It’s not Christmas yet.
My jaw almost dropped when I rounded the corner to turn onto my street and I saw this tonight. It’s beautiful yes….but it’s way to early for this kind of Yule Tide display. I was already having quite a difficult time with the Christmas trees popping up on top of stores and in malls everywhere before Halloween (and we all know how I feel about that) but to have the houses lighting up already is just too much for me to take. Now, to be fair, we have the lights on our house too. The big difference is we won’t turn them on until the day after Thanksgiving which is the next holiday on the calendar that deserves it’s own attention. Pilgrims breaking bread with the Indians? Pfft. Who needs it?
It’s much better though than another house in our neighborhood that I have termed “The House of Eternal Christmas”. This house has the lights wrapped around their trees all year long in an effort to not waste the energy required to put them up at the appropriate time. Somewhere around Valentines day, the giant wreath hanging over their driveway will fall halfway down and remain swaying in the wind for days threating to take out a small group of children as they gather waiting for the bus. Usually by the time the March thunderstorms roll in, the angels with the wreaths around their neck will finally make their way back into the garage. At Easter, we look forward to still seeing their tree, still fully lit, shedding a light onto their side patio to highlight the giant eggs they have placed out. However, by the time July 4th rolls around and they have flags draped from their balconies and it’s approximately 110 degrees here…I have officially had it with the red lights wrapped in tiny tight rows on every single one of their trees even if they aren’t lit up. It’s wrong…just wrong.
Here’s the bottom line, I don’t need a reminder already of how far behind I am already on Christmas. Cards done? No. Gift lists? Negative. Anticipation of Bitchmas which is just around the corner? I don’t need it.
Every holiday needs to know it’s place. And this holiday’s place is not yet.
PS: If you haven’t had enough of me yet, click here for my interview with Matt over at DC Urban Dad who has found a brilliant way of getting out of posting on Friday’s by getting people like me to do it for him. (Kidding, sort of….I’m just mad I didn’t think of it first!) Thanks for having me Matt…I hope you still have a readership after today!
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
AGREED.
I’m also the cranky type who, when passing by a house with xmas lights still on past January 5, will lay on the horn as a wake up call. Collective action and social norms are what separates us from the animals, people!
There is one house on our street that had a company come and install light artfully all over their roof. It used to bother me but now I just drive by and think of what their electric bill will be for acres of light and 2 8ft blow up snow men and think SUCKER. Enjoy that bill.
Since I’m going to be in Texas for the holidays I’m putting up my tree here next week for Thanksgiving. Maybe a few white lights on my bushes
Oh, how I despise the leave-the-house-decorated-until-June people in the neighborhood. Last year the family on our corner left their Jesus and Mary neon light display up for three months and my husband finally snuck over one night, took it down and left it on their front porch. Don’t put the shit up if you’re not planning to take it down, no-wut-I’m-sayin?
This post made me laugh ~ I hate that too. Between stores that have officially turned the three holidays into Hallogivemas and people who leave their decorations up all year long, it’s enough already.
I have a ridiculous ongoing fight with my husband regarding Christmas decorations. Every year, on Thanksgiving Day, when I’m running around in circles trying to get an elaborate dinner ready, he decides it’s time to start hauling out the Christmas decorations. The only way I can stop him is by chasing him with a carving knife and turkey baster. I’ve finally put a few, less intrusive Christmas decorations in a special box labeled “Decorations Jimmy May Take Out on Thanksgiving”. It’s insane. Just let me finish one stinking holiday at a time.
And for once I am glad to live in the UK, as people over here don’t tend to decorate the outside of houses as much as People in The States!
Of course there are a few exceptions and a friend on facebook announced that a house round the corner from her has full decorations up outside and in!
I agree with you, it used to drive me crazy. Living in Germany nobody really puts lights outside there house, it’s odd to me. And according to my German teacher no one typically decorates their houses until after Dec 6th St. Nicholas Day! But I’m putting up mine next weekend…screw the Germans!
Woot!
(clapclapclap)
Seriously, people, ITS NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET!
