Example 2 Of Speeches To Welcome On Christmas
Posted by NovaAngel at December 25th, 2006
Audience: employees and their families at a Christmas program
Message: Let’s keep the holiday spirit all year.
Tone: formal
Timing: 7-8 minutes
Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming. A special welcome to members of our board. And we do so appreciate the program of holiday hymns and other seasonal songs. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this group before you—these choir members are our own. They volunteer to stay after work for rehearsals. And from time to time, they present programs such as this for us. I understand the auditions are tough, but the rewards and camaraderie among the group are worth it. Thank you, choir, for adding to our enjoyment this evening.
When I think of Christmas, I think of change, the unusual. Certainly, it wouldn’t be Christmas without tinsel and neckties,… without music and merriment,… without peppermint and presents. But in January the tinsel is stuffed back in the cardboard box and returned to the attic. The neckties are worn or returned. The music and merriment fades. The peppermint turns to calories and pounds. The presents are used or broken. Everything is back to normal. January dawns with dull routine.
But think of it. For almost a full month—from Thanksgiving through the New Year’s celebration—everything changes. Our homes, our hearts, our hopes.
Our homes change. We string up the lights. Put candles in the window. Decorate a tree. We have wrapping paper in the bottom of the closet. Fudge in the refrigerator. Greeting cards on the table. Even our schedules change. Susie isn’t home for dinner because she’s out shopping late. On Saturday afternoon Dad suddenly decides to turn off the ball game and head for the mall. Mikie has grandmother sewing his reindeer costume until the wee morning hours. We miss a few meals together. In fact, we get down-right secretive when we used to share the day’s events.
Not only do our homes change, but our hearts change. Have you noticed how that happens?
The young person who was once in a hurry stops now to hold the door open for the elderly man as he pushes his shopping cart through.
Parents grow a little more patient with toddlers who can’t sleep for excitement.
Grandparents call more often to see how everyone’s getting along.
People are more generous with their gifts to charity.
The churches boast their best attendance for worship.
Those who are feuding grow mellower and more forgiving.
The rebellious suddenly feel nostalgic pangs of home and hearth and pick up the phone or drop a line just to say “I’m okay.”
We even wish total strangers health, happiness, and prosperity at this time of the year.
In addition to the change in our homes and hearts, we gradually realize our hopes change. We seem to take on a longer view of life. We hope that the hungry are fed, that wars cease, that mankind conquers disease, that relationships reign supreme in our lives.
So is all this change during the holiday season for the better or the worse?
On all counts—except the popcorn and peppermint—I’d say the changes are for the better. Change gives us time for reflection, for thought. Change makes us see the meaning of our lives more directly and more clearly. Change makes us re-evaluate our direction.
That’s certainly the case in our corporate life this year. Our company has changed in a great many ways. We’ve added (number) new employees. We’ve opened new plants in (city) and (city). We’ve established more quality-control procedures to ensure that we more than meet customers’ needs and expectations.
We’ve even changed our “home” here at headquarters. There’s new decor everywhere you look as you stroll through the buildings—and we do encourage you to take your families around the grounds to show them where you spend your most productive hours.
I think we’ve even had a change of heart here at work. A new team spirit. There’s a positive, can-do attitude, a new energy and commitment.
We as a company even have new hopes. We’ve become more aware of the world around us. As the map of the world continues to change,… and the globe shrinks each year,… our hopes for peace and prosperity for more of the world’s peoples are becoming a reality.
So I ask you to contemplate these changes we see and feel at the holiday season—changes in homes, hearts, and hopes. This is a time for reflection and commitment. Commitment to improvements for individuals and corporations.
I want to leave you with a challenge this evening. I don’t know about you, but I like the changes we see at this time of year. l like the smiles,… the sentiments,… the successes celebrated.
The challenge is this: Don’t let the cold wind of January hit you like a hammer and pound you back into the routine. Let’s commit to each other as employees and to each other as families to offer loving support and a positive attitude year round.
May you and your loved ones have a joyous season that always keeps life from becoming “routine.”
Homes, hearts, hopes. Let’s keep those happy changes alive throughout (year). Happy holidays.
