of Bob in accounting), it can rejuvenate the office’s energy — and coworkers’ social bonds — by making each employee’s birthday celebration unique. Even if you hold a group party each month, your officemates will appreciate the novelty of not-another-box-of-cupcakes with these office birthday ideas:

1) When you have a sports fan or two to celebrate, stage a tailgate or ballpark-themed lunch! Think hot dogs, hamburgers, peanuts, soft pretzels, buffalo wings, nachos, and caramel corn for dessert. Find out the favorite teams of the birthday boys and girls, and hang a few pennants or posters around the break room to personalize the celebration even further.

2) If your budget allows (and when it fits in with the personalities of your intended honorees), plan a spa day celebration. Serve healthy spa cuisine for lunch like kale salads, whole wheat pastas, salmon, and a lighter dessert like fresh fruit or an olive oil cake. Have a masseuse come in and treat the guests of honor to chair massages (and the rest of the staff if possible!).

3) If it fits in with your company culture, throw an in-office happy hour after work on the big day. Bring in some local microbrews or bottles of wine, have non-alcoholic beverages on hand for employees who don’t imbibe, and serve pub fare like sweet potato fries and sliders. It’ll certainly be more affordable than putting a bar tab on the company card.

4) Keep with the dessert theme but switch up the offerings by setting up a sundae bar in the break room. Topping ideas include sauces, chopped candy bars, M&M’s, berries, and nuts.

5) Start the day off with a party and opt for a birthday breakfast instead of lunch or dessert. Donuts are the obvious choice, but you can also take it up a notch by splurging on a little something special, like lox to go along with the bagel tray or ordering in lattes instead of simply pouring from the coffeepot.

6) For summer birthdays, set up an indoor picnic buffet: cover the table in a red-checkered cloth, and serve pasta salad, fried chicken, hot dogs, deli sandwiches, sliced watermelon, potato chips, and lemonade.

The important thing, really, is to make it special for the guests of honor and to boost the team spirit of the office as a whole. Celebrations may add time to your schedule and take money from the budget, but building employee engagement and fostering a sense of appreciation in the workplace are the invaluable benefits of celebrating office birthdays! And with easy online ordering and delivery, Waiter.com can help make pulling off an office party a breeze — no Martha Stewart skills required.

A “hackathon” may sound like an illicit activity, but these all day (and occasionally all night) work sessions for computer programmers are soaring in popularity among tech companies. Hackathons put a premium on creativity and collaboration, allowing colleagues who might typically spend their time isolated before a computer screen to work together on projects. As Faceboook programmer and hackathon organizer Pedram Keyani shared with Fast Company, “[The] thing about hackathons is that the most critical rule is you can’t work on the same thing as your day job. It’s a way to experiment with ideas in a low-cost way.”

A hackathon can take many forms and tackle all kinds of problems, but they usually have one thing in common: food is required! While tech companies like Google and Facebook are famous for providing catered meals or free lunches, a hackathon almost always involves a steady stream of office snacks and drinks to keep participants hyper-focused during their long work sessions.

What kind of food should you provide for a hackathon? Essentially, a lot of it! Ideally, hackathon participants will be expending mental energy at a very high rate for a long period of time, and food is crucial to keep them going.

Snacks: Of course snacks are key, but think beyond the traditional potato chips and pretzels. Provide a few healthy hackathon options like granola bars, veggies, and whole-grain crackers for long-lasting energy — but you’ll also want plenty of candy for quick sugar highs late in the night, when energy will almost definitely be flagging. Also, don’t forget to make sure the snacks you provide are easy to eat while working. Peeling an orange will just lead to frustration and a sticky keyboard.

Beverages: To beer or not to beer? That is the question. Many hackathons feature a few brews, but that’s up to each company — and the level of confidence they have in their programmers to be effective while drinking. One or two beers in the office can be a nice treat, but any beyond that might lead to errors. Definitely provide bottled water, soda, coffee, and energy drinks!

