Okay, I’ll admit it, I am THAT mom who puts her Christmas decorations up on November 1, I start listening to Christmas music the first moment that the Christmas station starts playing it (November 3rd this year), and I anxiously await the debut of the new Starbucks red cup (oh the irritation of having to wait until November 10th!). I LOVE the Christmas-creep that begins earlier and earlier each year, and you will never hear me complain about the first signs of cold and snow. I am a full-fledged, unapologetic, and unrelenting Christmas-Crazed Mom! I put up 7 (yes 7) fully decorated and lit Christmas trees. Our exterior lights were hung while still wearing shorts. We have been to The Home Depot twice already to supplement our outdoor lighting, and as far as I can tell none of our neighbors have joined in yet. I have been giddy at the sight of the lights going up in our downtown area and am counting the days until they turn them on (even though it makes the traffic unbearable for most).
- Decorating done √
- Presents bought √
- Cookies ordered √
- Parties planned √
- Santa visit √
- Cards ordered √
- Christmas music blasting √
- Elf shenanigans planned √
- Christmas themed pajamas in full rotation √
I wasn’t always this way. In fact my mom can attest to the fact that we had a real Christmas tree most years when I was growing up and we never had any decorations up before Thanksgiving… oh the blasphemy! My husband thankfully shares my affection for Christmas, so as our decoration collection grows so does our desire to have them up to enjoy for as long as possible. I was almost completely done with my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving and I have also begun to wrap the gifts (and truth-be-told some will be delivered WAY before Christmas). The return of Dimitri, our house elf-on-the-shelf, arrived in style the morning after Thanksgiving. My giving tree presents are already purchased and neatly stacked in my living room (even though they haven’t put the giving tree up at church yet).
I love when my friends make me feel better by say things like, “oh yeah, I put mine up in early November too”, but the reality is that I know they are rolling their eyes at how rapidly I jump from Halloween to Christmas. I am even hosted Thanksgiving this year, and it was a small life raft of Thanksgiving decorations in a sea of Christmas bling. My husband and I host an annual Christmas party and we having been reviewing our notes from last year’s party and planning the details for about a month now. Before the end of November the guest list and menu were finalized, shopping lists made and divided up, and any platters ordered to preempt the rush.
If I am starting to annoy you, I fully understand. I confuse my kids, and baffle my family. My oldest has been asking if Christmas is next week for several weeks now. My cat is already getting bored with his attempts at disassembling my trees. This time of year is nutty and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to complete everything we need to get done, but that is the reason I do it. You see once December hits I want to be able to settle in and enjoy the spirit of the season like my kids do, so I aim to have my check-list complete before December 1. So hate me if you must, but it is more likely that I start decorating on the 5th of July than wait for a single day of December to pass without being in my full Christmas glory.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and many blessing in the New Year!
