Holiday Traditions and Workplace Culture Lessons

I posted a photo of our Christmas display on LinkedIn a few days ago.

It got over 160 likes and 35 comments.

That’s more engagement than many of my job postings get. More than some placement announcements. More than most of my professional content.

Why? Because it wasn’t about recruitment. It was about joy, tradition, and creating something that welcomes people in.

But here’s what I kept thinking as I was setting up those lights: the principles that make a great Christmas display are exactly the same principles that make great recruitment and strong company culture.

Both are about creating environments people actually want to be part of.

The Effort Behind “Welcoming”

Our Christmas display doesn’t happen by accident.

We spend hours planning it. Testing lights. Figuring out what goes where. Making sure everything works. Creating an experience that feels welcoming and joyful when people drive by.

We love going all out. It’s not subtle. It’s not minimalist. It’s enthusiastic, maybe even a little over-the-top. And that’s exactly the point.

When you see it, you know someone cared enough to put in the effort.

The same is true for company culture.

Welcoming cultures don’t happen automatically. They require intentional effort. They need someone to think about what creates that feeling. They need ongoing maintenance—just like we have to go out every evening and fix the inflatable decorations that have fallen over (we call it “man down!” and somehow it never gets old with the kids).

Culture, like Christmas displays, requires someone to care enough to do the work.

Creating Experiences People Want

Here’s what fascinates me about Christmas light displays: people drive out of their way to see them.

They pile the kids in the car. They take routes they wouldn’t normally take. They come back year after year. They tell their friends about the good ones.

Nobody forces them. They choose to be part of it because it brings them joy.

This year, we even created driving tour guides for Calgary—mapping out routes through different neighborhoods so people could see the best displays without wasting time. We will share them on LinkedIn. People appreciated having a curated experience that saved them effort while maximizing the magic.

That’s exactly how great company culture works.

The best candidates have options. They can work anywhere. So they choose companies they’re actually drawn to—places where the culture is worth experiencing, not just tolerating.

When your culture is genuine and welcoming, people want to be part of it. When it’s just going through the motions? People can tell.

Authenticity Beats Perfection

Our display isn’t professionally done. It’s not going to win design awards. Some years, half the strands are mismatched colors because we’re working with what we have.

But those 163 likes weren’t because it was perfect. They were because it was real.

It’s enthusiastically us. A little chaotic. Definitely joyful. And people respond to that authenticity.

The same applies to recruitment and workplace culture.

I’ve seen companies spend thousands on employer branding campaigns, trying to look perfect and polished. Meanwhile, the companies people actually want to work for are the ones being genuinely themselves.

Remember Lego, our office dog, dressed as a waffle for Halloween? That got attention because it was real. The advent calendar video where I admitted to going overboard with multiple calendars? People related to that because it was honest.

Perfection is boring. Authenticity is magnetic.

What Christmas Displays Reveal About Values

When someone creates an elaborate Christmas display, they’re making a choice.

They could put up a wreath and call it done. They could skip decorating entirely. Instead, they invest significant time and energy creating something beautiful—not for themselves, but for strangers driving by.

That choice says something about their values. About generosity. About community spirit. About caring what others experience.

Many of the best displays also collect food bank donations. They’re using their effort to create not just joy but also tangible good for their community.

When I’m recruiting, I look for companies with this same spirit.

Companies that choose to invest in culture even when they don’t have to. Leaders who create environments that employees actually enjoy, not just tolerate. Organizations that see their role in the broader community, not just their bottom line.

Those values matter. They show up in how companies treat candidates, how they handle difficult situations, how they support their teams.

The Recruitment Parallels

Let me make the connection explicit:

Creating environments people drive toward (not away from): The best candidates, like families choosing which light displays to visit, vote with their time. They choose cultures they’re excited about. What makes your company worth choosing?

Enthusiasm is visible: You can tell immediately when a Christmas display is half-hearted versus enthusiastic. The same goes for company culture. Candidates can sense when “fun” is forced versus when genuine joy exists in a workplace.

