Ever since Starbucks unleashed its stable of seasonal beverages the day after Halloween I'd been musing a post about how every retailer seemed to wordlessly agree on the Nov. 1 holiday onslaught this year. I know Christmas has encroached further and further on Halloween in recent years, but even last year it seemed that retailers were still tentative - a tree here, a wreath there and a hesitant air of "Do you want this stocking right now?" prevailed.
The numbers must've been convincing because the advanced merry-making is definitive this year. Ornaments hung in the store windows of a Boston Body Shop store Nov. 1. I was still carrying around a jack o' lantern purse. It was awkward. And I hate to say it, but they made ME feel like the awkward one.
And while I'd love to slam consumerism and anything that threatens the (albeit very commercial) solemnity of Halloween and all the attention it deserves, I rather like having more time with the holiday music this time around. While other years I've "Feliz Navidad"ed myself into a frenzy, I feel I've been able to temper by approach to savor the season so far. (Granted, turkey day hasn't even hit yet.)
I cycle peppermint mochas in with my nonfat caramel macchiattos. I listen to a few holiday songs on the radio then turn back to Beyonce and Talking Heads.
Jimmy Kimmel tonight sounded refrains that sounded more like Regan of yesteryear. And by that I mean last year. "There's only so long you can roast chestnuts before they turn into raisins," he quipped. "And there's only so many times you can listen to 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' before the human body is programmed to self-destruct."
If you ask me, we need a little Christmas now.
*We'll see where I stand halfway through December.
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