We’ve all felt the stress of last-minute holiday shopping—frantically searching for the perfect gifts as shelves empty, traffic builds, and time slips away. The pressure to get it all done can lead to frustration, missed opportunities, and bad decisions. Similarly, waiting until the last minute to prepare your business for the holidays can result in overwhelm at a time when you should be stepping back to enjoy time with loved ones.
Getting a head start on your holiday strategy is essential for easing into the festive season and preparing your business to hit the ground running when you return in the new year. By planning ahead, you’ll ensure both your team and clients feel supported throughout the holiday rush. Here are four ways to end the year on a positive, stress-free note.
Straighten out your systems
After a busy fall, it’s common for business operations to need a tune-up. Spending time to optimize your systems now will save you plenty of headaches when navigating high demand, requests for time off, sick days, and other challenges during the holiday season.
Cleaning up your business for the holidays might include:
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Setting up email auto-responders for your team
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Syncing everyone’s schedules to a centralized work calendar
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Decluttering your inbox
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Archiving expired projects in your CRM
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Creating and assigning tasks for Q1
Set aside a day to work through these proactive to-dos and gear up for the holidays. If that’s not doable, aim to complete one task daily. Incremental progress is still progress!
Prioritize team morale
It’s common to see team morale dip as the holidays near. Your team has worked hard through the spring, summer, and fall. Now, they’re looking forward to a much-needed break! Instead of loading them up with end-of-year tasks, focus on creating space for self-care and stress management in the workplace. Encourage staff members to take time off, schedule midday breaks, or close the office a few hours early some days.
Your employees need time to rest and recharge before picking back up in the new year, so practice flexibility and be generous with schedule changes. This is where your systems come in. Team calendars, automated workflows, and standard operating procedures can mitigate the stress of calling in sick or taking a mental health day.
Happy employees are productive employees, so don’t overlook the importance of your team’s morale. Throughout the holiday season, keep a pulse on how everyone feels and work on burnout prevention techniques. Remember: All of this applies to you, too! As the leader of your team, your mental health is just as vital in reaching your goals.
Make time for team-building
There’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than with some team-building activities. During this time of year, people naturally want to get together and celebrate the end of the year. Create opportunities to improve trust and communication within your team but do so in a festive way!
Think holiday games, low-stakes gift exchanges, decorating contests, and company parties. By embracing the joyful season, you’ll give your team something to look forward to and build camaraderie that enhances collaboration going into the new year.
Prepare clients for the holidays
For many wedding professionals, the end of the year can feel like a juggling act. If you don’t set realistic expectations with clients, this busy period can easily lead to overcommitting and underdelivering on your usual promises. For example, if you typically adhere to a 24-hour response time, make sure your clients know how that may change during the holidays. Likewise, communicate changes to availability due to holiday hours or staff members taking time off. Most people will understand (and even celebrate!) the need for more flexibility during the holiday season, but only if they know what to expect.
It can also help to turn it around and give clients homework during the holidays, like collecting inspiration, reviewing venue choices, or writing vows. While your team keeps their project on track behind the scenes, you can create some quiet time and help clients feel involved by assigning them some low-pressure tasks to complete independently.
As the holidays draw near, thoughtful planning is the key to keeping your team and clients happy. The proactive steps you take now can prevent employee burnout, cultivate stronger client relationships, and set the stage for a strong and energized start to the new year. Happy holidays…and happy holiday planning!
