Christmas and Your Business

How does Christmastime affect how you run your business?  Do you or your employees leave a smidge early each week, to attend parties or get tasks done?  I actually work harder now, because everyone else around me wants to leave early to get to social events.

Do you give thank-you gifts to your clients?  I am terrible at this tradition.  Even amongst my close friends, I almost always don't get around to writing thank-you cards.  I fantasize about hiring a card-writing service.  Besides not having lots of time, the other problem I have with this task is that I have a really creative mind, so I don't want to just churn out generic cards.  I want to hand-make and tailor each one to each special person.

Do you go to all of the holiday events?  I am actually going to a sunny, warm beach soon, so while wrapping up loose ends in my business, I don't have time to say hi and meet new people in local networks.  But if I was staying home, believe me I'd be attending as many parties as I could!