Today I found myself in the uncomfortable position of being THAT customer.
You know, the whiny customer who, after having pursued an item in several stores, finally comes to the store that has THREE of said items left and whines and nags until she gets the overly gracious stockboy to check over the intercom, race to the stockroom, and have the precious parcel rudely snatched away by eager fingers that you would have thought had never in their life wrapped themselves around a Christmas tree base.
Seriously, people: when this scenario is playing itself around stores on DECEMBER SECOND, you know things are really bad.
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Whatever happened to the elegant custom of putting up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve (you know, since it’s a CHRISTMAS tree) and then taking it down on Epiphany or the Feast of the Magi or Twelfth night or whatever you want to call it? Every year the race to get the house decorated and keep one’s dignity seems to start sometime around Labor day and that is really rather unattractive and uncomfortable. And un-stuff.
Unattractive: I like red and green as much as anybody– in fact, possibly more than many people. But I don’t want to see the stuff for a whole sixth of a year, you know?
Uncomfortable: Dead trees around Christmas day are not pretty and they can get moldy. Those lights can hurt plants and hurt the environment, since they stay on so long. Btw… we have LED lights on our tree. Oooh….. pretty. Yet weird.
Un-stuff: If you’re decorating for Christmas so early, stores and consumers at large, how are we supposed to enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations… and stuff? See? I meant it when I said "stuff."
Anyway. This is a long post because I can’t break the habit, and because I wanted to spread some early Ex-Mas cheer with you all since our tree is, in fact, up and we were able to avoid a no-tree-stand catastrophe! Hooray!
Have a good beginning of the week, chitlins!
A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm! 
Christmas used to be the beginning of that whole “twelve days” thing – now it’s the end, because since it starts in October we’re sick of it by December 27. I agree that it’s a sad thing. We’re actually not going to get our tree up till around the 15th this year.
My family hails from New england, land of common sense. We traditionally put up our Christmas trees whenever we feel like it, though always by the end of the second week of December, and leave them up as long as we like, but always a minimum of New Year’s Day.
Common sense also dictates using a fake tree, unless you live in a hearty area (i.e., not a city). Fake trees last much longer, can look very pretty and do not pose the risks of fire / odor / sap damage.
Wow, there’s a whooooole blog post here. I’m gonna save it.
I try to ignore all the Christmas stuff until December 1st. However I admit I love being out and seeing it before I decorate.
Of course the fact that we have Thanksgiving before Halloween means we actually enjoy seeing the Thanksgiving and Halloween decorations during October before the Christmas decorations go up in November. Although some stores have the Christmas stuff on the shelves during the last week of October, they don’t put up the Christmas decorations until after Halloween.
We have an artificial tree that goes up the first weekend of December. So I have a full 4 weeks to enjoy my tree being up. I usually take down the decorations between Christmas and New Year’s. We used to decorate all in one day but the past few years we’ve been spreading it out over a few days. The first day is the major cleaning and rearranging of furniture, garlands up on the wall, and the tree put up and decorated. I might put out my village – er, city – then or I might put it out the next day. I then take a couple of days arranging the other decorations I have around the apartment. Part of the challenge is the fact that I have so much stuff that I need to decide what I’m putting out this year and what can stay boxed until next year. I also take the opportunity to check what condition my decorations are in so I know if I need to replace garlands or repair ornaments. I also try and change around where I put things although we really only have one location for the tree to fit.
I will try and take better pictures this year. We have better lighting this year.
I second the vote for fake trees. I know some people are really into the real ones, but fake ones last longer, are well reusable, and better on the allergies. I know people love the smell of fresh pine. There are pine-scented candles though to help! =)
There’s nothing worse than hearing Christmas music while shopping the mall before Halloween. Seriously, this holiday starts earlier and earlier every year. It’s sad and disturbing really.
However, come December 1st, I’ve come to terms with the fact that holiday music will be every where and I force myself to get into the spirit.