Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Seriously? Bah Humbug!

Okay, I'm all about the Christmas spirit and the joys of the season, but it hardly seems like you can go into any store after October 1 without being confronted with early holiday cheer. I'm not clueless, and I know how the marketing elves work. Look, I teach scrapbooking classes in a high-end specialty gift/scrapbooking store, and we've been selling out of all kinds of Christmas doo-dads for a couple of months. We're known for our uber-cool, trendy items. It's what we do (click here for a shameless plug to Signed Sealed Delivered) and we do it very very well.

And my local Wally-World has had a tree up for a month or so. That I can deal with. It's their job, and, frankly, it keeps my household in milk and toilet paper and Oreos, thanks to David's hard work building the big boxes they sell from (so please shop now and shop often--momma needs a new pair of shoes).

HOWEVER...

I was not prepared to be driving home from an evening event last week, idly flipping radio stations in my car, when I hit on the last part of Delilah pontificating about some relationship and wishing the caller all the best in their joyous life (really, you can all now hear her voice in your head--sorry in advance for any internal trauma that may occur).

But what really got me was the vaguely familiar swelling of music in the background. This is what made me stop on that station and listen a little closer. I couldn't quite place it...it had been maybe 10 1/2 months since I'd heard that song...no, it couldn't be...wait for it....

Oh, yes. It was the dulcet tones of Michael Buble, singing "The Christmas Song."

REALLY?

It was November 6. Good grief.

I wish I'd heard the first part of the call. I have no idea if the guy requested this or not...maybe it was the song playing when he first kissed his significant other...there was probably a good reason, but whatever. It was November 6.

(Keep in mind how much I love music and how much I LOVE Christmas music and that I've already started weekly rehearsals for the annual Christmas Chorale I sing in because we have to start a couple of months early...but this is the public radio.)

I wasn't going to complain publicly. I do love the song--have even performed it before--but it just seems a little early for the radio holiday season. Truly, I just threw out the dead pumpkins on my porch. We're still digging through the candy leftover basket for Milky Way bars no one else has claimed.

And then I drove by my neighbor's home last night and my attention was immediately distracted by the multitude of bright, twinkly lights I saw through her front window.

And they were attached to a tall, green tree with baubles on it.

And then this morning she and her husband were outside hanging the tons of decorations that light up the street every December.

Again, I say...

REALLY?

I don't need this kind of pressure. I don't even know for sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving.

So here's the question...any of you started the Christmas season yet? Did I miss a memo that Christmas was coming early to combat the doom and gloom that society is trudging through lately? Any ideas how to pull me out of my pre-holiday funk?

On the other hand...this does mean I can now buy my favorite holiday addiction--egg nog!

6 comments:

Kasey said...

I'm with you on the public radio. There ought to be a moratorium (dang...I just got peanut butter all over my keyboard). Anyway, there ought to be a moratorium on Christmas music on the radio until the day of Thanksgiving. If people really want to hear it for more than 4 weeks, they have their CD's, their MP3 players, the internet and dedicated stations on XM or Sirius Radio.

That said, there are a few of my favorite things that are only available during the Christmas season, so I take them as soon as I can get them!

I've had my Brach's Peppermint Nougats for a week now, and I picked up my Silk Soy Egg Nog at the store last night. But that's just my sweet tooth getting a head-start. I will hold off until turkey day for the music AND the decorations!

Sarah said...

Sorry. I'm one of them. I start our Christmas music on September 30th each year. I DO hold off on the decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. The season is just too short. TOO much good music to squeeze in a few short weeks.

Lucky for you - I noticed they now sell Halloween Nog....

banananutmeg said...

Halloween Nog? what the? how did I miss THAT goodness?!!

Ok, I didn't get the early christmas memo, but I DID get Strep throat, and a double ear infection, and pregnant.
Ok the last one is great news, but the throwing up day after day for weeks and weeks part is not.

Therefore, Nat King Cole brought christmas to our house early this year, to bring me out of my sicky sicky I feel like I'm dying funk.

It totally worked! (along with a little amoxicillin)

I think you pinned it on the nose, Christmas is coming early this year to cheer everyone up. The world is angry this year.
As Buddy the Elf says: "the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is to sing out loud for all to hear"

or something like that.

Ok, hold off on the tree and decor until turkey day is over, but Ring out your wild bells and embrace the rest!

banananutmeg said...

oh...I should have mentioned that Aaron isn't telling his family until his mom's b-day, which is next week...so don't mention baby in any comments on our blog until after that. It would be sad for them to find out via internet, especially since pretty much everyone else knows already. (although, if he doesn't tell 'em soon...)

Kristen said...

Yee haw!!! I guess I should be flattered that Meg used my blog as a way to announce some most major news!!! Congrats, my dear, and let me know if you need me to come over and hold the barf bowl! (Go boy baby, go boy baby...)

banananutmeg said...

barf bowl, hahaha! more likely barf-church parking lot, barf-trashcan on walmart aisle 13, barf-preschool, barf-fire dept, and sooo much more. I could be my own reality show, where they follow me around with cameras and bet on how many lawns i'll fertilize. the best was outside the bowling alley, which attracted two guys in a tucker's truck to stop and offer me assistance...but they were SMOKING and totally made me barf more!
oh so many stories to come, I know y'all can't get enough of my public humiliation!