Festive Frantic: A New Way to Work During the Holidays

The holidays have always been my favorite time of year. Everyone seems to be in a better mood. Places – and people – are more festive, dressed up in their finest. Everywhere you go, there’s an energy that just doesn’t happen during other months.

This year? I’m just not feeling it. I’m going to blame working from home. Honestly, how does one prioritize work and clients amid so many holiday distractions?

My mood might best be described as “Festive Frantic”. Similar to “Festive Casual Attire”, the nightmare clothing category that even retailers have yet to decipher, Festive Frantic is best described as Clark Griswold meets the Grinch meets Martha Stewart.

The movie description reads: A business woman with a passion for Christmas stuck in her undecorated home has an out of body experience as Scrooge.

My home office is hardly the sanctuary needed for working during the holidays. Try as I might, I simply can’t ignore the Christmas distractions happening all around me as I commute from the kitchen to my desk.

I’m convinced that driving through traffic to a “real” office has got to be better right now. At least there might be free treats in the break room.

What? You’re not buying my sob story?

Let me share with you my tale of working amid the holiday distractions that fill my office. A.K.A.”My home”.

• The tree is upset with me, calling to me from the living room. And rightly so. Poor guy has stood naked for almost two weeks. Friends and relatives visit our home while the Naked Tree stands next to the TV, ornaments close enough to touch but have not yet made it to cover his branches. We should at least put a cowboy hat or something on his head, maybe a belt around his middle.
• The Christmas Cards, which were created and ordered prior to Thanksgiving, sit – untouched -on the kitchen counter. They talk loudly amongst themselves in hopes that I’ll stop working and starting addressing. It’s so annoying! Yes, they are a deadline too, but not a paying client. Finally had to put them in a “time-out” in the pantry.
• Holiday treats? Ha! I just laughed so hard I snorted. Ingredients were purchased, but I’ve yet to find time to bake anything. Thank goodness chocolate chips can be eaten by the handful, straight from the bag. Not that I would do that.
• The doorbell and phone both ring non-stop. Doorbell is due to package deliveries. For neighbors. Because I work from home. And the calls from strangers asking for donations! I’ve started telling them I’m a 501c3 and was about to call them for a donation myself.
• The lack of gifts under the Naked Tree reminds me I haven’t made it to the mall yet to shop and enjoy the decorations, one of my all-time favorite holiday activities.
• And the laundry piled on the couch – hardly a festive touch. At least it’s clean.

Holiday distractions – it’s madness, I tell you! Augghhh!

Wha..what? What just happened? I think I just blacked-out or something. Had the craziest dream – at least I think it was a dream.

We were talking about the holidays and, in a fit of holiday madness, I put work on hold for a minute in an attempt to re-gain control. These distractions are not going to win!

I turned up the Christmas carols and I put bows on top of the laundry pile, adding a festive touch. I may have said something politically incorrect to a client or two, like “Merry Hanukkah Christmas Kwanzaa”, to cover all my bases.

Shopping and cards were combined into one fun event. Once I finished my marathon shopping at the mall, I bought one of those fancy coffee drinks, found a bench and simply handed my cards to anyone who passed by. Done!

It’s possible that I’ve eaten more than my share of chocolate chips in the last twenty four hours. On a chocolate “high”, I “may” have put an “Out of Office I’m On Vacation” notice out to my clients just a wee bit early.

As I look around, the tree seems to be smiling. And I know for certain that Hubby is missing a belt.