Dinner: Most hackathons will encompass dinner. Take a cue from Facebook: Keyani also shared that their team orders Chinese food from the same restaurant at every hackathon; it’s a tradition that the team looks forward to. Pick a favorite restaurant and order in a big meal for everyone to share. Keep in mind that while you definitely want your team to be full and satisfied, you don’t want to order anything too heavy that might put them to sleep.

Breakfast: If you have a really intense hackathon that goes all through the night, don’t forget to provide an office breakfast! Go the lighter route with bagels and cream cheese and assorted cereals, or end the hackathon with a fully catered omelette bar for a special thank-you treat.

Providing good food and plenty of snacks is key to creating a fun, engaging environment that will inspire your employees to do their best work… and sign up for the next hackathon.

Best of all, you can simply allow Waiter.com to handle all the arrangements for your next hackathon. Easy online ordering and delivery makes it easy to stay focused on all of the fantastic work your team will be producing!

The office happy hour is back. Not the, “Hey gang, let’s head to the bar” kind of happy hour — that never went away. Rather, there’s a growing trend of happy hours in the office itself: rather than heading to a nearby pub, employees will congregate in the break room and share a few craft beers from the office fridge at the end of the workday. Blame it on the cultural influence of the hard-drinking ad execs on Mad Men, or even on the young, male-skewing startup scene in San Francisco. Whatever the reason, it seems like workplace happy hours (and office kegerators) are here to stay.

But isn’t drinking on the job a bad thing? Not necessarily, according to the companies who are making a habit of hosting weekly in-office happy hours. The trend has certainly taken off in the tech and social media worlds, where fast growth has translated into long hours and extended workweeks. Many employers see happy hours as a way to offset the added stress that can be unavoidable in such fast-paced environments.

At HERO|farm marketing agency in New Orleans, the break room fridges are typically stocked with beer at the end of the week. “Afternoon brainstorming sessions are usually improved with a few hops,” Shaun Walker, the agency’s creative directo, tells Draft Magazine. “It’s also important on Friday afternoons to connect as real people after we’ve been working like machines all week.”

While after-hours small talk over a beer may seem incidental, it’s precisely these kinds of social connections — forged during the more relaxed, laid-back office happy hours — that can lead to the more personally engaged relationships that many experts cite as crucial to job satisfaction and smoothly-running workplaces.

Companies that are frequently ranked as top workplaces know that employee happiness and feeling appreciated are both linked to long-term job satisfaction, and see that as reason enough to encourage raising a glass within the walls of the office. Denver-based research firm Datalogix offers monthly company gatherings with performance awards, catered meals, and beer. “I worked for a company within our same industry that didn’t offer any of the types of activities that we have here,” account manager Daniel McCallum told the Denver Post. “There was no sense of community, no sense of camaraderie. It was essentially just clock in, clock out, do your job, go home. At Datalogix, it’s a place where you want to be. You’re invested in more than just the day to day.”

To host a happy hour in your own office, you don’t necessarily need a tricked-out kegerator or a full bar in the break room. Stock the office refrigerator with a selection of beers from a local craft brewery, and keep a few bottles of wine on hand as well so employees have some options. Don’t forget to provide some festive non-alcoholic beverages for those who don’t drink, like unique bottled sodas or alcohol-free “mocktails”. And it’s a very smart idea to provide an array of drinking snacks, including a few options a bit heartier than potato chips; having food on hand makes it more likely that non-drinkers will join in the fun, and prevents anyone committing the happy hour faux pas of drinking on an empty stomach. Once your office gets into the happy hour habit, you can mix it up with easy themes like Coronas and Mexican appetizers or German lagers and soft pretzels.

Concerned about workers overindulging? At Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, where wine and beer are stocked alongside sodas and bottled water, they have a simple policy. As a company spokeswoman tells Bloomberg News, “We treat employees as adults, and they act accordingly.”

For a no-fuss office happy hour that’s sure to be a success, the company catering experts at Waiter.com are here to help. From picking the perfect food to pair with your beer to a more elaborate office holiday party, our easy online ordering makes planning workplace events a breeze. We’ll cheers to that!

