A Season of Giving
Christmastime for me brings wonderful memories of family gatherings, both in Mexico and here in the US. These Holiday get-togethers are filled with great food, warm hugs, songs about the Reason for the Season, and gifts of all kinds, given, and received. Okay, perhaps they also include a few adult beverages. Not much different from your Christmases, I’m sure.
Everybody loves to receive presents, and I’m no different. But I have noticed, the older my boys become – and the more people I get to know through my growing business – the more I am enjoying GIVING, especially at this time of year. This would include gifts of appreciation to my fantastic employees, and invitations to Landscape Warehouse special events to the customers and supplier reps with whom I have become friends over the years. Without great people from each group, I wouldn’t have a business.
We recently had our company Christmas Party at the Pasadena Hilton. My son Joe, who has a degree in business from UC Riverside, handled most of the organization and details of the event. And I made sure there was plenty of giving involved.
Delicious, multi-course dinner, check. Bountiful, pick your own prize raffle, check. Spin-to-win $$ wheel, check. Open bar, check and double check.
Yes, all these ways of giving to show our caring and appreciation are great. But it’s enjoying the Holidays with people you care about – some that you don’t see often enough – is what makes these events so special. Filled with music, laughs, spirited conversation, and abrazos, our company Christmas party was truly one to remember.
If you can swing something like this in your company next year – even a scaled down version like the kind we started out with years ago – I highly recommend you give it a try. The PR value alone is well worth the effort. And the feeling you get when you see the faces of people you care about light up because of something you have given them – or done for them – is phenomenal. Happy Holidays!
– José Robles, owner, Landscape Warehouse