Premature Christmas

I’ve never totally understood my obsessive-compulsive need to shop early for Christmas. 

Sure, there are logical explanations for it: family obligations, work schedule in December, my role as the youngest child and a couple of mentally questionable ancestors.

This year, I got most of it done in July.

But I know I’m not the norm. So I have to wonder why this year, people didn’t realize ¬Christ¬mas had started too soon!
Case in point:  Nov. 1, I entered my mother’s ¬a¬part¬ment building as the office staff were pulling the pumpkins and decorating a tree in the lobby. 

The same day, advertisers started their holiday campaigns with Christmas commercials popping up all over the TV.

And every church in town seemed to have a Christmas tea and bazaar during the month.  Oddly enough, you rarely find a Christmas tea in December. 

It’s no wonder you often hear the words “it doesn’t feel like Christmas yet” just a week before Dec. 25. 

Instead of enhancing the holiday spirit, the festive brouhaha is prematurely inserted like part of a to-do list.  And it confuses matters, to say the least. 

For example, how can Christmas wreaths and poppies co-exist?  You don’t finish “Taps” with “fa-la-la-la-la.”

This year proved that Mother Nature can also still drop double-digit daytime highs until mid-month. 

In fact, I saw one die-hard at the golf course working on his slice – in shorts – on Nov. 13.

And nothing says Happy  Holidays quite like a dude in ¬Ber¬mu¬das. 

So let’s re-think this.  Maybe the end of Halloween should not automatically mean the start of Christmas. But when should it begin? Here are a few tips to guide us for next year.

It’s too early to pull out the tinsel if:

l You still haven’t lost that extra five pounds you gained “giving out” Halloween treats.
l Flocks of geese are even now threatening to poop-bomb you.
l You’re still picking smashed pumpkin guts from your front steps.
l Your decorations will need the Swiffer treatment before December first.  (Of course, a little dust on the ornaments can pass for indoor Christmas snow and add a delightfully festive touch!)

Outdoor lights can go up as early as you wish. After all, nobody should be up a ladder stringing LEDs during a snowstorm. But take care in when you flip that switch!

If you want a starter pistol for the season, just look for Rudolph, Frosty or the Grinch.
CBC can always be trusted to kick-off the holidays with one of the gang.

Remember, start too early and you run out of steam – and true holiday spirit – before the big day.  So pace yourself and ignore the advertisers. 

Take your cues from nature, the calendar and yes, the networks.

Me? I just watch for those singing cats to get their holly-jolly groove on.