The Holiday Wrap

Every year we have a holiday party. This year was no different, and our company party was held over in Oakland, at a sweet joint called the Lucas Taproom and Lounge. At my guess, around 150-200 people showed up, with significant others in tow, for a wonderful evening of comraderie and debauchery.

Ok, maybe not too much in the way of debauchery, but it was definitely a fun night! Like any holiday party, we had a Secret Santa gift gift giving. Ours is a bit different from others that you may be familiar with. Instead of a monetary limit, the only limit is your imagination! Most, if not all of the gifts this year were created by hand by the artists and craftsmen here. From several sculpted maquettes of people or creatures that we've created in the past (A Starship Troopers bug always shows up somewhere!), to machined toys with intricate moving parts, there's always something neat to see. This year, my personal favorites were a miniature snowglobe with the rat we're creating for Charlotte's Web, a sweet Wonder Woman display for our PR and marketing resident with her likeness, a foot high maquette of the Charlotte's Web rat, and a machined and movable dinosaur/bird/creature head.

I did not participate in Secret Santa this year. I keep procrastinating that I don't have any time. Maybe next year. Wait, let me say it now, definitely next year.