Stay organized:

Staying organized is very important in any high-stress situation... or any situation. Make a holiday calendar as far in advance as you possibly can. Make sure you inform your employees of everything that is going on during the season, especially a good work schedule mixed with the appropriate amount of PTO. Make sure you know who will be doing what and when, when your store will be open and closed and everything else to make sure you don’t get a panicked midnight phone call.

Create a holiday marketing strategy:

Customers are going to expect big savings and crazy hours for the holidays, so it’s up to you as the business owner to clarify everything that is happening and will be happening. Create a marketing calendar making sure you are aware of everything that is going to happen. This includes any sales and promotions, the start and expirations of those sales, newsletters, the holiday business hours, when people have time off and everything in between. The more information the better.

Prepare your site and stores:

This can mean the fun stuff and the informative stuff. Decorate your business (or even your site) with fun-themed décor to customers into the holiday spirit, list the temporary business hours, post sales and special promotions and more. Make sure people who visit your store or your site won’t be shocked when they see your new business hours or missed a big sale.

Give back:

Sure, the holidays can be greedy, getting all the gifts you have been waiting for and getting the time off you’ve been coveting. But as all the holiday movies tell us, it’s a time to give back. Host a holiday party for your employees, give them a paid day off they normally wouldn’t get, maybe a small gift for each employee, donate to a local charity and of course, to be an all-around positive force of energy during the holiday season.

Enjoy yourself: 

The holidays are a time to enjoy yourself, so don’t let your business take over completely. Schedule time off for yourself to relax and celebrate with loved ones. If you prepare correctly, your business will do just fine without you and won’t come crashing down because you take a few days off.

The holidays are fast approaching, so make sure you get your calendars ready for both business and personal reasons. But remember your business won’t rise and fall around this time, so be sure to take enough time for yourself and give your employees enough time to enjoy themselves and their loved ones during the holiday season.