Christmas overdose....

So, I understand retailers stocking up on Christmas items early (early-bird shoppers, etc.) but I think the appearance of holiday decorations is getting earlier each year. I have neighbors who have had holiday lights up for over a week now...and the town I live in had the holiday lighting ceremony this weekend (there is a large, round rock mesa in the middle of town - thus the name Castle Rock - and there is a illuminated star permanently installed on the top...along with radio antennae and a flag...for the holidays, they light up the star) and they have the holiday lights already installed on the streets. To add to this list of baffling behavior, I have a neighbor who has an Autumn wreath on the door, pumpkins on the porch.....and a Christmas tree in the living room.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think one holiday should pass before decorating for the next one......

"Oh, honey...a gift for me!"
"Yes, my love."
"Oh, you remembered Valentine's Day.....(opening goft box)....oh, what's this...firecrackers and an Uncle Sam hat?"

There have been people in my neighbourhood who have had their lights and trees up since before Halloween!! :gth

Don't have my tree and lights up yet. Next weekend maybe, but I will admit 95% of the christmas shopping is done.

Ugh, my wife is setting up our tree tonight. Too damn early for me, it gives me a headache just looking at it now.

I just finished putting up my exterior lights, and I don't see anything wrong with it. Thanksgiving is this week, we are gone all next weeked, and then we are in the holiday season. I can't do it during the week, and the weekends are already filling up with parties and family gatherings. Seize the opportunity and put the lights up.

Matt

I'm really not a fan of Christmas, or, I should say, I'm not a fan of what Christmas has become. Perhaps it is still a deeply religious holiday to some, and perhaps it is about family to others (Even if it is about family, why not get your family together on a different day? Why a religious holiday?), but it seems that for far too many people it is simply commercial.

I may just be overly cynical, but when I see lights up early, the commercial aspect comes to the front of my mind.

Since I know this can be a touchy subject (I avoid these conversations with my mom), I want to wrap this one up by saying that I mean no disrespect to anyone at all. These are just my views, and I feel comfortable sharing them here. If I have offended anyone, I apologize; that was by no means my intention.

These folks don't just have the lights up (that can be a pain)...they have them on...for over a week now...with trees, deer, etc.

It isn't even Winter yet...it is still Autumn.

Regardless of your religious views, Christmas is a Winter festival, Thanksgiving is the celebration of the Harvest. It seems we Americans have merged them.

If I put up a tree (if I am not traveling for the holidays), it will go up no earlier than December 6th (St. Nicholas Day) and stay up until January 7th (Orthodox Christmas). Usually, a 9 foot one. Real, cut-in-the-woods trees only, BTW. I just wish I had a real fireplace instead of a gas one...it's like watching your water heater...no crackle, pop, or nice wood smell.

i'm not religious but for me Christmas is a family holiday that is a tradition. my family has never gone overboard with presents or decorations but we do enough. most of my gifts are usually practical things my parents know i will use. i really enjoy this time of year because i enjoy my family. that is it. presents are great but i usually buy what i want or need anyways (within my means) so if they weren't there i wouldn't mind.

that being said i think christmas should get 1 month at the most, December. not november and december as that seems strange to me. me dad always said we wait til Dec 1st at the earliest to put up the tree and decorate and usually it was about a week later then that. luckily we don't do the christmas lights thing so that wasn't an issue.

Good food, family, my dad and i play a good 2 hours of foosball, how can you beat that?

Here the situation with Christmas is better, but slowly becoming worse.
My family are ones to put up the decorations on the 24th - it is a nice family occasion.
What is bad for me here is the occurrence of many other celebrations - in Britain we have mothers day - here we have mothers, fathers, childrens, grandparents, names and womens day and every other day in which they can celebrate - this of course comes with a certain obligation to buy presents, which I think is a little too much - These celebration are especially weighted toward women and the flower shops must make a killing. Here it is still not so much commercial as a family celebration but I can forsee that it will change. They are also adopting many other western traditions such as valentines day and halloween which aren't part of their culture.
Forgive me but I am a real humbug and although I like Christmas and other celebrations I can't help but see the twisted nature of what should be a good time. People have just lost the real meaning of many of their traditions.

