For many individuals, spreading holiday cheer is sometimes a chore. Deciding who should receive what is a question that comes up nearly every year. Read more on how you can turn this annual ritual into a meaningful opportunity to connect with clients.

Normally, I'm a bit put off by the Christmas trees appearing while I'm still noshing on the Halloween candy stashed in my cupboard, but going into my third holiday season with a law firm, I now appreciate the heads up. You see, I've already been working on holiday gifts and cards since October.

When I began at Rothman Gordon, it was in mid-November, and I was immediately thrown into holiday hell. Mid-November, I discovered, was very late to be starting. I survived and have been fine-tuning our approach ever since.

I realized that if we were ever to master the holiday season, we needed to be organized. What makes the effort so grueling is trying to keep it personal - some attorneys prefer to send Thanksgiving or Hanukkah gifts instead of Christmas gifts. Union clients are not permitted to receive gifts. I have referral sources who feed us work all year long; new clients who need to be cultivated; old clients who need to know they are still extremely important to us. Last year, we sent nearly 300 gifts, over 1000 holiday letters, and made two charitable donations. How do you keep something of that magnitude personal?

A huge first step is keeping your database current. You do not want to send a gift to a client whose estate you just administered. Misspelled names, wrong addresses and duplicate cards and gifts are also to be avoided. I never anticipate achieving 100 percent success, but I do strive to keep errors to a minimum by staying on top of the data all year long.

In lieu of holiday cards, our firm makes a donation to charity and we send a personalized letter announcing the gift to our long-term clients and friends. Yes, it is a nightmare to ensure they are correctly addressed (Is William a William, Will or Bill?) and I'm sure the attorneys have hand cramps after signing each one (special kudos to those who add a personal note!) but we feel a letter addressed directly to the recipient and personally signed is much better than a generic card with the firm name stamped on the bottom.

We also send gifts to clients who have spent a significant sum on our services this year or to referral sources who have sent us some nice cases. I think it's extremely appropriate to recognize that we appreciate their business/referrals and for that reason, we stay away from logoed items. The gift should be about them. For that reason, I have also expanded the choice of gifts, offering a range of items and price points so again, the choice of gift can be tailored to the receiver. Our attorneys can also choose for which holiday they would like the gift to arrive.

At the end of the day, the entire holiday rigmarole is about relationships. It's not ROI or marketing or "what's-in-it-for-me." The holidays are an opportunity to recognize and thank those people who enable us to practice law all year long.