to composing the perfect shots of decor and holiday arrangements along with my flourished words about it all had grown my silly little blog into a huge success.
Sometimes it was still hard to believe just how my one-woman operation had flourished into a full blown online publication complete with a whole team of employees. That day was no exception as I walked into the lobby of our office building. The whole place was buzzing in preparation for our month long agenda full of Christmas articles. This was when I really shined.
My love for Christmas shared through each and every new post and article through the months of November and December had become the cornerstone of our site. It brought our biggest traffic of the year, and I loved every moment of it.
The workers had already put up the massive tree in the corner of the lobby, which I had fought for despite certain employees thinking it was overkill. That was one of the many benefits of being the boss. They didn’t have to like it, but they did have to do it if I insisted.
I smiled at the glowing white lights as they flickered on. Our main secretary was busy draping a garland along the front desk, which I breezed past toward the elevator with my to-go cup of caramel brulee latte in hand. I greeted everyone with a quick grin and a cheerful “Good morning” on my way to the conference room where my top writers and advisors were assembled for our morning meeting.
“Good morning, everyone,” I beamed, making my way to the head of the table to put down my coffee and bag.
Outside, the workroom floor was filled with photographers and bloggers scurrying back and forth in front of Christmas crafts and trays of food that they were shooting for the site. I was buzzing with excitement over the scene playing out behind the big windows of the meeting room.
“Thank you all for coming,” I started. “Our biggest time of the year is in full swing. As you all know, NonPareil keeps getting bigger every year with most of our growth in traffic and followers booming around December. They all turn to us for snapshots of the perfect Christmas, and I don’t intend to disappoint them. More than that...I strive and expect to exceed their expectations.”
One of my assistants, Joel, stood in his tight fitted blue knit cardigan and started passing out folders of reports on the numbers. “The traffic this week has been comparable to what we were experiencing the week of Christmas last year, so it’s safe to assume those will double by the end of the month.”
“We have a slew of daily articles going up, with three larger ones each week,” Veronica explained from the other side of the table. “And then there are the weekly full length features, with the biggest one going up on the fifteenth...just over one week before the big day.”
My heart swelled at the mention of it. “Palmer Department Stores,” I beamed. “The big fish. Which we’re only getting access to because of our gained popularity in recent years.” I turned to the projection screen behind me and started flipping through photos for reference.
Every major city had a Palmers, but the biggest store - the headquarters of it all, rested right there in our city. Just down the street from NonPareil headquarters, actually. Every year they put up the biggest, most fantastic Christmas displays. They were far more elaborate than anything you’d find at one of my Dad’s tree farms or even the standard shopping mall Santa display. They were truly breathtaking, and one of the main things Palmers had become famous for. Their commitment to putting up a display even bigger and better than the last year’s stretched far back into the fifties when the chain of stores were first founded.
I marveled at one of the displays from 1954 on the screen. Everything seemed to be so perfect then with the women in their vintage dresses complete with coats, hats, and gloves. The children were just as dressed up as they lined up in front of the windows, gawking at the toy trains circling the marvelously decorated Christmas trees. I wished I could travel back in time when more people seemed to be just as committed to the image of perfection as I was.
“And this year,” I continued. “We get to feature them. When’s the interview, Joel?”
“We have it set up for tomorrow afternoon, just before the big unveiling.”
I