By Roger Noel, MA
This time of year, for many of us, the temperatures are cooling down and the leaves on the trees are bursting with color, in resplendent tones of fiery orange, vivid yellow and raging red. Pumpkins and other gourds decorate front porches and mums are in bloom. By now the Halloween candy is long gone and little minds begin to turn to thoughts of Santa Claus and flying reindeer.
Thanksgiving—that wonderful holiday sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, when we gather together with family and friends to overindulge on turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, yams, and pumpkin pie—is almost here.
Some of my favorite memories from childhood are waking up to the aroma of food already cooking in the oven and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on the television. I always enjoyed watching the colossal balloons being paraded down Broadway to the cheers and applause of bystanders, culminating in the long-anticipated appearance of that sleigh-riding, jolly old, bearded man dressed in red and white.
From a store retailer’s point of view, it seems Thanksgiving is barely a footnote in the holiday calendar. By late September many stores have both Halloween and Christmas décor displayed a short walk from, and often in view of, each other. Typically the only sign of Thanksgiving is in the supermarkets, with turkeys overflowing the freezer bins, stuffing mix displays (or “dressing” if you’re from the south) and cans of pumpkin pie filling lining the supermarket endcaps. But Thanksgiving is so much more than just a meal.
Why Thanksgiving is Important
Thanksgiving is set aside as a day to embrace the things we are grateful for. It gives us pause to appreciate everything that’s good in our lives, something most of us probably tend to take for granted the rest of the year.
Here at Apple Rock we are profoundly thankful for our employees and our customers. Without one we wouldn’t have the other. Our customers are the reason we are able to do what we love doing; designing and fabricating innovative trade show displays, office and retail spaces, and producing experiential marketing events. Our employees are the reason Apple Rock succeeds and continues to grow.
There’s also something else that Thanksgiving represents, at least unofficially; the year is winding down and drawing to a close. In the blink of an eye, it will be a new year. For those companies that participate in trade show events, now is the time to be preparing for the upcoming 2023 shows.
Just as the preparations for the Thanksgiving feast need to be planned in advance (including getting the bird in the oven early enough to be ready in time for the big meal) so does planning for a new tradeshow season. Before you become too entranced by the holidays, make sure that your display is updated with any anticipated graphics changes, repairs or alterations so that when the new year rolls around you can hit the ground running.
December is right around the corner and we all know how crazy it can be, and how fast it flies by—between the holidays and all the parties—so start planning now and get your orders in before the end of year rush; you’ll be thankful that you did.
However you celebrate the holiday, we at Apple Rock wish you a warm and happy Thanksgiving!