Too Much Christmas?

Zazzle.com

It seems no sooner than when Halloween ends, the deluge of Christmas decorations hit the stores.  The music begins, the commercials hit the airwaves, and pretty soon, we’re staring at two months of Christmas cheer directly in the face.

Black Friday has now been pushed to late Thursday.  Before we even finish our leftovers it's time to get a jump on the crowds for that fourth 46 inch television for the kitchen! 

So when is it time to begin the Holiday season?

My wife and I have been back and forth on this debate for the better part of the week.  In an ideal world, I would begin decorating for Christmas somewhere between December 1st and 10^th.  That gives everyone a little time to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  My wife was ready to decorate last weekend.  I was able to hold her off, but it looks like my Friday after Thanksgiving will be filled with the task of untangling hastily put away Christmas lights in the attic.

The other part of this debate is when to take our decorations down.  I’m a day after Christmas kind of guy.  The tree is dead, the garland has lost its luster, and I’m ready to start fresh for the new year.  My wife however, would leave everything up well into the first week of January.  Just typing that sentence makes me cringe.  Our compromise?  New Years Day, I will celebrate by taking everything down.  You can imagine how I feel about people who leave their Christmas lights up all year.

I suppose I’m sort of an after Christmas Grinch.  Fine by me.  Once it’s over, I have no use for red bows, garland, messy trees, not to mention my electric bill from powering all of those lights in the yard. 

I remember this same debate when I was a child.  My father was ready to take everything down on Christmas day, while my stepmother, if she had her way, would leave the tree carcass up until Easter.  New Year’s day would come along and my dad would be itching at the chance to start yanking decorations off of the brittle tree limbs.  Usually by January 2nd, it was go time, my stepmother would relent and my father and I would have the tree stripped, removed, and out on the lawn in under 10 minutes.  She would stand by, arms crossed while making sure nothing was broken, shaking her head at the two of us working diligently together. It was an art form.

Whatever your customs, I think we can all agree that two months of Christmas is ridiculous.  We already have Christmas in July, before black Friday sales, after Christmas sales, get a jump on next Christmas sales, It’s never too early to think about Xmas 2014 sales etc.  Christmas is a great time of year, everyone’s a little cheerier,kids are excited, and it’s a great time for charity.  I love Christmas, there’s nothing like it….in DECEMBER.