One holiday at a time please. I think it is obsurd to see Christmas junk on the shelves three days prior to halloween. I can understand making preperations for the coming holiday while you have the chance, hang your lights get your stuff out of the attic and into the garage where you can get to it. I can see the idea of getting ready, but not having it up in full swing just to beat the Jones's. Really in my neighborhood that's what it is. A huge pisting contest between all the people on the block. Who cares, Not I. But at the same time I highly encourage having Family traditions and Celebrating the holidays. Thanksgiving is no less important than christmas, but we don't have Thanksgiving lights. Each in their own turn I say. Give the lights and trees and trimmings a rest til it gets close enough to enjoy them without getting sick of them. Half of winter is spent as the christmas season these days, and by the time its done with I hate christmas, can't wait for it to be over. All the same to each his own. I love Christamas.

I agree, the stores are making their pitches far too early...and lights before halloween is just tacky. But from where I come from, it gets dark at 5pm, is grey all day long, and it's colder than a witches @ss, so the Christmas lights in November is a welcome and cheery sight.

That said, we won't turn ours on until at least Nov. 20th, and since we always go get a real tree, that doesn't get put up or decorated until about Dec. 15th.

Mark

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Originally Posted by WireBeard

. I just wish I had a real fireplace instead of a gas one...it's like watching your water heater...no crackle, pop, or nice wood smell.

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the last christmas i was home we had no fireplace at all so my wife made one out of construction paper and taped it to the wall, it was pretty funny.

as for christmas stuff i think the earliest any of it should be out is the day after thanksgiving, my wife keeps wanting to look at christmas stuff and i keep refusing, i think it is crazy that they were playing christmas music at the mall the day after halloween!!! that is way to early for me. just my little insight

-dan-

For years my wife and I would get up early at 6a.m. on Christmas day to open our gifts (we have no children, so we have to sub in for them!), and always put on the yule log on television (they have 3 channels where we live that broadcasts this from 6am to about 9am).

Thankfully, this year we've moved into our own house that had a real fireplace (very pretty, although it sucks more heat out of the house than it gives off!).

I love the cozy construction paper fireplace, Dan - that's a memory you'll have for a lifetime! She sounds like a keeper! :tu

Mark

The business Christmas started a little later this year than it seems like it usually does here. :shrug:

I'm wondering if Jimbo will chime in on the Christmas-is-a-winter-festival theory?

I think there are two sides to Christmas: the commercialized DeBeers Christmas and real Christmas. I call the first DeBeers Christmas because it's entirely manufactured, just like the whole diamond craze. People are duped into thinking that Christmas is all about decorations and presents and great food. This is the stressful Christmas.

Real Christmas is the event, religious or not, where families and friends get together to have a good time and enjoy each other, whether that good time be giving gifts, decorating, eating, or all of the above.

I would be willing to bet that the DeBeers Christmas would go away to an extent if people would focus more on the real aspects. Will that actually happen? Probably not.

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Originally Posted by Quick Orange

I would be willing to bet that the DeBeers Christmas would go away to an extent if people would focus more on the real aspects. Will that actually happen? Probably not.

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I've been trying that gradually over the past few years and have discovered unsurprisingly that while people say they prefer not to commercialize Christmas, they tend to get offended if you don't take advantage of that commercialization for them. This discovery hasn't changed my approach, but the hypocrisy is as widespread as the post I have just written

Christmas is a weird thing here. I grew up watching movies where Christmas was white. People skating on lakes. Woollen sweaters and huge overcoats. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire....

WTF???? Everyone knows Christmas is conducted in the middle of a drought in the blazing summer heat. Open Fire? Chestnuts? Ice skating??

Aussies are gradually moving from a hot Christmas lunch to seafood buffets and iced egg nog. And beer - lots of cold beer.

James.

Ha! James, that's great! I live in an area of the world where people do skate on lakes, have wool coats and tuques, and have roasted chestnut trolleys in the city...but at least there's a common bond - beer! I've yet to go to a Christmas celebration where that hasn't been the libation of choice!

