Touchy Topic Tuesday: Christmas Before Thanksgiving???

Touchy Topic Tuesday

Christmas Before Thanksgiving????

So, I love autumn. And I love Halloween. I love the crispness that comes into the air, the rain, the colors changing all over, lighting trees and bushes alight as though they were on fire.

As a mother, i have grown to love Halloween even more. I love watching the kids decide what they want to be, and choose their costumes. I love the details they come up with- like, Lilly insisting that she needed to have blue hair to be the corpse bride, and Mahone being too serious to join in the dancy Halloween songs we sang at one party because Indiana Jones would NEVER do the goblin-pokey.

And two days after Halloween, I walked into Wal*Mart to find a giant, beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

On Facebook, I am seeing more and more people brag about how they have accomplished their Christmas shopping already.

And in retaliation, person after person types exclamations of disgust about Thanksgiving not getting it's day.

Well, frankly, I hate Thanksgiving. I don't like thanksgiving food, and ever since I've been married, I have had to endure 4 different Thanksgivings every year because apparently it's just TOO important to miss, so I have to eat 4 versions of the same dinner.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm very THANKFUL, and I appreciate the intention behind the holiday, but I just can't stand the day.

Christmas, on the other hand, IS my favorite holiday.

And I don't just start after Halloween. I listen to Christmas music all year long. Every night, I play CDs of lullabies while my children drift off to sleep. And they're Christmas songs.

Seeing the tree at Wal*Mart didn't upset me at all. In fact, it only inspired me. I rushed right over to the seasonal isle, only to be disappointed (yes, I truly was) that they were still clearancing summer plants.

I, too, have already started Christmas shopping, and soon I will be finished.

For our anniversary on November 21, Brandon and I will be seeing a Christmas play.

I. Love. Christmas.

And it just can't start too early for me.

Now, I know that a lot of people feel that Thanksgiving deserves it's fair share of attention. And it does. To my knowledge, Thanksgiving has never been canceled. I've had at least one Thanksgiving dinner every year of my life. In fact, my youngest brother was BORN on Thanksgiving, and that was a particularly special Thanksgiving that I'll never forget.

But lets face it. Aside from meeting with family, which is always, ALWAYS a pleasure, there is nothing else TO Thanksgiving. There is no music pertaining to Thanksgiving, there aren't really any great decorations, and there is no gift giving, no exchange of sentiments.

I mean, of course, it's always wonderful to talk to our children about being thankful, and ask them what they are thankful for, and the answers are always deliciously sweet. But, personally, I find the whole thing tedious and drab.

I know, also, that the other common argument for the disdain for Christmas advertisement is the belief that Christmas is overly commercialized.

Well, Christmas most certainly IS commercialized. I am already starting to see commercials on television advertising sentimental jewelry and walking-talking dolls that pee when you feed them a bottle. I also, very happily, received some valuable Christmas decoration coupons from Tai Pan Trading Company advertising 25% off of any Christmas tree (which, I might add, were huge and gorgeous.)

I am a Christian mother, and when it comes to Christmas, it is a duty that both my husband and I take very seriously to keep my children's minds in the right place when the big guy in red comes to town.

It's a daily discussion at Christmas time, about how Christ was born in a stable, and that, as his birthday, we celebrate by giving each other gifts. This year, for Christmas, instead of buying our children presents from Mom and Dad, they will choose the name of a child their own age off of an angel tree, and we will be buying presents for that child. They will have no gifts to open from us at all. And they have known this since July, we have discussed it in length, and hopefully the idea and importance of charity and selflessness throughout the holidays will seep into their little brains and hearts.

And yet, I don't mind the commercialization at all. I love Christmas commercials advertising everything- especially when they're adorable or hilarious.

And, I just LOVE buying presents. I love going overboard. i love to see my kids wake up to Christmas morning and what Santa brought them, wrapped in colorful, metallic paper and piled high across the room. I love to sit and think about each recipient of my gifts on an individual basis to try and find the thing they love most. something that will inspire them. Something that will make them gasp- in the good, surprised way.

And it goes without saying, I love to get gifts too.

I think that there are two separate parts of Christmas. The spiritual kind and the commercial kind. And if you can figure out how to keep them separate, then in my book, it's all okay.

So, how do YOU feel about Christmas in November? Do you love Christmas? Or do you feel that Thanksgiving gets the back burner? Let us know!!!