Though the holidays are here, sometimes it’s hard to get into the spirit. Some people get into the spirit by going to the malls with their kids and seeing Santa, others start by baking cookies and others simply start decorating. For me, the holiday spirit is felt strongest when visiting New York City in December.

We recently had the chance to go up for a meeting and while we were there, we took the time to do some of the traditional Christmas activities.  This included visiting the tree in Rockefeller Center, checking out the window display at Saks 5th Avenue, watching the snowflake music spectacular and visiting St Patrick’s Cathedral.

All of these great holiday traditions are within two blocks of each other. Yet the experience fills you with the joy you haven’t felt since you were six years old and running down the stairs on Christmas morning.

Sometimes we forget that feeling and every time I get to visit New York during this time of year I get to relive it.  If you have never taken this trip, I highly recommend it as you will be in awe of the tradition and these gifts the city gives to its residents and visitors. And when you go home, you will be filled with the holiday spirit.

On a side note, another fun way to get in the spirit is with dance. Below is the “Darby Dance” that was uncovered from the outtakes of our holiday greeting card video shoot.

I saw people that were happy to stand in line, waiting to pay, on Christmas Eve afternoon. Granted, it was a Trader Joe’s store in San Diego, but still; happy, in line, Christmas Eve, buying groceries.

And the lines were long. Grandparents, surfers, young moms and tired workers were wrapped all the way back through the frozen food and vitamin aisles while shoppers continued to push their way through. There were no prizes, promotions or special discounts as far as I could tell. My innate northeast cynicism quickly kicked-in and reminded me that I was in this foreign place of strange phenomenon known as Southern California. I squished my toes in my flip-flops and decided to simply be happy to be there.

But then I got a glimpse of the front of a store, heard a familiar canned keyboard beat, and saw a bouncing Santa hat.

I love Trader Joes.

A cashier turned on the karaoke machine and began belting out her favorite holiday hits. Kids were allowed to dance and folks waiting in line tapped their toes. The music not only kept everyone smiling, the lines moved faster powered by the beat of the karaoke and an upbeat version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

I began to wonder if the karaoke machine was the answer to all of our holiday line-waiting woes. Would it put smiles on the faces of people standing in painfully long airport lines, grasping for gift ideas at picked over bookstores, or on hold while waiting for a catalogue representative to pick up the line.

The cashier decided it was time to move on to some Steppenwolf. The change in genre didn’t seem to change the mood, everyone just kept smiling.

Each year, the thinkbank members who reside in centrally-located area affectionately known as “The Hole” open up their workspace and share their yuletide spirit with the rest of the agency during a lunch hour Hole-iday Party. This year’s bash featured eight pizzas, some Diet Coke, a few bag of Doritos and about 30 people in a really small space.

We also gave away our annual Holee Awards. Some were good, like the “Honorary Hole Member” and “Distinguished Hole Alumni” award (given to someone who used to work in the Hole, but escaped long ago). Some aren’t so good, like the “Most Likely To Cut Through the Hole” award and the “Hole Hater” award.

Either way, fun was had by all. Here’s a shot of some of the action. Below that is close up of someone who decided to spoil the photo with a juvenile act. That’s right, Becky, you’re being called out here on the Think It So blog for all to see. It should be noted that she got no awards at this year’s Hole-iday Party.

Have you ever thought about the 12 Days of Christmas song? I mean, really thought about it. As a guy, I have a hard enough time buying one gift, much less 78 things over the course of 12 days. And that’s to say nothing of the sheer impossibility of actually finding some of the 12 Days of Madness gifts.

I can see buying the five golden rings (though that seems like overkill) and maybe finding a way to wrap two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, seven swans a-swimming and eight geese a-laying, but why the hell would someone want that many birds? That’s 24 birds. Seriously, I don’t know if I could even date someone who owned 24 birds, much less consider them my “true love.” And that’s not counting the partridge in a pear tree. On the first day of Christmas, no less. She had to know the next two weeks wouldn’t go well.

Other than enough rings for all four fingers and a thumb and an avian nightmare, the rest of the gifts are people. People! I’m assuming their services are rented, but still. Eight maids a-milking. Do I have to rent eight cows too? Nine ladies dancing. I’m pretty sure she won’t enjoy that. Ten lords a-leaping. She might like that. Eleven pipers piping. Those are bag pipes, by the way. Which are cool for about 60 seconds before they start getting really annoying. And finally, 12 drummers drumming. That’s 50 noisy, dancing, milking people. Makes for some nice holiday conversation, I’ll bet.

“I love you!”

“What?!”

“I LOVE YOU!!”

“You lost a tooth?!”

“NO, I LOV – Forget it!! Is there any left over French hen??!!”

“Yeah, I think it’s behind the milk!!”

I understand the economy is a huge concern for everyone right now and retail sales during the upcoming Holiday season has increased importance, but a Blitz Line at Wal Mart? Cmon, isn’t that pushing it a little bit? I’m all for driving sales but this is a little overboard for the retailer and consumer too. Just ask the family of the guy who got trampled to death.

I’m sure everyone read the headlines and perhaps saw the video. I was struck by a panel discussion raising the question — Is holiday shopping worth a life? Is the news outlet asking that question serious? What experts do you call in for that discussion? Personally, I think the news media feeds the problem as much as anyone. After all, there are better things to cover, like a holiday food drive or something.

I saw some caution tape at a Toys R Us too. Something about a shooting caused by an argument over something that won’t even be cool next Christmas. Isn’t lining up at four o’clock in the morning (when doors open at 5:00) enough to put people in the right position to score that new flat screen or Wii? I’m pretty sure inventory levels are high enough that if I rolled in there at a very late 8 AM I’d be able to pick one up.

This is where the Internet dominates. No waiting in lines, open 24/7…you know all the perks. The only real issue is a slow download or a lost connection (thanks Comcast), but there’s no chance of getting caught up in a Blitz Line. In all seriousness, I think we need to take a step back and evaluate some things to avoid tragedies like this in the future. I’ll do my part as a consumer, just not at four in the morning, unless it’s from the comfort of my couch buying something on Amazon.