And doesn’t the song say the “Twelve” days of Christmas? Not months, folks.
If everything is Christmas, then nothing is, and who wants that? Sheesh.
Wonder if they pay their taxes two months early too.
Do you want me and Gumbo to head round their and sabotage the whole arrangement?
Bitchmas!! I’m so stealing that.
Yeah, we’ve got neighbors like that too – at least the house in your neighborhood is pretty. If you look up “half-assed” in the dictionary, the decorating job these people did is very likely to be there. People – you own a lovely 2-story colonial with a wrap-around porch, not a double-wide – why are you just wrapping the shrubs on either side of the sidewalk in multicolored lights, half of which are burnt out? And that limp, pink (because it sure as hell ain’t red any more) bow on your lamp post? It’s seen better days.
If you’re going to decorate, DECORATE, for crying out loud.
For a second I was worried that that was your house. Then I would have made the drive up to tell you to knock it off, and drink a little wine but definitely to knock it off. Thank god it’s not. Though JR wants to come up because you’ll feed him real turkey.
Someone needs to pull the breakers at their power box. We might be just the gals to do it.
Yeaaaaaaahhh. That is too much, too soon. And it also makes me tense because I am not anywhere near to being able to think about Christmas yet!
I am SO with you on this. I do have my Christmas cards done, but I refuse to even put stamps on them until after turkey day.
Amen! Can’t we please just enjoy fall? Of course, stores have had Halloween merchandise out since August, so there you go.
Ha! Too funny… I have only seen a couple of Christmas lights on in my neighbourhood… but then again, for us, Christmas is the next holiday, as we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, before Halloween!
I wrote a post this week (or last week?) about tacky Christmas lights… GOD, sometimes it’s terribly tacky!
Try being a Jewish atheist in the Bible Belt, and see how Christmas in October feels.
We have a rule in our family: absolutely NO Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving. Period. (Okay, this year I violated that rule–some stuff I knew I wanted for Christmas went on sale, and then I got stuck waiting for my car to be repaired so I walked over to the grocery store, bought Christmas cards, and took care of them while I was waiting. It was really an act of desperation.)
Christmas lights cost money, both to buy them and for the electricity. I guess these people have the money for it if they are turning them on early.
When our family moved to upstate New York in April and we were house hunting, just about every house still had Christmas lights up. We never saw this on the west coast. All I can think of is people don’t want to go out in the cold to take them down. Granted, February and March aren’t exactly picturesque with the alternating snow and mud, so the Christmas lights don’t really do much to harm the scenery.
Our family takes the easy route: we don’t do outdoor Christmas decorations. We live in the middle-of-nowhere anyway, so it’s not like anyone would see them. Saves time, saves money, saves me freezing my butt off putting them up and taking them down. I just put them inside the house where I can see and enjoy them.
We change the channel whenever a holiday-themed commercial comes on before Thanksgiving.
CHRISTMAS IS GETTING UPPITY. or at least Christmas marketers are. I actually heard a Christmas song in Macy’s the weekend BEFORE HALLOWEEN. I put down the $125 dress I was about to buy and walked out of the store. Yes, Uppity Christmas Music Before Its Time Turns Off My Shopping Gene.
That’s the T-shirt I’m making to wear shopping this weekend.
Living far from suburbia, NYC to be exact, these shameless displays of yuletide yelling have yet to make it to my block. I must say, though, that I miss the homey holiday decorations that remind me of my youth.
Hope that house hasn’t sucked all the electricity from your neighborhood’s grid;-)
Oh girl, you are singin’ my song! The local florist that I pass by all the time had stuff in the windows 2 WEEKS before Halloween!! Even my 5 yr old was like “why issChristmas stuff up already?” It seems earlier and earlier ever year….
Hats off, girl. What with the Full Moon movie coming out at midnight last Thursday, I wouldn’t have thought you’d even notice these lights! ; )
Really, truly, really? A house way worse than the one pictured. I’m going to have nightmares of the suburbs at holiday time:-(
Hang in there with your “dull” light display. Consider yourself eco friendly.
thank you thank you thank you for posting this! very well said.