It's Beginning to Sound a lot Like Christmas

To quote Andy Williams, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” The holidays are a wonderful time both at home and at work. Nothing gets me in a festive mood like the activities and climate from mid-October until New Year’s Day. Fall is my favorite season, and there’s nothing like the trifecta of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

It's Time For Tunes

Here at the corporate office, we’ve had our tree up since the week of Thanksgiving, and many of the employees have decorations up at their desks. And as someone walks through the office, they are likely to hear Christmas music. Especially if they walk by my office. Every year I try to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start playing the holiday hits. But do I cheat a little sometimes, especially if it gets cold or snows? I do. Still, once Thanksgiving weekend arrives, I want to crank Christmas tunes at home, in the car, and at work.

Looking Back 

It’s probably a nostalgia thing. Growing up, that’s how my household was. Both of my parents loved listening to Christmas music. My dad was in the church choir, and it was wonderful listening to him practice at home when the church held a cantata. Mannheim Steamroller, Vince Gill, The Judds – their holiday music filled our house all day long during the season. Jud and Bobbe Stanion, my mom's parents, listened to the classics, such as Anne Murray and Frank Sinatra, and they always caught the Lawrence Welk specials on PBS. Some of that music still hits my eardrums here at work, since my dad plays those CDs on the CD player (yes, really) in his office two doors down from mine.

Time to get together

So why am I writing a blog post about Christmas music? Well, it’s probably not really about Christmas music. Yes, I stream my favorites through Sirius XM or Spotify at my desk while I work this time of year. And yes, it’s the best time for me to sit in my office and get work done on my computer. But it’s about the emotions the music stirs up. I get a chance to reflect on the year, what my family and I have been through, and what the company has done. We get to meet with all of our managers to wrap up the year and prepare for the next. Even though it’s a lot of work when we meet with the managers, it’s a joy to celebrate success with them, look to the future, and ask them what they’re going to do with their staff for the holidays. It’s a time to see my Pratt coworkers’ significant others at our yearly Christmas party. Seeing those folks I usually only get to see once a year is my favorite part of the party.

The Most Wonderful Time 

This time of year is the time when I get to think about the blessings I have. The corporate office is full of fantastic coworkers who not only make my job better and easier, but they make it enjoyable to come to work every day. Every one of our branches has a great group of people who, although I don’t work with them directly often, are a pleasure to work with. My wonderful family loves the holiday season, so we spend time looking at Christmas lights, making treats, and looking forward to celebrate with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. There are many positive parts about wrapping the year up, looking forward to the next one, thinking about all of the great things in my life, and appreciating the holiday season. One constant through all of that, every single year, is the Christmas music that serves as the soundtrack.

P.S. I started by quoting Andy Williams. He was just singing the lyrics written by George Wyle and Eddie Pola. My opinion is that the Andy Williams version is the gold standard and the best-known, but lots of artists have covered the song. Johnny Mathis (whose Christmas music was a staple in my house growing up) has a fantastic version.