An Inside Look at Engel Entertainment's Holiday Party & Seasonal Celebrations

If you were to walk through Engel Entertainment's headquarters in Times Square, you'd see plenty of busy editors and producers juggling multiple monitors and headphones, and the constant motion of teams heading in and out of the conference room or bouncing between individual offices. You'd see floor to ceiling windows that tower above 42nd street, and you'd see a busy kitchen where it's somehow always lunchtime. And then, a little further onward, you'd see a fairly wide hallway punctuated by storage closets and lined with bookshelves, leading to what the team refers to as the "South Side" of the office.

This hallway, however, is simply no regular hallway.

This shape-shifting hallway goes through some major transformations every 4 months or so, thanks to Engel Entertainment's incredibly creative Production Management team, spearheaded by Jen Egan (Vice President of Production). Since the spring of 2018, Jen's team has constructed a fully operational Tiki Bar, complete with a wall-mounted TV as any proper bar would have, wicker furniture, an authentically thatched roof and even some palm fronds for good measure.

As the summer rolled into fall, her team went back to work, swapping out the Tiki Bar's coastal string lights and beachfront wallpaper for moody, black and white brickwork, neon signs, classic arcade games and laminated tile flooring that brought Halloween of 1985 and the hallway's newest persona - The Shoulder Pad Bar - to life.

Not long after Halloween, the bright colors, the neon lights and The Shoulder Pad's overall vibe of a throwback to Halloween in the '80's, were quietly replaced by holiday lights and garland, leather seating, a deceptively realistic fireplace, cowhide accents and of course - the staple accoutrement of what has come to be known as "The Lodge," - log cabin wallpaper.

By the middle of December, this team of under-the-radar interior designers - more commonly known as the Production Management team - had officially completed construction on The Lodge, checking off the final touches just in time for the holiday season. On Tuesday, December 18th, it was time for The Lodge to host its first formal (and by formal we clearly mean attire including but not limited to ugly sweaters, pajamas, onesies, etc.) party of the year - Engel Entertainment's 2018 Holiday Party.

This year's Holiday Party kicked off with heartfelt toasts made by President and Executive Producer, Steven M. Engel and Executive Vice President, Stephanie Angelides. Assuming his role as Master of Ceremonies, Steve opened the night's festivities by addressing the festively-clad crew of Engel Entertainment team members with a thunderous, "THANK YOU," meant for Jen Egan and the Production Management team. Immediately, his words were met with a roar of applause, and an outpouring of gratitude as the entire team acknowledged their hard work in making The Lodge, and this celebration possible.

With a slight change in his tone as the applause simmered down, Steve continued, "Now, I want to thank all of you for making this a great year and for making this place into a fabulous company that creates fabulous content. All of you are so committed to your craft and to each other, you're talented, you're skilled people - and I think you're fundamental good people - that's really turned this place into something special, so thank you all."

Before switching on the music (undoubtedly beginning with a little something by Mariah Carey) and breaking into the incredible buffet of catered dishes, potluck contributions and the endless piles of dessert. Stephanie rounded out her toast by redirecting the team's collective gratitude to Steve.

"I think we can all agree that none of this would be possible if it weren't for you - these celebrations, the work we get to do and the people we do it with, the lifestyle that we're able to live - I think that we're all incredibly grateful for all that you do for us on a daily basis as well."

From then on, the night's holiday festivities continued with lots of laughs, fantastic food, a company-wide Secret Santa gift exchange, a gift raffle and a quick-fire game of competitive unwrapping, made hilariously impossible by having to do so through oven mitts, excessive tape, and dozens of layers of wrapping paper.

Check out more of the evening's photos below!