14 Bottles of Wine and a Fire Extinguisher

  By Dan Susong, Account Supervisor, Austin

December just feels different. The days are shorter, the air finally starts to feel cooler (at least in Texas) and, of course, the holiday season is in full swing. So during this different month, what’s on everyone’s mind? A quick poll of our Edelman Southwest team revealed some interesting answers – some surprising, some not.

What’s on the top of your holiday wish list for 2010? From baby gifts to botox, folks in our offices are wishing for almost every type of gift imaginable. Some are hopeful for reunions with family and friends or spending quality time at home after many a business trip, while others are hitting the road and traveling to exotic places (winners: Napa Valley and Galapagos!). Others are hoping for more tangible things like workout gear and cooking equipment (in that order, although I might suggest using them in the reverse). And, of course, there are the common gifts like jewelry and electronics. And the slightly less common… like 14 bottles of wine and a fire extinguisher (don’t worry, separate wishes from separate people).

What is your all-time favorite holiday gift or memory? Oh, sweet nostalgia. Reading the responses to this one was a fun trip to a simpler time. When red scooters, Christmas ornaments and family-created pageants were all we needed to be happy. But it’s not just our favorite “things” we remember so fondly. Many of us count as our favorite memories the final Christmas we spent with loved ones… or the birth of a child during the holiday season… or the time we staged Christmas a week early before the Navy shipped our furniture back to the states… or the fact that a certain employee didn’t lose his job after revealing his boss’ surprise Christmas gift to her husband. (Yes, that happened.)

What else are you doing to mark the holiday season? I had thought this question would spark a ton of travel, cooking, tree and menorah lighting, and family-reunion type answers. And it did. But it also revealed that folks at Edelman Southwest are doing a lot to give back to the community, by working with organizations that aim to find cures for diseases, groups that provide support and shelter for the homeless and volunteering to distribute gifts to economically disadvantaged kids. It’s good to see that amid all this talk about what we’re hoping for this year, not forgetting the hopes of others – often much more basic than our own.

So what did this fun holiday poll reveal? Same profession, same employer, same general location – very different holiday wishes and traditions. In general, our current holiday wish lists are a far cry from the days when we could relate to Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun. But the fact that most of us still have a wish list and participate in some sort of exchange – whether of gifts, food, time, or stories – with those we care about still makes this time of year different. Different and, I think we’d all agree, special.