The holidays are a time to celebrate the people who are important to you. And today, I've partnered with Capital One to share with you how I recently celebrated some very important people in my life. While family often first comes to mind during the holidays, for me, it's also about those you spend everyday with…in my case, my team and co-workers at Oh Joy! I learned from my Dad to show your love and appreciation for people through food. So I regularly try and treat my team to weekly coffee, boba, or other treats. To wrap up our last week of work before the holidays, we had our year-end reviews followed by a bountiful and celebratory lunch…

Even though we have lunch together at the office every day, there is something about a year-end meal outside of the office that feels more special and festive. I wanted to use it as an opportunity to share how appreciative I am of how hard the team works to make Oh Joy come to life and how I am so grateful for their loyalty over the years. We capped off the year with a delicious meal, a gift exchange, laughs, and an extra fun surprise from me.

Choosing a restaurant for a team lunch luckily isn't too hard in Los Angeles where there are so many good spots. But I try to pick places that most of them haven't been to and feels a little more special than an everyday lunch. We went to Botanica in Silver Lake which is a vegetable-focused (but not vegetarian). The food feels plentiful and special and is also really good for you. Food feeds my soul and so I love feeding others, too. And that’s exactly the essence behind Capital One’s Savor card, which rewards you for dining out and gathering for meals with those most important to you. The Savor card lets you earn 3% cash back on dining, 2% back on groceries and 1% back on all other purchases.

I love surprises. It can be hard to find something to give the team that everyone would all like. So this year, I thought that an extra special team activity would be fun for us. So at the end of our lunch, I surprised them with a note that told them we're going to a fun concert in May! That might have been my favorite part seeing their faces light up with excitement!

For me, it's always so important to show appreciation to those you work with everyday. Whether you have your own company or you are part of a team, you can bring coffee or pastries to your co-workers to show your thankfulness to them during this holiday season and all year round.

*This post is brought to you in partnership with Capital One's Savor Card. All words are my own.

{Photos by Bonnie Tsang}