Is anyone else over the relentless push of Christmas before Halloween is over? Because this writer is. It’s barely November, yet Christmas decorations and memes about Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” are up.
Who decided we need eight weeks of Christmas cheer shoved down our throats? By the time Christmas rolls around, I am already over it.
It feels like a marathon I did not sign up for. Instead of letting us enjoy the build-up to Christmas, retailers and fanatics jump the gun. I mean, c’mon, Target, it’s a little early to put out Christmas. And to my neighbor, “WHY ARE YOU PUTTING UP YOUR CHRISTMAS YARD DECOR?!”
It’s killing the magic that is Christmas. Instead, you’re turning us into Scrooge.
The Christmas creep is less about holiday cheer and more about retailers commercializing Christmas and squeezing every last dollar out of our pockets before the new fiscal year. I will die on the hill that Christmas isn’t about family and magic but how much money you can spend on stuff.
We don’t have traditions anymore; it’s about how aesthetic Christmas is and sharing our Christmas hauls on Instagram.
Putting Christmas into early November doesn’t make it more magical; it just drags out the tinsel torture.
By mid-December, I am exhausted, burned out and tired of nonstop carols, decorations and every content creator trying to spread Christmas joy.
As the Country Chronicle points out, the push for an early Christmas obliterates Thanksgiving. It turns Christmas into a month long ad campaign instead of focusing on gratitude and family.
I know for me, Thanksgiving means something. I also have a rule in my house that no Christmas decorations go up before Thanksgiving because I already have to deal with the constant barrage of Christmas and Christmas music working retail; I DO NOT need to be extra stressed about trying to plan Thanksgiving and deal with decorating my place for Christmas.
I know that by the time Christmas approaches, I will be ready to skip it and go to New Year’s.
“The songs actually trigger a countdown clock in our minds and can cause stress and anxiety about the number of items we need to complete before December 25th,” Scott Dehorty, a licensed certified social worker, said.
It’s exhausting.
What used to be fun now feels like I am on this arbitrary time clock because the Christmas gift guides are already being put out, and if I don’t shop early enough, I won’t be able to get what I need. God forbid I miss out on some decorations; I’m looking at you, Michael’s.
Let’s be real here: when it’s barely the first week of November and we are already seeing Christmas decorations, hearing Christmas music and having retailers put up their Christmas stuff, it doesn’t make me feel festive. It makes me feel rushed, like to hell with Thanksgiving; it’s time to put up the Christmas tree and bam, it’s all carols and Hallmark specials.
I miss the days when I could just relax and let the anticipation of Black Friday shopping kick off the holiday season. I miss the days when Christmas started in December. It brought back the magic that seemed to have gone away with how early it is being shoved down our throats now.
The decorations, music and forced cheer become background noise, worn out and stale by the time December actually rolls around. I actually want to enjoy November and savor the last bit of fall before everything is red, green and carols.
I particularly like to savor my seasons, and with how early Christmas is starting to be put out, it’s like I can’t savor this middle time before Thanksgiving and after Black Friday; instead, it is all fake snow, Christmas ads, flashy decor and expectation to be jolly for two months.
Christmas has started to lose its magic the earlier it comes, like a drawn-out ritual into consumerism and how much money we can spend before the actual holiday comes around. Maybe, I’m just nostalgic for the Christmas I experienced when I was a child in the early 2000s.
When Christmas seemed magical and fun, for at least the final week before break, I got to drink hot cocoa, color fun Christmas pages and watch “The Polar Express.” Why did Christmas have to become a two month marathon of endless carols, too-early decorations and expectations of buying more stuff?
Instead, Christmas should be a time for us to spend time with our family, drink egg nog, watch Christmas specials and enjoy the most magical time of year.
