The Christmas season should not start on November 1st!
Yes, you read that right.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate — all I’m saying is that we don’t need to start celebrating so early. I love Christmas. I love celebrating it. I just think Thanksgiving should have its moment.
And don’t get me started on how early stores start selling Christmas decorations.
The day after Halloween, I walked into Walmart to buy leftover candy on sale. I had been there a few days before looking for costume pieces, so I knew exactly where to go to find the candy. But when I walked up to the aisle, there was no candy to be found. The pumpkins had been traded for Christmas trees, the spooky spiders had been replaced by Christmas lights, and there was no more candy corn — only gingerbread. I was appalled. How was all of this already set up the day after Halloween?
In my house, we always started decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. That makes sense. I mean, how can you skip over a whole holiday just because you’re excited for Christmas?
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a time where I get to see my family members who live hundreds of miles away. We spend the day playing games, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and eating turkey and ham until we cannot eat anymore. While some may immediately start thinking about Christmas after Halloween, my first thought is always of Thanksgiving.
Even if you aren’t a Thanksgiving lover like I am, I still don’t understand how you can be ready to start celebrating Christmas on November 1. Don’t you get tired of songs like “Santa Baby” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” playing constantly in stores and on the radio? I do.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Christmas music. In fact, I absolutely love Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You.” It was the Christmas song that my mom and I always sang together when I was younger. And although it reminds me of late night drives with my parents to look at Christmas lights and sitting with my brother in the back, drinking h
ot chocolate and staring out the windows… by Dec. 18th, I am tired of hearing it every time I go to Target.
If we waited until after Thanksgiving to start playing Christmas music, it wouldn’t feel so overplayed by the time we got to December 25th.
And since there’s no universally-acknowledged Thanksgiving music, we could keep listening to regular music until the day arrives. Just a suggestion.
Also, we have fall decorations —leaves, turkeys wearing pilgrim hats, or white and orange pumpkins —that work perfectly for Thanksgiving. So for all my decorators, you’ve got options. And honestly, it’s a little odd to have Christmas decorations up if you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house.
But the minute Nov. 28 comes to an end, put up the tree —the Christmas season will have officially started.
