'Tis the Season

A few years ago, I blogged about putting my Christmas decorations up too early (ironically enough, that blog post was titled 'Tis the Season as well. I'm recycling myself now. Yikes) and in that post, I wrote about how my new neighbors already had their Christmas tree up. And you know something? They still won't let me forget I wrote that. :D

But this year, I've seen a LOT of decorations up already. Before Thanksgiving even. At first, I thought, WTF? Can we get through Thanksgiving first? But then, I thought about it a little more and decided that it really wasn't such a bad idea.

So, I put up my Christmas decorations.

I think for a lot of people, the crummy economy, dismal unemployment rates, and general blah of what's going on in this country and around the world has people looking for cheer wherever they can find it. And that's partly why I wanted my decorations up. That, and it's been a rough year for my family on a personal level. I needed to see cheeriness and that's what those silly decorations do for me. I love this time of year, and all that peace on earth, goodwill toward man. I love Christmas specials and Christmas songs and seeing the line of kids waiting to sit on Santa's lap that winds all around the first floor of the mall (I don't loving being in that line, though. It's far better to observe it from a distance.)

So this year, when I saw my neighbors across the street had their tree up on Thanksgiving, it made me smile. It looks pretty, all lit up. And the houses are starting to look pretty as well - so many lights and wreaths and grapevine deer- they are putting my in a holiday frame of mind and I need that this year.

I will be happy to see 2010 go. Aside from my book sales and my nephew's birth, it's been a terrible year. Here's to hoping 2011 will be better.

What about you? Are the Christmas decorations all going up too early for you? Too late? Have you put yours up yet?

Oh, and I wanted to say a very loud, very public thank you to Maria Zannini. I recently discovered her awesome blog and her equally awesome books. Well, she gave me a nice shout out on her blog and so I wanted to return the favor.Go. Check her out. You'll thank me, I promise. :-)