HR’s Favorite Things 2007 Edition

December 21st, 2007

HR had a lot to say when it came to our third annual favorite things fun survey conducted over the past few weeks.

The winner of the draw for an iPod Touch is Dalia Chavez. Congratulations!

Here are the results — lots of old favorites holding strong, and a few upsets… here’s what HR had to say about their favorites… stay tuned next week for a look at HR’s resolutions.

Favorite leisure activity

For the third year running, HR is spending their time between the covers, with 21% saying their favorite activity is to curl up with a good book (which is up from last year by 4%). New to the top leisure activities list are spending time with family at 9% and watching movies/TV at 6%. Other favorites are arts and crafts, and last year’s number two activity, golf.

Some of our favorites:

My favorite leisure activity is coming home from work and watching my donkeys look up and get excited when they see me. I then go out and give them a treat and just relax and talk to them. Relieves a lot of stress.
Long walks in a wooded area with a stream and critters looking at you.
Figure skating… usually followed by hot tubbing… or physiotherapy. But at my age I think I should get psychotherapy?
Maintaining my 150 houseplants - yes it is fun!
Holding down the couch and watching fitness programs!

Favorite food

In a major upset, last year’s winner, glorious chocolate, was knocked into fifth place, replaced by pizza in the top spot. HR must love takeout and bubbly cheese, with 14% citing pizza as their favorite, followed closely at 13% by Italian food overall. Buon appetito! Other favorites are surf at 11% and turf at 9%. Interestingly, for the second year in a row, HR’s love of red meat is waning, dropping 4% overall since 2005. Other sweet, savory and spicy answers included Cantaloupe, Hostess Cupcakes, Indian, Mexican, Gyros, Strombolis and Giambo.

One respondent took a culinary tour of Canada with a buffet of cuisine: “Canadian bacon, Atlantic lobster, Belon oysters and Bras d’Or from Nova Scotia, Matane shrimps, Brome Lake duck, fresh of smoked Gaspe salmon, corn fed pork, Lake Erie sturgeon caviar, Arctic char, Winnipeg gold eye, wild rice, fiddleheads, cod tongues, Alberta beef, domesticated buffalo, farm-raised pheasants, quails, reindeer, ‘cultured mussels’, salmon caviar and Pacific oysters.”

Some of our favorites:

I will be typically female and say ‘anything chocolate’, however my closest friends know that roasted chicken and mashed potatoes rate high on my list, too.
Poutine, a classically French Canadian dish (fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds). Merci for this “death on a plate” delicacy.
Anything that tastes good and does not put on the pounds.

Favorite beverage

Old faithful soda is back, reclaiming its crown from two years ago after being knocked out by water and iced tea last year. A whopping 25% of HR pros say soda is their favorite beverage. Although, it does seem that HR does love their wine, with 14% picking it as their drink of choice. Plain old water ranked third, up by a percent in its popularity from last year at 9%.

Some of our favorites:

7-11 Slurpees in Orange or Cream Soda Flavors.
If I wasn’t pregnant, a pretty pink cosmo in a fun glass.
Alcoholic beverage would be this wonderful concoction I created… combine 1/3 champagne, 1/3 orange juice and 1/3 Mike’s Hard Berry and you have yourself a very wonderful drink!
Yes, please!

Favorite sports team

Football is still HR’s favorite, but they simply aren’t loyal fans. The Dallas Cowboys is HR’s favorite team this year with 6% of votes, followed by the New England Patriots at 3%, replacing previous winners the Bengals, Packers, Chargers and Redskins. Fickle football fans! Baseball does have a place in HR’s heart with, yet again, the Boston Red Sox ranking as HR’s fave ball team. Hockey ranks low, but the Ottawa Senators seem to be the team of choice with 2.5% of votes.

Some of our favorites:

Shopping is the only recognized sport in my world.
Whoever isn’t losing and has cute uniforms.
If I am being honest, it’s the Houston Texans. You have to be a fan to even admit you’re a fan.