A world apart brought together again by the love of good drink! :roflmao:

Mark

Being married to "Little Miss Christmas" I finally have put the "Man" foot down at no Christmas decorating at the house, until the day after Thanksgiving.... Rule #2.. All decorations must be in the closet by Jan 3 this allows for one extra day of hangover recovery after New Years Eve..... At least I get my way on certain things :roflmao :roflmao

Note to self: Fed-X Jimbo a snowball for Christmas

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Originally Posted by Quick Orange

I think there are two sides to Christmas: the commercialized DeBeers Christmas and real Christmas. I call the first DeBeers Christmas because it's entirely manufactured, just like the whole diamond craze. People are duped into thinking that Christmas is all about decorations and presents and great food. This is the stressful Christmas.

Real Christmas is the event, religious or not, where families and friends get together to have a good time and enjoy each other, whether that good time be giving gifts, decorating, eating, or all of the above.

I would be willing to bet that the DeBeers Christmas would go away to an extent if people would focus more on the real aspects. Will that actually happen? Probably not.

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This is why I have never given diamonds as gifts...the whole "if you lover her, you'll go in hock up to your eyeballs for a piece of carbon to prove it" campaign is annoying.

Anyone can buy someone a diamond....good luck finding a clear ruby or emerald or a string of meticulously-matched pearls.

I sat with the wife of a jeweler in Bangkok for over an hour trying to match a blue tourmaline to one I have picked to make a set of earrings to go with a pendant, as a gift. Mounted in sterling, they are a one-of-a-kind gift.

On the other extreme, when my brother married his wife, she was appalled during the first Christmas with my family that we did not leave price tags on the gifts....one year I gave her gifts from TJ Maxx and target wrapped in Saks Fifth Avenue boxes...she was thilled (I was entertained)....sadly, my niece/nephew have been raised to treat gifts as "loot" and each one has to have the same amount spent on them or there is a hissy fit. Pathetic. The girl even asked me once over the phone where her present was (and she wasn't kidding)...unfortunately, I was not able to put my size 13 through the phone as a "gift" for her.

I usually do 3 gifts - something functional, something you've asked for, and something frivolous or extravagant. For example, once for a female relative, a gift certificate for a free house cleaning by a professional service, a gift card for a day at a spa, and a piece of antique silver.

Stocking stuffers don't count....I usually fill stockings with fruit, candy, small items such as pen sets, etc.

I guess one thing to be thankful for is that I cannot think of a thing I need or really, really want....ohter than some wire cutters to address these Christmas lights.......

:rock:

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Originally Posted by Milton Man

Ha! James, that's great! I live in an area of the world where people do skate on lakes, have wool coats and tuques, and have roasted chestnut trolleys in the city...but at least there's a common bond - beer! I've yet to go to a Christmas celebration where that hasn't been the libation of choice!

A world apart brought together again by the love of good drink! :roflmao:

Mark

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:D

Ah yes. Whether it be snow or sun, frozen lakes or swimming pools, roasted chestnuts or frozen cherries, the theme of Christmas is common to us all. We call it the Trinity over here - get drunk, fight with family, pass out after lunch. :D

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

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Note to self: Fed-X Jimbo a snowball for Christmas

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:roflmao

Yes, at this time of year, spare a thought for your poor brothers and sisters in the southern hemisphere sweating their way through Christmas lunch. All snowball donations warmly accepted (literally).

James.

Well Christmas here has always been a big deal. I worked retail for too many years though and doing that makes you not like Christmas after awhile. So I quit retail & now I can enjoy it again.

I don't have a problem putting up lights on a warm day outside in November but any earlier than that no. And please don't turn them on til after Thanksgiving. Our neighbors already have the outside of their house decorated complete with Christmas wreaths. They started decorating last week. They always have their tree up too early & take it down right after Christmas. I guess that's their thing but it's not for me.

I've always loved Christmas not for the commercialization but for what it actually means. I'm not real religious but I grew up with a priest for a dad. For me it's a time to spend with family and friends. I hate that it's gotten so commercial. I agree......wait for one holiday to be over before you do the next one.

I do like to decorate A LOT for Christmas. Anyone watch Star Trek? Anyone see the Star Trek movie Generations? Capt. Picard was in a place called the Nexus where anything was possible. For him it was having a family at Christmas. I just loved how much the house was decorated for Christmas & so each year we try to decorate a lot to make the house very Christmasy.

We too love a fireplace and always turn on our gas logs. Hey Glen does your wife have the candles burning yet? I just got done buying another one for Christmas. :D