The Holidays Cometh....Really?? So Soon??

I know I’m not the only one out there that notices holiday decorations begin showing up in stores immediately following Halloween this days. 

I walked into Costco not too long ago to pick up a couple of small items.  In the center of the warehouse were all the tree and yard decorations for Christmas.  Christmas music was playing in the background and I found myself wanting to tune it all out.  I entered a Walmart a short time later and discovered the same setup; decorations galore and Christmas carols echoing through the speakers around the store.

Now, I’m not a scrooge by any means.  Quite the opposite, I love the holidays!  I love decorating the house with lights inside and out, I love that my wife has a “baking weekend” with the girls in the December, I love creating Christmas music playlists on my iTunes account, I love listening to Christmas music 24/7 on my local radio station.  I love it all, but Christmas immediately following Halloween just doesn’t sit well with me.

I understand that all of the efforts for “Black Friday” events, and getting holiday goods in the hands of the consumers quicker are marketing efforts to get us to spend earlier and more often.  It doesn’t escape me that major holidays means big dollars for retail stores.  I suppose if I was the CEO of a major retail outlet like Costco or Walmart I’d be pushing the holiday product out to the consumers sooner rather than later as well, but come on…Christmas in October??  Really??

So how does a guy like me that loves the holidays but hates the hype deal with it all?  It’s pretty simple really, I creep into it!  Prior to December 1^st I do my best to avoid the Christmas aisles.  If my radio station starts up with the Christmas carols before Thanksgiving I find another station to listen to.  I refuse to pull the decorations down from the closets and garage rafters until Thanksgiving.  I restrain myself for creating my latest Christmas playlist until the spirit hits me to do so.  I glean through the store advertisements but not to buy, just get ideas.

I absolutely LOVE the holidays!  I’m a big kid in a grown man’s body on Christmas day!  I can’t wait to pass around gifts and open my own.  I love our Christmas breakfast where we’re still in our PJs and our hair is mussed up!  I love it all, but I truly find that the spirit of Christmas doesn’t quite hit me until we get closer to celebrating our Lord’s birth.  Don’t worry; I’ll get our Christmas cards out in time.  I’ll get my online purchases made with time to spare.  I’ll have that Christmas playlist blaring in the house at full blast before too long, but can I please wait until all the leafs have fallen, the skies get a bit darker earlier in the evening and the snow and fog start surrounding the mountain tops before I get too excited??  Please!!! J  

Happy Holidays to each of you!

A Common Man