This past weekend, I attended another holiday party, put up the outdoor lights, and helped decorate the Christmas tree. I think the Christmas season finally is starting to push past the workload in front of me and capture a piece of my attention.

With that in mind, I offer you my letter to Santa Claus. Each year I tell the fat guy in the red suit what I want most for my business. See if you find some of your hopes in there too. My Letter to Santa Claus

Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, or even if you don't celebrate, I hope you will enjoy the season and will spend time with those who matter most to you.

Yesterday we looked at How to Survive The Annual Holiday Party. But for an upward bound manager like yourself survival may not be enough; you want to shine.

If you want to do more than just survive the office holiday party, here is a ten- step guide on How To Really Shine At The Office Holiday Party. If you can handle situations like this well you can actually advance your career.

Many companies are seeing the first signs of a turn-around for next Spring. More will be having holiday parties this year than had them last year. I hope yours is one of them. The cost of hosting a holiday party so is so small in comparison to other expenses that canceling it is not justified. Smart companies may tone down the party, but they will still go ahead with it to thank their employees.

If they do have the party there are two things you have to do. First, remember that the annual office holiday party is more office than party. And second - show up at the party.

If you want to know how to avoid serious damage to your career at one of these functions, read my article Surviving The Office Holiday Party. You may also want to share this with all those who report to you.

It is the start of the Christmas shopping season and that poses a policy question for managers. There is a growing trend toward online shopping and some of that is done by shoppers using work computers for their online shopping because the computers at work are faster, more secure, or both than their computers at home.

While there are several possible reactions to this trend, I recommend the last one. You can:

1. Forbid employees to use company computers to shop online at any time,
2. Restrict use of the company computers for online shopping to the employees' breaks and lunch period,
3. Rationalize that employees will be more productive if they can do their shopping online instead of running around on their lunch break,
4. Decide your employees will be happier if they work for a company that lets them handle personal business at the office, or
5. Write and publish a policy in your employee manual that clearly spells out how and when company computers can be used for personal business, including online shopping.

Treat your employees like adults and they will reward you with better performance.