Selena's take on Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving
Did anyone else not get the memo about totally bypassing Thanksgiving so we can get a two-month head start on Christmas? My daughter Selena and I were discussing this on the way to wherever it was I was taking her that day. She was furious at the way we disregard Thanksgiving. I mean, yes – we all celebrate it. We cook the turkey, prepare all the fine side dishes, and chill together as a family. She was pretty sure, though, that the day after Halloween is target day. All the big name stores have their stock just inside the back storeroom ready to spring on everyone - all this while their Halloween candy is still digesting. To top it off, we were driving as it was getting dark, and we passed a house fully decked out in holiday splendor. Little lights were twinkling, or maybe in her opinion, glaring out of the dark at us. I think maybe she is right.I know that stores have to start early. That’s why most of the Christmas open houses are held in early November. It’s OK, it’s all good. I just can’t bring myself to drag all my holiday paraphernalia out of its dusty hiding place until that last helping of stuffing has settled nicely in my stomach.
We are live tree people. If my house doesn’t smell like pine, then it’s not Christmas for me. The day after Thanksgiving all the trees are out and ready for purchase. I tell you, though, if I were to buy one then it would be nothing but a dried out mess come Dec. 25! Nothing I put in the water makes it last longer – then again, I do have a black thumb. For decorating, though, I start slowly. I drag out the window candles first. How I love those tan plastic candles. I’ve gathered them over the years and they’ve done me great service. It’s tracking down the bulbs to put in them that is the hard part. If you wait until after Thanksgiving to buy them, you won’t find anything but the big bulbs that fit nothing. Or you could go with the lovely blue or orangey/red bulbs. Those are the bulbs you still see burning in people’s windows come February. One year, I found a whole box of perfectly working bulbs at Save & Serve – all for 25 cents! Oh happy day.
Next out after the candles is my Nativity scene. It’s always granted a place of honor in our home. My kids usually fight to assemble it. The direction the Wise Men are facing is always a hotly-debated subject. Day by day, more things appear. I drag my snowmen collection out of obscurity, and next come the Santas. Finally, deep down in the box I find my prize possession – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Technically, he’s not really Rudolph. He’s a reddish, solid bendy-plastic reindeer that came out of the sixties, I’m sure. When I was little, we used to play with him and move him around the manger scene. Didn’t you know that Bethlehem had reindeer? He’s missing his tail now, and every so often I paint his nose red. He doesn’t stand straight anymore, but without him, it wouldn’t be Christmas.
Selena loves Christmas and so do I. Maybe, she just wants to make us all remember what we’re thankful for when this time of year rolls around. I think she wants to feel each moment of Thanksgiving without the glare of Christmas lights – and I’m with her. My mom never decorated for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I do the same, and I’m sure Selena will follow that tradition. But in Selena’s words, “Come on people, I want Thanksgiving first!”