If your company’s idea of employee appreciation is a five-year pin or a ten-year watch, you’re missing out on a powerful way to motivate and retain your top talent. Employee appreciation isn’t just a nice to have, it’s a must-have for creating a positive and productive workplace.

Recent studies from Glassdoor and NectarHR highlight just how impactful recognition can be and why an employee appreciation lunch might be the secret weapon you need to keep your team engaged and happy.

Why Employee Appreciation Matters

Let’s start with the facts. According to a Glassdoor survey, 53% of employees said they would stay longer at their company if their boss showed more appreciation. And 81% of employees reported they’re motivated to work harder when their boss acknowledges their efforts. 

While a pay raise is the most desired form of recognition, food comes in as a close second. The survey found that “unexpected treats and rewards” like snacks, lunches, and dinners were the leading form of non-monetary appreciation employees wish their bosses would show. Unexpected treats ranked above public recognition, career opportunities, and even feeling involved in decision-making processes.

Similarly, NectarHR reports that 71% of employees would be less likely to leave their organization if they received more recognition. This means that when employees feel valued, they’re far less likely to leave. Appreciation isn’t just about making employees feel good—it’s a strategic move to retain your best talent. 

So how can you put this data into action? One of the simplest and most effective ways to show appreciation is by hosting an employee appreciation lunch. Surprise your team with a catered lunch or a mid-week breakfast just to say “Thank you for all that you do!”

The first, a new study by online career site Glassdoor, confirms that appreciation from their boss is the most common motivator for employees — moreso than a demanding boss or the fear of job loss.

And the best way to show that appreciation? Well, a pay raise. But after that? Food!

What to Do

Once you’re ready to plan an employee appreciation lunch, follow these tips to make sure you hit the mark: 

1. Cater to Everyone: Make sure everyone on the team feels valued by taking their dietary restrictions and preferences into account. You likely won’t cater to every employee’s favorite meal, but dietary restrictions must always be followed to ensure that employees feel safe and valued in their workplace. Services like Waiter.com allow you to input employee preferences so everyone is taken into account. 
2. Make It Unexpected: A plate of bagels or box of muffins every Friday soon becomes an expected part of the routine rather than a special reward. While regular business meals are a wonderful perk, consider surprising the office with an employee appreciation lunch on a Monday morning or an unexpected staff breakfast in the middle of the week.
3. Personalize: Include notes or a small token of recognition during meal time. This could be a speech to the team or individually written letters given to each teammate to show how much you appreciate their contributions to the company. Whatever you choose, this extra recognition will make your team feel even more valued for their work. 
4. Encourage Peer Recognition: Grant employees a “recognition budget” and ask them to surprise a coworker once a month with a special employee appreciation lunch. This reinforces the employee’s value within the company, social relationships between coworkers, and increases engagement on both sides of the exchange.
5. Give a Heads Up: Many people prepare their lunches the night before work. Take extra stress off of your team’s plate by sending a Slack message the day before to let them know they won’t need to bring lunch tomorrow. This will get them excited for the coming event and give them more free time at home. 

What Not to Do

While hosting an employee appreciation lunch is a great idea, there are some ways it can go south. Here’s what not to do when you host an office meal: 

1. Ignore Dietary Restrictions: Nothing says “we don’t care” like serving something that your teammates can’t eat. Always ask about dietary restrictions to ensure that you’re catering an appropriate meal for the range of diets on your team. Platforms like Waiter.com make it easy to provide your team’s preferences to avoid this misstep. 
2. Forget Personal Touches: A team lunch without any moments for appreciation is just that—lunch. Your team won’t realize that you’re trying to show gratitude for their work. Make sure you include moments of recognition to get the true point of the meal across. 
3. Be Cheap: There’s a reason people commonly joke about the employee pizza party leadership will give employees instead of raises. It’s because it’s lazy, cheap, and not thoughtful. To hit the mark you want to create an employee appreciation lunch that shows you’ve put some thought (and money) into it.
4. Be Too Predictable: Hosting the same lunch every month will quickly lose its sparkle. Try to mix it up with menus and celebration styles so this moment of appreciation doesn’t feel stale.

