OK – let’s admit it to ourselves – the holidays are not really about getting together with family, or about the holiday spirit.

The holidays are about giving and receiving gifts.

We work in advertising.  We create countless commercials that tell people what they should be getting each other. Even my 9-year-old asked someone if they got their gift at Jareds.  Lexus has theme music that is supposed to tip someone off that they got a car (as if the giant bow wasn’t a big enough give away.

I mean, even our (American) image of Santa is colored with advertising. Santa’s red and white suit? That’s not some time honored tradition. It was created in an ad – by Coca-Cola. (Hmmmm, what colors should we choose – I know our Coca-Cola brand colors – RED and WHITE.)

So the question still stands – did you give what you wanted ? And did you get what you wanted.  I know I did. I only wanted one thing – a music stand. Yup – that’s all I wanted was a $20 music stand. I told everyone in my family.  And guess what, I got two.  Perfect. Exactly what I had hoped for.

So, maybe I’m just a little cynical. Maybe I feel that the holidays are way to commericalized. Maybe it’s partially my fault. Or maybe I just can’t admit to myself that in spite of everything, I love watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “White Christmas” every day for 25 days.

Happy Holidays