Whether Christmas carols make you want to cry out “Feliz Navidad!” to everyone you meet or deck something other than the halls, here are five PR lessons from favorite popular holiday tunes:

1. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Give everyone on your PR team a chance to shine by letting all join in the “reindeer games,” or brainstorming sessions. You never know who might come up with the next bright idea that saves the day, and keep in mind the next leader may be the person you least expect.

2. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Follow Santa’s lead when making your to-do list: Always check it twice. Forgetting to attend meetings, missing deadlines, or providing mediocre work due to lack of organization will certainly cause you to end up on your boss’s, and clients’, naughty list. So, be good, for goodness sake!

3. “Frosty the Snowman.” Opportunities to prevent a crisis and take advantage of it may only exist for mere minutes before melting away. See a perfect chance to promote a client? Put a silk hat on it and make it go live. Hear of a potential fiasco? Hold that broomstick in your hand and take charge before the sun comes out and makes a puddle of your client.

4. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Prepare for all situations when planning an event or drafting a communications strategy; you never know when even the best-laid plans may take an unexpected turn. In this situation, it’s much better being the reindeer than grandma.

5. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Manage expectations so you don’t over-promise and under-deliver. The client is going to be hugely disappointed if what they ordered was 12 drummers drumming, but what they ended up with was just one partridge in a pear tree. Carefully and steadily building up to the ultimate goal or the grand finale will ensure the gifts keep on coming in a logical, timely order.

Now just wait, the next time one of these merry little jingles gets stuck in your head, it will have an entirely different meaning.

Tell us, what’s your favorite Christmas carol?

Hana Bieliauskas is a project manager in the Columbus, Ohio, office of CMA (@CMABuildsTrust), a national public relations agency based in Kansas City, Mo. Follow her on Twitter @hanab08. A version of this story first appeared on the CMA blog.

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