Christmas traditions around Smarty
Around the world, people celebrate Christmas in all kinds of ways. In Iceland, it’s tradition to read books by candlelight on Christmas Eve. Christmas firework shows are a staple in El Salvador. Families in Australia often spend Christmas Day playing cricket.
At Smarty, we keep the season bright with a few traditions of our own. From wacky holiday decorating to gingerbread house competitions, we love taking the holidays to the next level. So stick around; things are about to get festive.
Our favorite Christmas traditions are:
- Seasonal service projects
- Upside-down holiday decor
- Ugly Sweater Day
- The Great Gingerbread House Bake Off
- Addy the Address Elf
- Yuletide karaoke
- Letters to Santa
- Gift-wrapping extravaganza
Seasonal service projects
We like to celebrate the season of giving by giving back! This year, we participated in United Way's Sub for Santa program, where families—or Smartys 😉—sub in for Santa by donating gifts to local families in need.
We descended like a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer on our local Target, and purchased books, educational toys, and winter clothes for children in Utah County.
Want to join us in helping others experience the joy of Christmas? United Way is looking for volunteers to support the program behind the scenes, as well as additional sponsors.
By sponsoring a family, you’ll shop for each family member and then deliver their gifts. You can donate to United Way to help families get the therapy, medical care, and housing assistance they need.
Not based in Utah? Find a service project near you!
Upside-down holiday decor
During the holiday season, Smarty’s halls are decked out. This year’s installations include a giant gingerbread house, potfuls of poinsettia, and the lamp from A Christmas Story (if you know, you know 😜). And every year, our windows sport a Christmas tree flipped on its head. Literally.
Our capsized Christmas tree is decorated with Smarty-themed ornaments, including a:
- LEGO minifig, like the one every employee builds on their first day at Smarty.
- Friendship bracelet-making kit to honor the people who keep Smarty running.
- Costco bag full of the groceries that stock our kitchen.
- Bust of Dave Moss because we love all things Arbinger.
- Bust of Dan Lambourne, our resident Head of Employee Experience.
- Gingerbread house to remind everyone of our competition (hang tight—we’ll circle back to this!)
Plus, our kitchen is packed with Smarty stockings, department-themed gingerbread house banners, and our very own hot chocolate bar. What can we say? We like keeping every corner of Smarty HQ decorated to a T. Shout out to Jenn Turner for making it all possible!
Ugly Sweater Day
Not only do we decorate Smarty HQ for the holidays, but we also get festive ourselves. In the days leading up to Christmas, Smartys don ugly sweaters to get in the Christmas spirit.
This year, our ugly Christmas sweaters paid homage to anime, NFL teams, Star Wars, and, of course, cats. Take a look at a couple of our favorite fits!
The Great Gingerbread House Bake Off
To boost our holiday and competitive spirits, Smartys from each department go head-to-head in a cutthroat gingerbread house competition.
Last year, the winning gingerbread house featured a UFO, complete with LEDs and a levitating cow. This year, our winner was a gingerbread village tucked under a glass sugar dome that we’re confident would pass the judgment of Paul Hollywood and Pru Leith.
Other fan favorites included a picture-perfect ski chalet and a scene straight from the Upside Down. See for yourself!
Ready to build your own masterpiece? Here are a few examples and recipes to get you started.
Addy the Address Elf
Is it really Christmas time if there isn’t a rambunctious elf wreaking holiday havoc around every corner?
Smarty’s very own Addy the Address Elf has been busy this Christmas. Addy has spun tracks, ziplined into our staff meeting, and even challenged Mickey Mouse to a snowball fight.
On Addy’s first day on the job, they validated every address on Santa’s delivery route using the best validation partner around: Smarty! Our validation tools can tackle any address, even Christmas-themed ones like 101 Santa Claus Ln North Pole, AK 99705.
Yuletide karaoke
Once a week, Smarty hosts a karaoke lunch where more musically inclined Smartys gather to sing their hearts out—or cheer their coworkers on.
Traditionally, caroling brought holiday music into the limelight. We didn’t want to miss out on the musical Christmas cheer, so when the holiday season rolls around, karaoke-loving Smartys swap pop songs and show tunes for Mariah Carey and Nat King Cole.
Letters to Santa
Using our in-house mailbox, Smartys can write letters to Santa, and receive a letter back right to their desk!
We like to think that Santa is so responsive to Smartys because he puts our address data solutions to good use every December.
When Santa delivers gifts on Christmas Eve, he needs to know exactly where to land. We’ve got a few tools that can help him.
First, Santa needs to make sure he delivers the right gifts to the right address. With our US Master Address List, Santa can match names to validated addresses with ease.
Then, with rooftop-level geocoding, he can check his list twice, thanks to lightning-fast response times, and land directly on the right rooftop every time. We consider that a Christmas miracle! 🤣
Kids wanting to write to Santa can send their letters to 123 Elf Rd North Pole 88888. Once their letters arrive, USPS’s Operation Santa helps holiday wishes come true. Through their program, you can adopt a letter, shop for the perfect gift, and ship it back to make a kid’s Christmas extra magical.
Gift-wrapping extravaganza
We wrap up our Christmas celebrations the weekend before Christmas by hosting a gift-wrapping party for all the Smarty ladies.
With snacks and drinks in hand, we wrap everything from UGG slippers to LEGO sets while watching our favorite Christmas movies.
Tie it up in a bow
With festive decor, competitions, and activities all month long, we’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime. This really is the most wonderful time of the year!
If you’re ready to rock around the Christmas tree with us, give our careers page a visit!
