The Christmas season is a season of traditions. I bet each person reading this can recall a project they complete or an event they attend year after year. The traditions remembered evoke strong memories of good times spent with family, friends, and loved ones. I know they do for me. One of my favorite traditions is “The Twelve Ties of Christmas,” which is my own version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”
For most of my professional life I have strived to dress as best I can. The trait wasn’t passed down from my father, who owned only one suit, one of brown polyester, in which he was buried. My mom’s uncle was a buyer for a department store chain called Woodward & Lothrop and I recall learning a lot about fashion from him. Maybe that’s where it came from. Regardless, I wear nice clothes.
Some of you may not be aware, but I spent a few years in the retail clothing business. During that time I purchased several Christmas ties, twelve in fact. (Although Esther will say one tie, the penguin tie, is not a Christmas tie). I wear them every year as a part of my celebration of the season. However, it’s when I wear them and the decision of how to wear them that makes the tradition so much fun.
With full disclosure, I don’t have any control over the “how and when” of this tradition. For many years now (over a decade, I believe), Esther has decided the order of the tie wearing. Each year she goes through the ties, and lays them out in the order I must wear them. Every December 14th, the tradition of “The Twelve Ties of Christmas” begins with it ending on Christmas day. To prove fulfillment, I have to send her a picture as proof. Prior to camera cell phones, my word was enough. However, undisputed visual evidence is required these days.
The tradition is a wonderful time of bonding between us, but it is not without its moments. In the beginning, Esther and I learned to “agree to disagree” over the penguin tie. I felt like it belonged in the rotation, while she felt it was more about winter than Christmas. The dilemma was solved last year when Esther bought me a new Christmas tie and sanctioned the removal of the penguin tie from the official rotation. She is the boss, you know. As the boss, she also made a managerial decision that the ties for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would be the same ones each year.
• Christmas Eve’s tie is maroon and gold featuring Santa’s sleigh
• Christmas’ tie is a blue number with Christmas stockings, which is the one she got for me last year.
What does this tradition have to do with Sandler Training or my profession as a sales trainer? Nothing. All year long we hustle and bustle through the days, weeks and months wondering where the time went. The next thing we know is that we forgot about the things that make us who we are. This holiday season reflect and reminisce on these things:
• Who you are
• The traditions and rituals of your life that define your happiness
• Those who have gone before you and helped create your values
Share a meal, a beer, or just an hour with people that you love and that love you. A stronger, healthier you is the best gift you can give others. Here’s to being a stronger you in 2020.
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