Announcing the Decorate Your Workspace Contest 2.0 Winners
We put out the call, and once again you answered with enthusiasm, creativity — and in some cases, great speed! Thanks to you all, we can happily say that version 2.0 of our Decorate Your Workspace Contest has been a very big success.
Today we'll take a look at the winning entries and hear from their creators about the ideas and work that went into making them a reality. We were also able to offer a little something extra to all of the reel contest entrants! But first, let's congratulate our winners.
Congrats to our reel contest winners!
Get a closer look at these entries here.
Congrats to our photo contest winners!
Check out the larger versions here.
Extra special congratulations to Grace Ann, who wowed us with both her reel and photo entries and won in both categories!
Let’s hear from the winners
We reached out to the winning entrants to learn about their ideas and decoration process, as well as attitudes about the holiday season in their countries. It would take too long to feature everyone, but here are a few of the responses that we received.
Engoo
How did you come up with your winning design?
There are five components in my decoration and each is a representation of something. The stars symbolize hope, the Christmas tree made from the yellow inedible fruit represents Filipinos' optimism, the Bahay Kubo (bamboo hut) depicts simplicity, the banana tree shows abundance, and lastly the staple Pinoy Christmas foods showcase the strong and warm connection among Filipino families, all of which together give the true meaning of Christmas.
I was browsing Engoo's page while I was thinking about what Christmas decor I would put on my workstation when I saw its hashtag #WeAreEngoo. I remembered its transition from its former name Bibo to Engoo. It inspired me to highlight the official logo of Engoo and its hashtag #WeAreEngoo to remind everyone not to be afraid of taking risks in order to make a better version of themselves. To inspire them to think outside of their box and do bigger things. I also used balloons because to me they represent joy, happiness, dreams and goals. I made my workstation colorful because it radiates positivity.
I really want to know the feeling of the winter season. I want to experience a real white Christmas, where there’s real snow. That’s why I came up with a White Christmas theme for my entry.
Engoo
Were the decorations difficult to make? Can you tell us how you went about putting it all together?
The decorations and materials used were not difficult to find at all. We only needed colorful balloons and I used them to cover most of my office’s wall up to the ceiling. The hard part was the arrangement of the balloons. We had to be extra careful to not pop most of them. We did pop a few, so it was a good thing we packed extra to achieve a colorful, cloud-like office. Then we added a “shimmer” wall to complete the final look.
Without exceeding our budget, I wanted the designs to be unique. To finish my design, I only used supplies I had at home, and other stuff I had to borrow from family members and a neighbor. To speed up and simplify the process, I requested a little assistance from my mother and husband. When you have a higher budget, it's easier to come up with an idea, but it's challenging to start from scratch when you just have a few resources. Thank God, though, I was able to think of inventive methods to use what I had.
Engoo
Is Christmas popular in your country?
The Philippines is a country that celebrates Christmas from September to December. Since the majority of the population are Christians, Christmas became an important yearly tradition for many Filipinos. It is the time of the year that families get together after months or years of being apart for work. Many people forgive and ask each other for forgiveness because we believe that it is the season of giving, repenting and loving.
Engoo
How did your students respond to your decorations? Do any of the reactions you got stand out in particular?
One regular student noticed that something was different. He asked me what was special about that day after noticing my background and the tiara I was wearing that night. So I told him about the contest and sent him some pictures of my workstation. He was amazed and gave me an 85% approval for my effort. He also wished me luck and told me he was looking forward to our next class to get an update about how it went. I'm excited to share the good news with him the next time he books my class!
They were all awed and amazed. But the best thing that I got was when a whole class of elementary students had a class picture with me when my student showed up and bragged to his classmates about his online teacher having a colorful Christmas background. That was epic.
Engoo
Congratulations on winning a prize in both of our contests! Do you have any big plans for your prize money that you would like to share?
I was not expecting to win, because I made the decorations all in one go, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. And it was already January 2nd by then. I was really shocked to win not just one contest but both of them. I was in tears. I would love to use my prize to pay for the remaining balance for my Lasik surgery. Thank you so much Engoo for this gift. What a wonderful start to 2023!
And that’s not all…
While the entries above impressed us the most, we had so many amazing submissions that it felt wrong not to reward more of you. So everyone who submitted a valid reel entry that didn't win one of the top prizes has been rewarded with a bonus equivalent to 10 taught lessons! It's our way of showing appreciation for your hard work in making this contest a success.
Thanks again to everyone who participated. We wish you all a happy and successful 2023!
