Thanksgiving comes first...(formerly "You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch"...)

I'm all about Christmas, but....
I just drove home and saw a house with Christmas lights on it!

I'm sorry...
but this is far too early.
That's just craziness!
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To further expound upon my post from yesterday, Suldog wrote a post in October that I'm going to piggy back upon today in this post scripted post.

As kids growing up, there was a transition to the Christmas season that we all anxiously looked forward to -- and it came after Thanksgiving. I remember a day when the radio stations didn't play Christmas songs until two weeks before Christmas, and at they were intermingled with regular music at that. Not now... now, stations play them as early as November 1st! What is that all about?

Some retailers have Christmas decor out in July! In my opinion, that's obnoxious. I even think November is a bit early, truth be told.

I'm a consumer and a retailer. I prefer to keep the transition magical...the lights on my house come on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as does my house decorating. In my shop, the Sunday morning before we open becomes the transition point from Autumn to Holiday - and it's nothing short of spectacular when you walk in.

Personally, I find if you change too quickly - the magic is lost. If Christmas is abundant in July - or even October - you're almost bored of it all by December. What fun is it at that point? There is nothing special about it at that point.

And what of Thanksgiving? Sure - it's not a commercialized, money guzzling holiday so it doesn't get the love from most retailers as it deserves - and that's unfortunate. But that isn't what Thanksgiving is about....nor should Christmas be, but yet there we are.

There can be too much of a good thing. Too much chocolate makes you ill; too much Christmas makes us jaded. Just as we should embrace aging with grace, we should celebrate the holidays as they appear on the calendar.... and congregate and enjoy in the feast of Thanksgiving.