Intergenerational

Happy and Healthy Holiday Series

Jan 5, 2024

$501-1000

$$$

Byline

Rebecca Campbell, Library Director, City of Tavares (Fla.) Public Library

From meditation and karaoke to cooking and organizing, the Tavares Public Library curated a slate of 15 different programs designed to keep patrons at their happiest and healthiest during the holiday season.

Advanced Planning

The seven-week series kicked off in November with a class focused on healthy holiday meal planning and concluded at the end of December with a vision board class. Programs on meditation, home organization, cooking and gardening took place as well as two concerts and holiday-themed karaoke. In addition to the scheduled programs, a drop in gift wrapping station was available. Patrons were also able to take their holiday photos with a winter scene backdrop. The backdrop was affixed to our magnetic Koroseal Walltalker.

The goal of the series was to bring joy to our patrons, foster wellness during the holidays and to promote the public library as a center for community gathering. From program development to day of logistics, the entire library team contributed to the success of the series. We began planning the series in July, sent the brochure to the printer at the beginning of October and began marketing at the beginning of November.

This was our first year hosting the Happy and Healthy Holiday series. The series ran like clockwork. We hope to make it an annual event, just like the annual summer reading series.

Marketing

Marketing began the first week of November with a paid advertisement in the local newspaper. The local newspaper also ran a feature article highlighting the entire series. The library’s e-newsletter for November and December was dedicated to the Happy and Healthy Holiday series. We have just under 4,000 e-newsletter subscribers. The combined open rate for both newsletters was 63%.

Weekly social media posts were made with Canva. The program brochure was made in Microsoft Publisher and professionally printed.

Budgeting

The entire series was funded through the library’s programming and advertising budgets. If cost-cutting was needed, we would either cut refreshments or the paid advertisement in the local newspaper. We saved money by asking our fellow city colleagues to donate leftover gift-wrapping supplies to the gift-wrapping station.

Day-of-event Activity

We set up for all of our programs the night before, usually 60 minutes before closing. We have an established seating configuration for concerts and classes. Having an established seating configuration maintains efficiency and organization.

Program Execution

Cooking classes and concerts continue to be the most popular programs. The harpist who performed the Winter Solstice concert received a standing ovation. Countless patrons commented that the gift-wrapping station was a great service and were rushing in at the last minute to wrap their presents. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the Mindful Meditation and Crystal Bowls Sound Bath as the instructor fell ill. We are looking forward to the new date as numerous patrons have expressed interest in this type of program.

A two question survey was distributed after each program. The survey asked participants to describe their experience in three words and what would they like to see in the series next year.

Advice

Remain focused on the joy, wellness and community aspects. Seek gift-wrapping donations from your fellow city colleagues. Our colleagues from across the city were thrilled to donate to the gift-wrapping station. Some even volunteered to help patrons wrap presents! Their donations were a huge cost saver. It was also a great way for the library to build a rapport with other city departments.

Utilizing library staff for reading suggestions connects the collection with the programming and highlights staff member’s expertise.