As work finally winds down for most of our clients (and for us!), we thought it would be fun to ask our team for their favorite Winter Holiday memories as well as where they’d be celebrating this year.
Their responses were a lot of fun…
“The Best Holiday Gift I ever received…”
My parents made me go with them on a ride. I threw a fit. Didn’t want to go. As I cried my way to the car, they said that I’d like where we were going, and if I don’t like where we were going, I’d NEVER have to go with them anywhere again! About a half-hour later, I was standing face-to-face with our first and only great dane, Babar. Needless to say, my parents and I have traveled together since.
Kevin Kahn, Talent Manager
Seriously, I loved them all. I am an easy person to get things for, so keep them coming!
Katty Douraghy, Managing Director
The gift that still stands out the most was my first “big kid” bike. It was blue and had a blue and white floral banana seat. It didn’t have training wheels and my dad spent the next few days teaching me how to ride it. This was essentially him running alongside me while I pedaled and after a bit he’d let go. I think I was about 6 or 7 years old. Honestly, the bike was cool, but I think fondly back at my dad running alongside me quite a few times before I was able to balance alone and what a gift that was. As a parent now it’s always a good reminder that the gift of time, teaching, and interacting with your kids or any child for that matter, is worth more than any material item.
Jamie Grossman, Creative Recruiting Manager
The best holiday gift I’ve ever received was the year my in-laws got together and bought me a spinning wheel. Yes, I really have a spinning wheel and I use it all the time! They were skeptical, of course, but they know me and my passion for all things fibery. Every time I sit down at my wheel, especially to make gifts for others, I thank them again!
Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant
Going back to my childhood, I will never forget when I got Barbies Dreamhouse…it had an elevator and all. I am a real girly girl…so I never had enough Barbies.
Laura Burns, Talent Manager
My Grandma bought me EMU boots for Christmas one year. These are sheep-skin, similar to UGGS. I was vegan at the time. This created a huge conflict for me or rather was a huge eye-opener. As I thought about what to do with these boots and how distraught I was about the whole thing and how excited my Grandma was to have bought them for me and how very cold my feet were, I realized that I almost all of my tennis shoes, loafers & heals were leather or suede and that I was in fact not as “vegan” as I thought. It caused me to stop and look at all the aspects of my life that fall into “being vegan” and “not being vegan” and one by one I made individual choices for myself, based on what I wanted to do, not decisions based on the technical definitions of “vegan”. It was a surprisingly life-changing gift.
Stephanie Jacobs, Accounting
The best gift for me has always been the gift of sharing time with family.
Jamie Douraghy, President
It’s funny. Thinking back I know I was always blessed with a number of wonderful gifts at Christmas. My brother and I always seemed to get everything we wanted and more. But when I try to remember the “best gift”, all I can recall are all the fun (and crazy!) family traditions that made the holiday so special. Now that I have passed many of them onto my own family – they mean even more.
Jess Bedford, Marketing & Project Manager
I have not exchanged gifts with friends or family in many years. It is now our family tradition to make a donation to any deserving group or individual, rather than spend $$ on each other when we truly are blessed and NEED nothing more.
Ana Rubio, Accounting
Staycation or Getting away?
• Kevin – Celebrating the holidays at home
• Katty – In Vegas with family for Christmas Eve and then up to SF on Christmas Day to see her inlaws and brother.
• Jamie G – Spending the holidays at home, seeing some family and friends and relaxing
• Wendy – Spending their family’s second Christmas at home, instead of heading back East to see extended family.
• Laura – Will be doing a lot of traveling – New York City, Long Island, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge!
• Stephanie – Early Christmas in CA with family and then going to West Virginia with her boyfriend to celebrate with his family.
• Jamie D – Will be with his parents and brother’s family in San Francisco
• Jess – Off to Arizona to see family and enjoy some R&R
• Ana – Spending the holidays with her mom and siblings in Escondido
Whatever you plan to do this holiday – we wish you and your loved ones a very joyous season and a peaceful and prosperous new year!