Why Companies Choose Waiter.com for Employee Appreciation Lunches

At Waiter.com we understand that every team is unique. That’s why we offer fully customizable catering and delivery options to suit every dietary need and preference. From custom lunches to fully catered office parties, we make it easy to show your team how much you care. 

With Waiter.com, you can: 

• Customize menus for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and other dietary restrictions 
• Choose from a wide variety of cuisines in your area to keep things exciting 
• Schedule deliveries with ease, to make sure lunch is always on time 
• Setup a corporate account to centralize ordering and billing 

An employee appreciation lunch isn’t just a meal—it’s a special occasion to boost morale, retention, and productivity. Ready to get started? Plan the perfect employee appreciation lunch with Waiter.com today.

Each December, businesses small and large face the challenge of an ubiquitous tradition: the office holiday party. Although intended to boost morale and celebrate success, the lucky employees who plan these annual soirees know that combining work and play can be tricky. Especially during the busy Christmas season, many employees’ calendars are already overbooked, and expectations will run especially high to make the party a success.

Nowhere are the stakes higher than the holiday party menu. A steady supply of food and drink is crucial, and our holiday party menu tips will help you craft an exciting spread while pleasing all kinds of palates.

1. Let the Space Dictate the Food

Plan your menu around your space. Ample supply of tables and chairs? Feel free to serve up hearty plates of food that will require a fork and knife. Big, open space perfect for mingling, but nowhere to sit? Stick to finger foods, or items that are easy to eat while balancing a drink. Put yourself in the average partygoer’s shoes, and envision whether or not you would feel comfortable and professional talking to your boss while eating (for many reasons, an office party is not the proper venue for Sloppy Joes).

2. Get Creative With Global Fare

Looking to break out of the predictable cheese-and-crackers doldrums? Go global. Planning an international holiday party menu is a great way to shake up the traditional table without alienating the pickier partygoers. Instead of shrimp cocktail, serve up a sushi platter. Consider Chinese potstickers or Mediterranean tapenade-topped crostini for appetizers, and serve heartier Spanish tapas, like braised chorizo or ham and cheese croquettes, later in the evening to keep diners sated as the party rolls on.

3. Offer Alcohol in Moderation

Every office Christmas party seems to generate a legendary tale of the one coworker who dipped a little too liberally into the punch bowl. If your workplace wants to curb alcohol consumption without compromising on the festive atmosphere (or spring for an open bar), plan a menu of successive courses specifically meant for pairing with beer and wine. Serve slices of sharp cheddar with a glass of a locally-brewed IPA, or dish up a light seafood ceviche with a pink rose — all the way to chocolate cake paired with a sweet dessert wine. The liquor will flow in an orderly fashion, and all the partygoers will have something to talk about as they taste together!

4. Don’t Ignore the Vegetarians

Be truly considerate of the vegetarians — your coworkers or their significant others — who will be attending the office holiday party. A bowl of overdressed iceberg lettuce plopped down next to a beautiful glazed ham will not make any vegetarian guest feel welcome and cared for! A serving of butternut squash ravioli or eggplant Parmesan, however, feels like a real dish — not an afterthought or a collection of side items.

5. Allow for Lighter Options

The holidays can unfortunately be synonymous with weight gain, and many attendees at your party may be hoping for a few lighter options on the table. Provide a nice mix of indulgent party food and wholesome, healthy fare — think bacon-wrapped shrimp alongside beautifully roasted Brussels sprouts, or a tray of holiday cookies next to a glistening bowl of freshly cut fruit. The rule of thumb when planning your holiday party menu should be to encourage indulging — it is a celebration, after all! — but not make it unavoidable.

Holiday parties are  wonderful occasions to celebrate and show employee appreciation in the workplace, which is the speciality of the team here at Waiter.com. Whether you choose to serve a sushi buffet or a traditional sit-down holiday meal, contact us for assistance with your holiday menu planning today!