Well, we’re a few days into November and as you might expect, Christmas is in the air. Department stores already morphed into Winter wonderlands weeks ago, the city is beginning their work on decorating for Christmas and I’m drinking my Starbucks coffee out a red cup with a nutcracker on it. Let’s not forget the Christmas themed commercials that are already pushing huge sales and the hottest toys. It seems like Christmas came especially early this year, but then again I say that every year, so maybe it’s just to me.
Can I just say that I love Christmas? It truly is one of my favorite times of the year. Of course, at 23 it’s my favorite time for different reasons than when I was 9. I’m not too worried about getting gifts, and knowing the value of being able to pay bills, I’ve pretty much forgotten how to ask others for things by making a Christmas list, even though my mom still asks for them. I love Christmas for different reasons now. I guess it’s better to say that I love the Christmas season. I know, it’s very commercial these days, but I think that it’s really fun for the most part.
I love Christmas movies, music and all the decorations. I’m especially excited for this year since it’s our first Christmas in a real house that we can actually decorate like crazy. I enjoy getting together with friends and family over big meals and reflecting on the year that’s gone by. But I also love the Fall. I like being able fully enjoy the transition from Summer to Winter, without all the things I love about Christmas just yet. This brings us to my number one rule for the holiday season.
I consider myself a big proponent of not doing anything Christmas related until the Thanksgiving dinner has been eaten. This means that we don’t watch Christmas Vacation or listen to the new She & Him Christmas album just yet (even we have already purchased it). This has been my rule since I can remember. However, there’s a problem this year. I woke up a few days ago to find myself already in the Christmas spirit. Don’t worry, I didn’t pop in a Christmas album or put up any decorations…but I wanted to. I don’t know why the Christmas spirit is attacking so early this year, but it has me in its sights.
So far we’ve considered a few compromises. Maybe we’ll go ahead and start getting decoration together for outside, you know, before it gets super cold. We might not watch any full-blown Christmas movies, but maybe we’ll watch The Nightmare Before Christmas since it has to do with both Halloween and Christmas. We won’t listen to any Christmas music yet, we’ll just get the songs downloaded and the playlists created. These are great ideas, but what if we fail. What if we start with just hints of Christmas and end up having our tree up and decorated before Thanksgiving!? Oh, the horror!
The horror!
Ok, so maybe I’m being a little over-dramatic. Is Christmas in November really such a bad thing? I mean, this year has gone by like crazy, maybe I just don’t want the Christmas season to go by so fast and that’s why I’m already craving it. I’m sure that the only thing holding me back from beginning the Christmas season in our home is my pride. Trust me, I talk a lot of smack about how there should be no Christmas before Thanksgiving. I suppose that only time will tell over the next few weeks, if we’re able to stay strong or not.
Regardless of when you begin your Christmas season and traditions, I hope you thoroughly enjoy them this year. I hope that you don’t get caught up in all of the commercialism and traditions so much that you lose sight of what really matters: family, friends, community and giving of yourself. Keep in mind that time is more valuable than money, hand-made always trumps store-bought, and although St. Nicholas was a real person, he loved Jesus and would never want to be made more important than his God.
Are you like me, or have you already started decorating and jamming the Christmas music?
Already started.. put up a little Christmas tree and a Christmas door mat. The Christmas music has been blaring for a week:) And I think you should break your tradition because Christmas is the best time of year! Why not celebrate a little longer? And I am not doing anything with the commercial side of.. everything I am working on for gifts is either homemade or fair trade. I just think there are a lot of scrooges around this time of year.. why not start spreading a little love and holiday cheer a few weeks early??
I agree. I really do want to get more out of it this year. There’s a good chance that we’ll be abandoning our “rule” and partaking of Christmas a little early this year.