Favorite TV show

The love lives and drama of Seattle Grace still have HR riveted, with Grey’s Anatomy being voted the favorite TV show for the second year in a row at 10%. In second place at 7% is The Office, which, from the sounds of it, may be reality TV for some HR professionals. We’re sure there are some good lessons to be learned on what not to do each week! In third place, even though it hasn’t been on for more than six months, is Lost at 4%. Probably only because HR can’t wait to finally find out what on earth is going on!!! Other favorites include Dancing with the Stars, Law and Order, Survivor and CSI.

Some of our favorites:

The Office…I have no idea how they film us everyday?
Murder She Wrote. Please don’t make fun of me for this … my family already does.

Favorite travel destination

HR definitely thinks life is a beach at vacation time. For the second year running, Hawaii is HR’s top pick at 10%, a drop from last year’s 23%, but still the favorite. Beaches worldwide from Florida to Mexico to exotic Asian locations ranked high with HR as well. Sun and sand aside, HR is packing their bags for Italy and we suspect this has everything to do with HR’s love of wine and Italian food. At 8%, Italy replaces Paris as the top European destination. Among the many unique answers were destinations around the globe including: Mackinac Island, Santorini, Galapagos Islands, Okinawa, Russia and Honduras.

Some of our favorites:

1st option: Maui, 2nd option: Maui, 3rd option: Maui, 4th option: Maui.
Going to Mexico and enjoying the nice weather, beautiful beaches, great food and culture, and relaxing with a Margarita.
Other picks: Alaska, Vegas and the Caribbean.

Favorite gadget

HR is all about technology when it comes to gadgets, but this year they’ve left a bit of room for fun, with iPods rating as this year’s favorite gadget, at nearly 20%. Cell phones at 10% edged out the Blackberry at 9%, both of which were down from previous years by 13% and 7% respectively. A wide assortment of kitchen gadgets from pizza cutters to stand mixers rated high, with the Pampered Chef’s products being mentioned numerous times.

Some of our favorites:

Post-it notes, I go through almost a pad every two weeks.
My favorite gadgets are found in the kitchen. I love to cook so I have some great gadgets there. The little knife that makes crinkle cuts for carrots, potatoes and whatever is a good one!
My Blackberry. How did we live before the Blackberry?

Favorite TV or movie personality

For the first time, the favorite celebrity is a woman. Julia Roberts is the winner with 4%, showing that she is still a pretty woman after all these years. Not bad for a mom of three! Coming in second is another new comer — Denzel Washington at 3%. And third place is a three-way tie between Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and a new entry from this year’s sexiest man alive, Matt Damon, all coming in at 2%. HR can’t agree on many other favorites, the Beckhams only receiving a single vote each. So much for Posh and Becks taking over America. Honorable mentions go to the cast of Grey’s Anatomy especially McSteamy and McDreamy.

Some of our favorites:

Jack Tripper in Three’s Company is a sure bet.
George Michael, without him the 80s and 90s would not have been the same.
My family and I love Metallica. Can’t wait for them to come back to the states for a concert. My family would be thrilled and crazily ecstatic to see them in concert!

Dream car

For the third year running, HR’s preferred ride was again, a BMW. Coming in at 12%, the BMW’s popularity is waning slightly with a small decline from 14% last year and 15% in 2005. Maybe that’s because Lexus has risen in popularity, tying with the Mustang for second place with 5% of total votes. HR’s other top picks include Audi, Porsche and Ferrari. A new trend this year was the number of people picking a hybrid.

Some of our favorites:

Anything paid off… Just kidding. I would love to get a 7 series BMW.
An ORIGINAL Volkswagen beetle. I know I will never be able to go up at hill doing more than 20 km/hour but they are so 60s!

Favorite holiday — or time of year

There seems to be very few grinches in HR! Yet again, Christmas is the #1 favorite time of year at 43%. Christmas’ popularity seems to be in decline though, dropping from 50% last year and 58% in 2005. Perhaps the pressure of Christmas shopping is getting to HR? Fall and Thanksgiving come in second at 15%, followed by summer with 4%.

Some of our favorites:

Christmas. I like to go Clark Griswold and over-decorate my house!
Christmas. I look good in red and there’s an abundance of chocolate.
Fall, football — and the start of hunting season.

Happy Holidays to all of you from the Halogen Team.

Tags: HR

Permalink | Trackbacks