Maintenance matters: Christmas displays need daily attention. Fallen inflatables need fixing. Burned-out bulbs need replacing. Culture is the same—it requires ongoing attention and improvement, not just a one-time initiative.

The ripple effect: One great display inspires neighbors. One great workplace attracts talent and raises standards for other companies. Positive culture creates network effects that extend far beyond your own team.

What Candidates Should Look For

When you’re evaluating potential employers, look beyond the job description.

The job description is like an address—it tells you where something is. But culture is what you actually experience when you arrive.

Ask yourself:

• Do they go above and beyond, or do they do the bare minimum?
• Can you see personality and humanity in how they operate?
• Do people seem to genuinely enjoy being there?
• Are there traditions and celebrations that mean something?
• Do leaders participate in culture, or just delegate it?

Red flags include: sterile environments with no personality, people who don’t smile, no visible traditions or celebrations, everything feeling corporate and generic.

Green flags include: authentic enthusiasm, thoughtful traditions, flexibility with humanity, leaders who clearly care about more than just productivity.

As we’ve talked about before, technical expertise alone isn’t enough. Culture fit matters. And you can often sense it before you even interview.

What Employers Should Consider

Your culture is your Christmas display.

Candidates are driving by, looking. What do they see? Is it welcoming? Enthusiastic? Worth their time?

Or is it just… there?

Think about:

• What traditions do you create that people actually value?
• Who’s responsible for keeping culture alive day-to-day?
• Do you invest real effort (not just budget) into making work welcoming?
• When someone joins your team, what’s their experience?

Like planning a Christmas display, culture needs intentional design. It won’t happen on its own. Someone needs to care enough to make it happen, maintain it, and keep it genuine.

The good news? This doesn’t require huge budgets. Our light display isn’t expensive—just enthusiastic. The driving tour guides we created cost nothing but time and thought.

What matters is genuine care and consistent effort.

Why Being Human Matters for Business

That LinkedIn post about our Christmas display got 163 likes not because it was about recruitment, but because it was real.

It was about joy. About family. About creating something welcoming. About caring what others experience.

And that authenticity builds the DMA brand more effectively than any recruitment marketing campaign ever could.

People remember humanity. They respond to authenticity. They want to work with people and companies that are genuine.

This matters for recruitment because:

• The best talent has choices, and they choose cultures they’re excited about
• Authentic companies attract people who fit; generic companies get whoever applies
• Strong cultures retain people, reducing the need to constantly recruit
• Word spreads—both good and bad—about what it’s actually like to work somewhere

The business case for being human isn’t about immediate ROI calculations. It’s about attraction, retention, referrals, and reputation. All the things that matter in the long run.

As the Season Winds Down

As you drive past holiday displays this season, pay attention to which ones make you feel something.

It’s probably not the most expensive or professionally designed ones. It’s the ones where you can tell someone cared. The ones that feel genuine. The ones that welcome you in.

Your workplace culture works the same way.

People want to be part of something that feels real, not something that’s just going through corporate motions. They want to work somewhere that has personality and heart, not just policies and procedures.

At DMA, we’re a little over-the-top sometimes. We dress Lego in Halloween costumes. We buy multiple advent calendars and open them on video. We create elaborate Christmas displays and share driving tour routes with complete strangers.

Is that necessary for running a recruitment business? No.

But it’s who we are. And that authenticity—that willingness to bring our whole selves to what we do—shapes how we recruit, who we work with, and the kinds of cultures we help build.

Ready to Build Something People Want to Join?

If you’re looking for help recruiting people who’ll genuinely contribute to your culture (not just fill roles), let’s talk. We work with companies that care about being welcoming, authentic, and human.

For employers: If you want to hire people who fit your culture and contribute to it, we can help you find them.

For candidates: If you’re looking for companies with genuine, welcoming cultures where you’ll actually want to show up every day, reach out and connect us directly.

Holiday Culture FAQs