'Tis the Season?

I am one of those people who absolutely hates it when I see holiday decorations displayed super-early. It's definitely one of my major idiosyncrasies. It makes me furious when people show total disregard for the calendar and rush the year away. I have seriously been overcome with waves of rage when I see "Back to School" displays in stores before July is over (really people?! Can't even wait until August??).

As you can imagine, this tends to hit me hard right around this time of year, when people have the tendency to immediately trade in their jack-o-lanterns and black cats for Christmas lights and snowmen. I have nothing against the yuletide season - and a tiiiiny voice in the back of my mind reminds me that this juxtaposition of decorations for these two holidays led to the awesomeness that is The Nightmare Before Christmas - but why the hell does everyone show such disregard for Thanksgiving? It's a holiday built around being grateful for those around you, and celebrating those blessings by eating copious amounts of savory, delightful food. What, pray tell, is so wrong with that that people need to turn a blind eye to this delicious event? Why is it soooooo hard to wait until the turkey has been packed into neat little Tupperware containers before you jingle those bells?

My standard rule is that Christmas cannot be officially welcomed until Thanksgiving dinner is completed. I force my parents to refrain from putting on the Christmas radio station on the ride to our family on Thanksgiving morning (yes, I am a brat). It's only when we're on the way back home that we crank up those festive tunes and speak the formerly forbidden "S"-word (Santa, clearly).

This year, however, is a bit different. With Thanksgiving still over a week away, I'm already getting excited for the Christmas season! The other day I found myself wandering down the Christmas ornament aisle at Target. I even debated getting a holiday sweater for our dog....to go with the reindeer ears I already bought her a few weeks ago.

Seriously, who am I?!

Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is a week later than normal and my internal holiday clock is a bit early compared to the calendar. Or it could be that I'm realizing next year my fiancé (well, husband by then!!) and I will be decorating our own place for Christmas and I'm already excited about how our new traditions with our families will look. No matter the reason, I'm cutting myself a little slack - just because I'm ramping up for Christmas doesn't mean Thanksgiving will be any less special! I'm still going to eat that turkey and mashed potatoes like my life depends on it, even if I'm already thinking about what I can bake for Christmas Eve. I can't bring myself to listen to any Christmas music yet, though. But I have had a cup or two of hot chocolate, and I think next time I might add a candy cane...We'll see how it goes!