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If compensation adjustments are associated with your review, gently remind your boss that it would be helpful to know what your salary will be for the year so you can budget accordingly. Hopefully, your boss will take the hint. Balancing the holidays and the demands of the job is easy if everything is written down. Of course, keeping a day planner with important events and dinners written down is the easiest first step. Then around these events, I schedule into the day planner grocery shopping, gift shopping, etc. Online gift shopping always makes the best use of time, and this can be done on the lunch hour. Also, to stay organized, I keep a small notebook with a list and running tally of everyone I purchase gifts for. In that manner, no one is forgotten, and finances are kept in check. My children are included in the notebook also. I even plan the day I can get Christmas cards out and wrap presents. This may seem overboard, but with two preschoolers, it is necessary. In August right before school, I have my nine nieces and nephews and my four children make lists of everything they think they can't live without. Then I talk to my mom and ask her what she would like or I give her some options. I look online, find the best price and go for it. I have a late day every Wednesday when I work from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. I get up at my normal time: 5:30 a.m. At 7, I am at the stores. This way, I don't have to take time off, nor am I in anyone's way. The stores are so peaceful -- all you hear is carts packed with more stock just for us to buy. You can get up each and every aisle with no brushing carts, no excuse me, no kids running out in front of you trying to get that toy. You can shop in the clearance section with no interruptions. From 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., I get all I can. If I need help, I ask. Don't be afraid to ask; that is what they are there for -- to help you, the consumer. Enjoy yourself, and have fun shopping for the little munchkins.
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Clearly convey to employees who is invited to the party. If spouses or children are not included, say so. I capitalize on the efficiency of the Internet to do a lot of shopping these days. This way, I am not taking as many extended lunches for shopping, and whatever I need is dropped off at my doorstep (or my job, depending on which address I use). Also, I am a night person, so I do a great deal of my sorting, wrapping, crafting, etc. between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. I don't usually take a lot of time off during the holidays, because the office is virtually empty. This allows me a little downtime during the day, so I'm ready to do my night owl thing later on! Appeal to Everyone with Golden Oldies: Tunes can be tough, as individuals within families (let alone companies and cultures) can have vastly different tastes. Anything too genre- or culture-specific may strike a sour note. To make everyone happy, Thiederman suggests going back in time. "Try historical music, the big bands and sounds of the '40s. It's less of a hot button than if you play rap, and have no Christmas carols." Celebrations can create a "kinship group" with coworkers from other cultures. "Get everyone together in a room to be light and buoyant and to celebrate without using any individual [religious or cultural] symbols," suggests Theiderman. Too many people are unhappy around the holidays. They run themselves ragged trying to come up with presents for too many people they don't care that much about. They expect too much: a Norman Rockwell dinner, the present they always wanted, romance when they didn't have it all year, etc. Consider scaling down the size and expectations for your holidays. Buy, or better, make presents only for the people you really care about, and the heck with sending out 9,000 cards. Take the time to enjoy the holidays' simple pleasures: the music, the beautifully decorated homes and whatever other delights you don't take the time to enjoy the rest of the year. You can also implement a method to manage contacts. "It doesn't matter if you're using contact-management software, a spreadsheet, a handwritten chart or an old Rolodex - do what works for you and keeps you on track with your networking," says Harvey. Avoid Secret Santa and anonymous employee gift exchanges. An innocent stocking stuffer could inadvertently cause discomfort or offense (e.g., a Muslim receives a Christmas angel). Clarify any information you needed to check on for the interviewer. "It seems that business just keeps going through the holidays," says John Challenger, CEO of outplacement and search firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago. "There doesn't seem to be the kind of letup that there used to be." As HR staffers, we often receive the leftover salary crumbs, because we neglect to prepare for our own year-end reviews. Don't let this happen to you. Instead, follow this advice to ensure a review that will help your career: Don't focus just on Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. These can conflict with Ramadan or Diwali. Don't focus just on Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. These can conflict with Ramadan or Diwali. And most importantly, plug your skills. Use the last paragraph as a chance to state, "The job is a good fit for me because of XYZ and my past experience in XYZ." Holiday party planning can get dicey when companies add diversity to their merrymaking mix. How do you appeal to all without leaving someone out in the cold? I make it a priority to be with my family and friends for the holidays. I request my time off and work early January. However, I do work some weekend days to compensate for time off during the holidays. Whether you're attending an employer-sponsored party or holiday networking event, make the most of social gatherings by planning in advance. "Set a goal to meet, connect with and learn from three to five people at an event," advises Andrea Nierenberg, a New York City-based speaker and trainer and author of Million Dollar Networking. "Do your research before going so you know something about those you might meet." Relax, relate and release. This is the time to catch up with old friends, stop and have a cup of herbal tea and catch up on family issues. Also, try and take time to make obtainable goals for the new year. Job Ads: Search for your target job on Monster, and review the skills it requires. You may not possess all of them, but look for skills that are somehow related to those you developed via another career, hobby or educational pursuit. If the company you interviewed with is formal and traditional, use snail mail to send your thank-you note. What you say and how you say it are even more important than the manner in which you send it. A standard thank-you note should accomplish several things: Job Ads: Search for your target job on Monster, and review the skills it requires. You may not possess all of them, but look for skills that are somehow related to those you developed via another career, hobby or educational pursuit. "Put the emphasis on celebrating," advises workplace diversity consultant Sondra Thiederman, PhD, author of Making Diversity Work, founder of Cross-Cultural Communications and a Monster contributing writer. The key: "Focus more on what we share and less on where we differ." The holidays are generally a time filled with festivities, good cheer and even better food. So, who wants to work? Get wide input from your employees on holiday planning. Ask as many groups as possible. December is a busy time for us HR professionals. In addition to preparing the new year's staffing plan, we are the driving forces behind year-end performance and salary reviews. We understand that employees take their salaries quite personally, so we focus a lot of our energies on making sure the process goes smoothly for all. But what about us? Of course, the office holiday party is a litigator's delight. One wrong word, and your goose could be cooked -- well, sued. Flirt with your supervisee, and instead of hearing angels on high, you could be listening to the sounds of a sexual harassment suit. Celebrations can create a "kinship group" with coworkers from other cultures. "Get everyone together in a room to be light and buoyant and to celebrate without using any individual [religious or cultural] symbols," suggests Theiderman. , take some steps now to make it easier to cover your holiday expenses next year. If you get a pay raise this January, Zohlen recommends earmarking some of that -- say just $50 to $100 per month -- toward next year's holiday savings fund. Have it deposited directly into an interest-bearing savings account or money-market fund so you don't get used to having the extra money -- and don't get a chance to spend it on anything else. At the end of the year, you could have $1,200 for gifts without making any sacrifices.