How to Host a FUN Yankee Swap

If you find yourself in charge of planning a holiday party, whether it be for kids or adults (or both), a fun activity to include is a Yankee swap. I say, “a fun activity,” but, done wrong, a Yankee swap can be boring or even contentious. If you’re not familiar with a Yankee swap, the basic structure is as follows: All participants bring a wrapped, unmarked gift. They then take turns either choosing a wrapped gift, which they may keep or swap with a gift someone else has already chosen. Here are a few guidelines to ensure your Yankee swap is fun for everyone.

Thank You, Colonel Russell

In 1993, as a member of Air Force ROTC Detachment 355, I and the rest of my class were given red, aluminum wrist bands inscribed with the name of a veteran missing in action, along with their service branch, and the date and location where they went MIA. Mine carried the name of Colonel Donald M. Russell and the scant information, “USAF 05 DEC 67 Laos”.

I wore Col Russel’s name on my wrist every day for a year, but I left ROTC, and eventually the band ended up packed away in a box of keepsakes and mementos.

I’d never given much thought to who Col Russell was, or the circumstances under which he went missing. I never expected to find out.

Some of My Favorite Quotes (a Number of which are My Own)

From a list I compiled some 13 years ago:

“In the path of the saint, remain the footprints of the Savior.”

 

“A dream is a priceless gift given to the fortunate few. If you receive one, protect it, nurture it, follow it, live it. But, whatever you do, do not take it for granted! There are those who have never had a dream, and they would give up everything for one of their own.”

The Right Tool for the Job

Does your family get on your case for hoarding saving useless junk? Is your standard response, “It might come in handy one day.”? Well, you’re right!

With all the excitement of having twins in July, I forgot to police the walkways for foreign objects this fall. Living in New England, that’s an important annual chore. It means the difference between a successful snow-blowing session and one that ends with a doormat wrapped around the auger and wedged into the impeller. Today was an example of the latter.

The Fastest Way to Kill Motivation

Most of us want to be praised for doing a good job. Praise is a big motivator. Whether it’s a child cleaning his room, or an employee compiling a report, praise for a job well done will help get them to do it again.

You might think that means people all just looking for praise, and that not getting it will demotivate them. That’s not necessarily true. There are plenty of other ways to be motivated, but the best way to kill motivation is to ask, remind, or tell someone to do the very thing they just did.

Wait. No one would do that. Right? Wrong. People do it all the time.

Extrapolation of a Trite Phrase

In the wake of the events of my previous post, I came up with the following maxim. It’s the corollary to, “You get what you pay for.”

You keep getting what you keep paying for.

In this world of crappy customer service, products that don’t deliver, and service people who don’t show up when they say, it’s no one’s fault but your own. That’s right, it’s your fault that Comcast/Verizon/walmart/target/your plumber/the mcdonald’s drive-thru/insert-bad-experience-here dissatisfy you time after time. You keep paying them!

And they know it.