This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

November 8, 2011

No, Mom, You CAN'T Put Up Your Christmas Tree Today....

... or subtitled, "Let the Freakin' Turkey Have His Day Too.."
Yes, this is an actual conversation that I had with my wonderful Mom this weekend. In all fairness I do have to say that the comment was directed to her very Martha-like boyfriend (but that's a story for another day), yet I'm still shaking my head days later. I'm not bah-humbuging the holidays- I love decorating my house for the holidays, but the earliest that IMHO it should be permissible is mid-November at the earliest.
    Seriously- there is at least a few more celebratory occasions between Day 'o Candy and Christmas that should at least be given a cursory nod before you put up the evergreen tree and toss some tinsel on it.
    I mean the holidays are overly commercialized as it is, but holy moly, to actually have Christmas stuff out in retail stores BEFORE Halloween is just a bit more than I can understand. Yes, really.  I had to take MiniLatte to pick up some sparkles for her Tinker Bell costume and there right next to the giant light-up Jack 'o Lantern were CHRISTMAS trees galore and a display blasting carols. On October 30th. OCTOBER. That's a full 56 days before Christmas. To say something nice about it, MiniLatte did exclaim, "Christmas Tree!," so I can imagine that it's going to be a fun December. Emphasis on December.
    I love, love, love Fall- the colors, the cozy fireside afternoons; baking cookies; pumpkin, vanilla, falling leaves, apples.... I like to celebrate those little things before I jump into full-swing Christmas. Maybe it's the fact that we've only had one week of Fall so far here (70 on Halloween, and then 50 the next day followed by the first storm- seriously, a late Fall) and I'm a bit behind schedule. (Um, yes, carved pumpkins done exactly one doorbell ring into the trick or treaters!) or the fact that I was used to a delayed start on Christmas until after college finals. (It doesn't matter that excuse is losing merit so five years ago!)  I just can't relate to Christmas preparations before Thanksgiving...
    It's like retail is setting the tone for letting us enjoy the holiday season and each store is trying to one-up the other with it's first Christmas sale. It just bugs me.... and don't get me started on Santa. Jolly Old Saint Nickolaus was already sitting court at the mall center court- and it was just November 6th. The mall was already decked out in it's holiday finery (they probably just had Pumpkins and spiders glued to it and ripped it off when the clock chimed midnight on Halloween...) Seriously... Santa... day after Halloween. It just doesn't seem right to me. But it's retail. Now, my mom?
    She has managed to keep the Christmas elf from putting up the tree so far. It might be an argument for her in a week or so, but so far, so good. As for me, I'm digging out the Fall-ish themed decorations and will soon replace the red, white and blue. Just kidding- it's more like bunnies and eggs...