Phil: Over lunch this week, I mentioned a Christmas based story I’d knocked together while my tanned friend was busy toasting herself and admiring the towels in foreign climes. It’s not been passed over for a bit of tweaking and pummeling to get it into some sort of shape before it appears in front of you.
What I’d like to do is enter it in a writing competition. Trouble is, that it really is a Christmas tale and I don’t think there is any point launching it into battle in the new year. Let’s face it, you’ve been eating sprouts and wearing a paper hat for two weeks, the last thing any judge wants to be faced with is anything that reminds them of this, no matter how elf-free the story.
Yet again, I’ve been caught out. In the magazine world, Crimbo was done and dusted months ago. Shops are focused on how quickly they can tear down the baubles and what bastard picked the CD of festive tunes currently on repeat over the sound system. From my days in food licensing, I know that the big chocolate manufacturers are rolling out Easter eggs right now.
The lesson is, if you want to write for a specific season then work has to start at least 3 months and preferably 6 before the big day. Maybe we’ll remember this next year. I’ll put it on my new calendar once Santa delivers it.
nolanparker 
Having worked in the lovely land of retail I know – I was arranging my Santa in February! Oh and it was me who chose the xmas tunes, so the staff had voodoo dolls of me with pins in by the time it got to the 24th…
I did a shoot for a Konica Christmas ad which was set up in the studio in July. As I wrangled a 10 foot Norway Spruce through the studio entrance, the receptionist said: “Wow! A Christmas tree, where did you find one at this time of year?”.