Happy Holidays from all of us here at SYDCON. It's time for our annual holiday blog. I started this tradition on December 2, 2010, feel free to read the first-holiday installment here.  Outside of wishing you all a very Happy Holidays, there is always one constant to this annual blog. It is the sharing of my favorite Christmas song, The Barenaked Ladies version of "Jingle Bells".  I invite you all to listen as you take the time to read this year's installment.

It's hard to believe that 2014 is coming to a close. It's been a wonderfully productive year here at SYDCON. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our spectacular clients and dedicated staff. We certainly would not be where we are today without each and every one of you, the past, present, and future! SYDCON, as you know is a family owned and operated business and we consider our clients and staff to be a part of our family. We wish you all the very best this holiday season!

This year, as part of my tradition of sharing during the holidays. I thought I would share some things that I look forward to or enjoy during the holidays. So, if you will indulge me, here we go

1. Christmas music. In addition to the Jingle Bells rendition above, some other favorites are: U2 "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Trans-Siberian Orchestra "Christmas Cannon", Bruce Springsteen "Merry Christmas Baby", Brenda Lee "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" and Band-Aids 1984 Classic "Do They Know it's Christmas".

2. Holiday classics. I love to watch Home Alone, Nightmare Before Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Clause, Charlie Brown Christmas, Arthur Christmas and more.

3. Baking and more baking. My kids may be getting older, but I  love that they still look forward to holiday baking with me, chaos, bickering and all!  Some traditions in our house are Chocolate Chip cookies, Mint Chocolate Chip cookies, Crescents, Chow-mein candy, homemade (Christmas) bread and sugar cookies.

4. Decorations. We have many ornaments that are sentimental. They range from ornaments we picked up on trips or mark special occasions. We all have our favorites and can tell you precisely where a specific ornament came from or what is the meaning behind it.

5. Christmas cards. Yep, we still do photo Christmas cards. Each year, one of my kids usually complains about the choice of the picture I am sending. Sometimes I do traditional in front of the fire or tree. Other times it could be from a trip or event. And sometimes they can be silly! Typically our dog makes an appearance on the card as well and this year, we have a new addition! We had some hilarious photo's taken in Cancun with "Poncho" the donkey...I think I will save that for next week's blog so stay tuned!

6. Time with family. The two weeks of Christmas break, our kids tend to have off from their activities too. So, we get to enjoy family time, doing whatever we choose. From watching holiday movies, baking or just lounging in our PJs.  Our kids are growing up fast, so we know this time is limited.

So, these are some of the things I enjoy or look forward to each holiday season. What are some things you enjoy around this time of the year? Do you have special traditions or sentimental ornaments?  I hope that you and yours enjoy and wonderful holiday season and have a fabulous New Year. Our blog schedule for the next few weeks will vary a bit. We will have our regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday this week. But then the next two weeks they will be just Monday and Wednesday! Happy Holidays!