Deck the Halls

Sure. With Boughs of Holly? No thank you. Not just yet anyway.

I went shopping on Sunday and realized this is probably the last time I will be able to go shopping on a weekend without it being CRAZY busy with holiday shoppers.

Don't get me wrong, I like to plan ahead. My goal is always to have my holiday shopping done by the weekend after Thanksgiving. It allows me to spend the holidays actually enjoying them instead of stressing out and running around like a mad woman (although I am pretty sure I do that too regardless). So I don't really mind that stores put out their Christmas decorations and such right after Halloween or in some cases, even in conjunction with Halloween. What I do have a problem with is the Christmas stuff taking over the store and already hearing "Deck the Halls" and "Jingle Bells" playing repeatedly over the store's PA system when it is THE FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER.

For starters, it makes Christmas lose it's specialness if by the time Christmas comes around you are just plain sick of all the red and green, the santas, the reindeer, candy canes and carols. One month is plenty of time to "get into the spirit of the season".

Second of all, what about Thanksgiving? It gets totally overlooked. And for me, it happens to be my favorite holiday. It's the one holiday that isn't overly commercialized. It's about family, food and giving thanks. No candy, no toys, no colored eggs. Just being thankful and spending time with family eating really good food. I love the colors of Thanksgiving, harvest and fall. Simple, natural, classic. But it gets no respect. It's like we go straight from ghosts and goblins and get straight onto Santa's Sleigh. I protest!

So while some people may have already put up their tree (and to each their own), I spent the last week taking down the scary black cat and Jack o'laterns and replacing them with pilgrims and turkeys. So yes I decked my halls, but the boughs of holly will just have to wait their turn.