What is it with everyone this year?
Christmas began to creep into stores early October and now it’s full-blown Christmas everywhere you go. I used to love waking up the day after Thanksgiving and seeing the stores transformed into a Christmas wonderland. It signaled the arrival of Christmas and it was so exciting!
This year, I am struggling with it. I love Christmas for a lot of reasons but I love Thanksgiving too and I feel as if it’s getting the shaft big time this year. How do you avoid the holiday “creep”? Or do you? Maybe you just give into it. I feel pressured to start my shopping but you know what happens when I shop early? I forget how much I’ve gotten and I end up with a lot of extra stuff and really, none of it is needed. Sometimes, I even forget to wrap stuff and find it later! That has happened to me at least three times.
This whole holiday thing has really been on my mind lately. Has it been on yours? When I get like this, it helps to jot stuff down that makes me happy and I invite you all to join me. I’m grateful for so many things and taking a moment to focus on Thanksgiving keeps it real.
Things to look forward to between now and Thanksgiving:
- Slowly planning the holiday meal. Usually I make the same things but there are a couple of new dishes that I add to mix it up a little. This recipe, was a new dish that I tried when I went gluten-free and it became a staple.
- Time off! I am taking the week of Thanksgiving off. I try to every year, but this year with all of the job changes at work, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to. I’m looking forward to the time off.
- Coming up with my Thanksgiving reading list. I’ve got the week off, I must have stuff to read. I don’t always stick to the list but it’s fun to make one.
- Sitting down with my December calendar and having a come to Jesus moment. Mapping out December can be a little stressful for some, but I take comfort in knowing what I’ve got coming up. I geek out when it comes to my planner.
- If the weather cools down, it will be nice to take some walks with the Otter Pup. It’s been warm so I’ve left that job to The Hub but as the decorations go up, it’s fun to walk around the neighborhood.
- Coming up with my holiday playlist. For both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I tend to not listen to music all that often. Weird, but around the holidays I really like it.
- Movie watching! I watch a lot of movies this time of year. A must-watch movie: A Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It puts me in the mood for Christmas. We usually watch it on Thanksgiving day.
- Spending Thanksgiving day with my immediate family which is just the four of us and the pup. We lounge around in our pajamas, eat and eat and just enjoy each other’s company. I cherish this time together.
Your turn! What are you looking forward to between now and Thanksgiving?
Book Chatter 
Sounds like you have way more plans that we do! I hate the Christmas in October stuff. I do shop early or at least try to for kids. I tend to put those gifts in a place the kids won’t find and that I’ll remember where they are. I do tend to get too much some years, but it all evens out if I forget a birthday…which I’m horrible at remembering.
It’s not as difficult to keep track of purchases now, because before I had to make sure The Girl did not see them. Now, she really doesn’t even pay attention. I can throw them anywhere and she hasn’t a clue. But I usually wrap all at once and that is when I realize I bought too much. I have held stuff back for a birthday but their birthdays are late in the year so they aren’t always appropriate then, depending on what the gift is.
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I hate that holidays are rushed so much!! I am betting that mid december valentines cards will be out…..i dont cave…no decorations until after thanksgiving….no christmas music until december..etc…it irks me that holiday specials are available on demand….i remember stalking the tv as a kid for the one night a charlie brown christmas would be on or the one night its a wonderful life would be on and now its all thevtime…ugh
I know what you mean!! Last year, the newer Miracle on 34th Street was on ABC Family, but the classic, the only one worth watching was on freakin’ pay per view! That angered me. I then bought a copy and then… lost it. Seriously. I did that.
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Normally I’d agree, but its been a rather trying year for me that I’m really enjoying all the holiday buzz lately. I’ve even started listening to my Christmas CDs in the car. And I’ve already started baking! I know, its too soon, but I just love the good vibe of Christmas that I can’t help myself – its really cheering me up. Plus, I love watching all of those Christmas movies on TV lately and they are showing them like crazy! I’ve started planning Thanksgiving, too. I’m hoping to make some new dishes this year and have been going through my cookbooks. I love your list of things to look forward to – I’m writing my own list now 🙂
I think everyone should do what makes them happy. I really do love Christmas. I just feel as if we are losing the magic with it hitting earlier and earlier each year. And what about all those folks who have to work on Thanksgiving? I know a few people that have to do Thanksgiving the day before or that weekend in order to include everyone. Shouldn’t be that way.
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That is a good point. It does feel like the more we rush it, the less we seem to truly embrace the meaning of it all. Its more like an item on a check list – which is just awful to think of it that way. But it does seem way more commercial than it used to be. And I totally agree that no one should have to work on Thanksgiving day. Is it really that important to hit the stores after you eat turkey?!
I love these last few months of every year just because of how festive and fun they are. But, I do wish that each holiday got its time to shine without other holidays trying to share the glow. People are not going to forget that Christmas is a month-plus away – we don’t need stores to remind us that.
It’s a gray area for me when it comes to decorations. I like the prettiness of everything. I just hate that it makes people crazy as soon as it all goes up. It’s like someone flipped a switch and instantly you become stressed. From pretty lights and stuff. Silly.
