There was something for everyone — including three musical groups, eight turkeys, hundreds of post-it note art expressions and holiday decorations galore ­— as UCOP’s Franklin building rang in the season at last Friday’s holiday party.

The UCOP Singers upheld tradition with their beautiful renditions of Christmas carols and other holiday songs, while Uke-C and Ishtory updated the repertoire with a UCOP-inspired version of the “12 Days of Christmas” and other lighthearted tunes.

The Fiat Lux pop-up holiday art project was spearheaded by the Family Resource Network and other UCOP staff affinity groups.

If you missed the party, you can still catch a spark of some of its spirit, starting with the “Let There Be Light” post-it installation in the front lobby, across from the security desk, and continuing throughout the building with inventive holiday displays, seven of which garnered top honors in the annual decoration competition.

(Winners receive no actual prizes, but do receive the esteem of their colleagues and the excitement of recognition at the party as well as in Link!)

Grand prize again this year went to the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services, which transformed their corner of the fifth floor into a Mardi Gras Holiday. Complete with faux beignets, bayou creatures and a Dixieland band soundtrack, it was spearheaded by Linda Buffett, Peter Cataldo, Evelyn Chang and Amelia Regacho.

This year’s judges included Executive Vice President for Business Operations Nathan Brostrom, Regents Secretary and Chief of Staff Marsha Kelman, President’s Executive Office Chief of Staff Nina Robinson, and HR Personnel Analyst and OP Staff Assembly Chair Jeanie Urban.

Ethics and Compliance transformed their corner of Franklin's fifth floor into a Mardi Gras Holiday, capturing the top prize for the third year in a row.

Citing a surfeit of creativity this year, they awarded a total of six additional awards and one honorable mention, each in its own unique category. The awards are:

• Best old-fashioned display: ITS’s acronym-inspired IT(‘)S a Wonderful Life, with the famous film running on an old TV and a mini “Franklin Falls” set atop a row of filing cabinets. See it on the ITS side of the 7th floor.

• Best UC-themed display: Capital Resources created a stocking and wish list for each campus, from UCSC’s “funding for the Coastal Biology Building” to Berkeley’s “no earthquake on the Hayward fault.” See it on the 6th floor.

• Best costumes: Christmas in Oz, by the Center for Operations Excellence and Loan Programs, showcasing a yellow brick road, flying monkeys and homemade costumes. See it on your way to the wizard’s cube in 6307H Franklin.

ANR Chief of Staff Jan Corlett celebrated her honorable mention for best holiday sweater.

• Best elevator lobby display: The Office of the Chief Financial Officer created a wall full of oversized wrapped candies, surrounded by stuffed gift bags and flashing red candy canes. See it outside the 10th floor elevators.

• Most irreverent display: A Working Smarter Holiday, created by the Regents Office, complete with recycled Halloween lights on the tree and a cut in retiree benefits for Mr. & Mrs. Claus. See it in the Regents corner of the 12th floor.

• Best individual effort: Karen Tomajan’s Casa de Claus, a two-story miniature home for Santa and the Mrs., complete with a kitchen full of baked goods and rooftop reindeer corral. See it outside 9306 Franklin.

• Chief of Staff Jan Corlett of Agriculture and Natural Resources captured honorable mention for best holiday sweater, a new award category that promises to stir more heated competition in 2013.

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