Less Stress, More Fest: Smart strategies for a smoother holiday season

             The holiday season brings full calendars, full to-do lists, and, hopefully, satisfied appetites. It’s the time of year when on-site dining could use a little sparkle. As you and your team plan for the weeks ahead, here’s a fresh take on keeping things festive so it feels more like cocoa and carols and less like caffeine and calendar chaos.

• Seasoned Greetings – In the season that can be long on busyness and short on fun, a “12 Days of Dining” event offers a festive, low-stakes way to keep customers coming back for more than just the mac and cheese. Each day brings a new theme like tasting flights of seasonal bites, grab‑and‑go gingerbread kits, or a “Cocoa & Compliments” station where kind notes earn a cup of cocoa and a spot on the message board of thanks. Add global flair with a “Passport to the Holidays,” featuring festive dishes like Brazilian Rabandada (deep fried French toast), Greece’s Melomakarona (honey-dipped cookies), and Ethiopian Doro Wat (spiced chicken stew).  Like a gingerbread house, themed dining is festive, flavorful, and built to bring people together.(1)

• The Juggle is Real – While this concept is simple, the execution can feel like untangling Christmas lights blindfolded. Holiday events can stretch staff thin, so delegating days to different dining teams or on-campus groups can lighten the load and create buy-in. Cost concerns? Partnering with departments or vendors and leaning into high-perceived-value menu items that are low protein, batch-prepped, or build-your-own items can help spread cheer without spreading your team too thin.(2)

• A Flexible Feast – The beauty of this format is in its adaptability.  Finals week looking like The Hunger Games: Caffeine Edition?  Try a “Finals Week Recharge” offering comfort food pop-ups, brain-boosting snack bars, and chair massages.  Need to shake up the lunch hour? Try “Tech-Free Tuesdays” which encourages an unplugged midday meal with puzzles, games, and improved focus.(3)  These low-lift themes can bring people together faster than a Stanley tumbler restock disappears from a Target endcap.

Does planning holiday events have you feeling like you’re assembling Ikea furniture without the instructions?  We’re just a click (and zero Allen wrenches) away and ready to help.

1.      Fleischer, J. (2018, April 3). Recipe for success: Themed meals prove a hit with students, dining staff. The Tufts Daily.

 2.    4 reasons to partner with a vendor. Modern Campus. (2021, February 1).

3. Anderson, C. (2024, August 6). What is unplugged time?. Focus Keeper.