Why I Love the Holidays

Yesterday I read a post by Penelope Trunk at Brazen Careerist that got me thinking about the holidays. Penelope's post, which got more than 100 comments, is about not being Christian and living in a country (the U.S.) which openly celebrates Christmas. Her post was pretty curmudgeonly but I see her point...if you don't celebrate Christmas (for whatever reason) the holidays can probably be a little annoying. However, I think that if you adjust your attitude you can find joy in the holiday season. Let me explain.

I know a man named Art Kaminshine who lives in a small town in central Oklahoma. He is Jewish and the CEO of a company called ESECO. Art is a jovial and welcoming person who, seemingly, has never met a stranger. He also has a unique company policy to celebrate any and all holidays. Yep, you heard right...they celebrate any and every holiday they can think of at ESECO but not necessarily with days off of work. Anyone who wants to arrange a celebration just organizes a potluck lunch in the break room and all are welcome. It's really fun and doesn't take time away from work since everyone breaks for lunch anyway. I attended one for (I think) Chinese New Year but it could have been Thanksgiving...I just don't recall. It was festive and fun and they had chili with Fritos which isn't a traditional meal for any known holiday except football season in the south. Art sees the value in getting his team together to have fun and holidays provide an opportunity to do just that.

I love the holidays because it gives me an opportunity (an excuse if you will) to reach out to my clients, recruiters with whom I partner, and people I would like to work with. The holidays are a built-in reason to send nice notes either via email or paper cards that say, "Hello, I am thinking of you." It's true that people get a lot of cards during the season and that maybe yours will get lost in the shuffle. But I don't think of it that way. I write nice personalized notes in my cards and I often include an Ultimate Resumes notepad as a gift. Based on the number of relationships I have built and maintained for many years, I have no reason to think that holiday cards aren't part of an effective marketing communications strategy.

I also love the holidays because almost everyone takes the time to break for a drink or dinner or to meet up at a party which presents great networking opportunities. During the rest of the year we all get so busy that sometimes it's hard to find the time to socialize just for fun. But things slow down during the end of November all the way through December so I find that people are willing to take a longer lunch or make time to have a few laughs. It has been my experience that people like to do business with people they like so if you can get to know potential clients you have an advantage over your competition.

If you have some problem with the holiday season either because you don't celebrate Christmas or because you object to the blatant and overzealous consumer marketing that retailers engage in this time of year -- don't waste your time being irritated because it won't change anything. Go with the flow and make the season work for you. Enjoy the day off for Christmas and spend that day doing something meaningful to you. Take advantage of the fact that others have some free time on their hands and make a new friend or business contact. Or spend the time getting ahead on your own work.

Take the opportunity to find joy any way you can during the holiday season and remember that every country has some version of our holiday season built into their culture. We all need time to rest, recharge, reconnect with our colleagues, be generous with our neighbors, and to be thankful for all that we have.