In the two weeks leading up to the holidays, a frenzy takes over the JCK office, making it difficult to concentrate on blog topics. Why not make the frenzy into a blog topic? I thought. Below, several of the activities my busy co-workers and I are up to during the twelve days before Christmas.

• Eating. The warmth and generosity of our writing subjects, advertisers, and other industry friends become tangible- and edible- during the holiday season. Companies like Sarah Graham and Kirk Kara send us delicious goodies (Graham’s chocolate chip cookies are phenomenal), which somehow all end up in the cube directly behind mine. Perfect– I can peruse immediately upon receipt, before the food is noticed by everyone and promptly consumed. (“Still more cookies left,” managing editor Rich Dalglish is presently saying. “They’re tasty and delicious.”). Also, food-wise, in December I eat the best tomato soup in the world for lunch every day.
• Attending parties. Tons of invitations come in, many for events on the same day. The fashion team compares and splits up, trying to drop by as many as possible.
• Seeing movies. Something about the holidays makes us want to go into a warm theater and forget about our growing To Do lists. This December, I have already seen “The Holiday” (enjoyable, if light) and industry-relevant “Blood Diamond” with my co-workers.
• Fielding requests from friends and family for feedback on potential jewelry-related holiday gifts. My friend Liz is debating between buying this Guess watch or this Kenneth Cole watch for her boyfriend. Thoughts?
• Giving. Philanthropic JCKers participate in a variety of activities to make others’ holiday seasons a bit merrier. (As I’m writing this, Rob Bates interrupts me, asking “Where are the cookies?”). Popular ones include New York Cares’ Winter Wishes program and The Fashion Group International’s Santa Claus Club, both of which organize gift donations for kids who would not otherwise receive presents this season.

So there’s a quick synopsis of how we at JCK spend this time of year (when not rushing to meet all our pre-holiday deadlines, of course). How does your office spend it?

JCK