When I planned meetings for a living it became quickly apparent that it didn’t really matter the size of the event, the same exact steps in preparation had to be taken. Site selection, additional venues, food and beverage, audio-visual and tech needs: all had to be arranged.
And so I ought not to be surprised when I decided to pare down the amount of holiday decorating I did this year and found that it would have been faster and easier to put them all up and out! Bins of Santas and snowmen and red and green doodads and whatnots still had to be retrieved from the attic. Fall items needed to be taken down and packed and returned to the attic. Major dusting and cleaning had to occur. Christmas bins had to be brought down from two floors up.
Making the decision to downsize brought additional work: going through all the options and deciding what to use this year was not only a physical act but an emotional one as well. As we know, Christmas decorations, more than any other holiday, have memories tied around them like a big red bow. How do I choose between them? This is my fifth Christmas without my mom and she is wrapped in almost every decoration I unpack.
The other work I’ve added to my long holiday to do list is now that I am putting only some of my things out the placement I know by heart , and if I don’t I have pictures I took for reference, is thrown out the gingerbread house window. I have a feeling you may be judging me about taking photos so I know where everything goes but I also suspect you may finish reading this post and begin snapping away.
So no matter how many attendees you have in your Decking The Halls 2016 Annual Conference, the planning and execution is the same. I loved meeting planning and find it sad that the trimming of my home seems more work than my job did. I thought that ny lessening the scope of the project would help restore some of my holiday spirit. I was wrong.
Like the meetings I managed, I have learned that the amount doesn’t matter. When it comes to this time of year it should be about the feelings I had as I unwrapped the different decorations and experienced the powerful and immediate connection to my mom. It’s the same sentiment that happens when I find the perfect gift for someone and watch them open it. Mom’s been gone for four years, but she’s still teaching me the real meaning of Christmas.