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I am mixed about it. Yes I feel like it is early for the Christmas stuff and I would rather focus on one holiday at a time. But I do like seeing the decorations and hearing the music etc. I also like to start shopping early, especially if I see good deals on certain things I’d like to get. It gets a little overwhelming for me to wait until a few weeks beforehand. I’m looking forward to the cheeriness of the season…..not really the snow so much though.
I can’t remember if I commented back or not so to be safe…
I just looked online for a couple of things, all on sale right now. I may just pick them up since it’s easy and no extra work on my part. I always think the mall decorations are so pretty but it’s hard to appreciate them with people pushing you in their rush to get somewhere. I like to go late at night when everything is all lit up.
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I know…Christmas should be illegal until the day after Thanksgiving…this whole rush job us a very bad idea!
We are still trying to decide what we want to do on a Thanksgiving…right now…no plans are made!
Have you ever made reservations for Thanksgiving dinner? I can’t bring myself to do it for Thanksgiving, but for three years now, I’ve done it for Christmas and it’s very nice GREAT food, lots of if, champagne and the kids are happy with the variety since it’s in a nice place but served buffet style.
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Between now and Thanksgiving I’m looking forward to planning gluten-free meals for when the whole family is “home” for Thanksgiving and getting the kids’ old bedrooms habitable enough for their visit. (Yay for clearing out some old stuff before new stuff arrives!)
There are some houses in our neighborhood decorated for Christmas already. We like to wait until later in December to put up our tree – part of the reason it’s so special is because it’s only up for a little while. I refuse to start Christmas preparations until after Thanksgiving!!
I refuse to purchase anything Christmas related, with the exception of gifts, until after Thanksgiving. If that means there’s nothing left but the picked over remains, then so be it, I didn’t need to spend money anyway.
I was going to say that I’m looking forward to the weather getting cooler, but it got freezing cold within the space of a day and a half. So, now I’m looking forward to my boyfriend and I digging out all my winter clothes from my storage unit (Texas doesn’t normally get this cold till mid-December). I’m also looking forward to hot apple cider, and getting cozy with some really good books and my Doctor Who blanket.
Your plans sound wonderful!! I love hot apple cider! Have you had it at Starbucks? They put cream in it… goodness. I may buy a gift or two before Thanksgiving if I find something online but I am going to hold off for the most part. I want to include The Hub in shopping this time. Oh, he will love it! Not!
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No Thanksgiving here, but Christmas is full on!. I think the shops’ strategy is exactly that you buy more than you need.
I think people end up spending more when they are crunched for time. If they only had one week to shop they would’t be so picky about price, etc. They’d buy with abandon. I think retail has it wrong.
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My parents won’t be in Florida until right before Christmas, so our Thanksgiving will probably be spent hanging with friends (which means I only have to cook one or two things versus 3,000). I never get any help with decorating or shopping, and I always end up getting stressed out. It is has been a hard year so I’m going to try to take deep breaths, try to keep it simple (ha) and not worry. We aren’t going anywhere at least, so that is good. I may be e-mailing you in a few weeks to talk me down off the ledge…
I’ll be here should you need some help down from the ledge. How helpful will it be if I am on it with you? Bwahahaha! I crack myself up.
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My mom loves Thanksgiving and we always make a big deal of it so we all look forward to it and being all together. Even though I shop throughout the year, I really do feel like the day after Thanksgiving is “the” holiday shopping kickoff. We women all go out and help each other find gifts. Plus there’s always a big football game to watch together!
We’re turning into the family that barely celebrates the holidays. No presents, not even sure if anyone is doing a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner this year (we save our big family meal until after the New Year). My immediate family keeps shrinking, and now that there are no kids around, it makes it easy to make the holidays into a non-event. It’s Scroogish, but quite relaxing. 😉
I really like Thanksgiving, but I notice myself getting all geared up for Christmas already. Maybe it’s because we didn’t even decorate last year with all of our kitchen mess going on. I have some gifts bought already, which I keep telling myself is quite organized of me, but what it generally means is that I buy too much crap – and yes, like you, have sometimes not been able to find it until after the holidays. One time “Santa” forgot about a book that he had bought and my daughter discovered it in our attic months later. I ended up telling her it must have fallen out of Santa’s bag.
My holiday is going to be catching up on bills time and spending time with my family. My husband is on the road.
Good for you!! Most holidays people rack up bills and you are catching up on them. I hope you have a lovely time with your family.
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I remember last year being the same way–I think because Thanksgiving comes so late this year and last? I am grateful that we at least have a full weekend in November after Thanksgiving, though! We will start decorating just after Thanksgiving and I’m grateful that between divorced parents and half siblings and step siblings, this year’s festivities came together very easily and without any added stress or hard feelings.
What will be be doing this week? Scott and I are crazily thinking of going to Vegas! It’ll be the first time that I’ve left Evie overnight! But we haven’t booked yet and I’m not sure if we want to spend that much on plane tickets (I planned to use card points for the hotel). We’ll see. Otherwise the same old same old at our house. 🙂