AB_L1_070909_eclass101

AB_L1_070909_eclass101.mp3
Holiday Shopping
I took my daughter to a hardware store this morning to buy new fan blades for our outdated ceiling fan. After buckling her into the red plastic shopping cart, we had barely walked through the sliding doors when she shouted, "I wanna see Christmas decorations and Mickey, Mommy!" She pointed to her left using her entire body.
I looked, and much to my disdain, the aisles were filled with blow up Christmas yard art depicting Mickey Mouse and friends, toy soldiers, snow globes with Frosty the Snowman inside, and others too numerous to name. The center aisle displays were filled with wrapping paper, plastic boxes designed especially for storing ornaments, and the ornaments themselves. Everything was red, green, and gold, and the air smelled of cloves and pine.
Today is Halloween.
When I was a kid, Christmas decorations showed up in the stores after Thanksgiving. Halloween candy did not go on sale until after October 31st, and the Pilgrims in their shiny belt buckles and stove pipe hats were allowed to stick around until the last turkey leg was eaten.
Now, it seems that we are all in a rush to get to the next holiday, whatever that may be. I know that Valentine candy will be on the shelves the day after Christmas, and Santa and his reindeer will be relegated to the sale aisle at the back of the store. Perhaps it's just me, but seeing artificial Christmas trees on Halloween morning takes something special away from passing out candy to trick-or-treaters at night.
"Look, Mommy," my daughter said as she watches another little girl playing with an animatronic elf. It shakes a candy cane studded with silver bells and sings "Jingle Bells" in a tiny voice.
"Mmmhmm," I say, and turn the cart toward the lighting department.