register |  login
› LITTLETON
Loading Ad
Visit Other Hubs:
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Tower
RECENT STORIES

Here comes Santa Claus ... already?
Contributed by: Kelsey Page on 11/15/2006

Fall is always a busy time of year. School's starting up again, the weather begins to get a little shaky, and, of course, the slippery slope begins into the Christmas/Holiday Season frenzy.

It seems that every year, grocery stores, businesses, Starbucks, and retailers pull out those dusty trees, frumpy Frosties, and the latest, overpriced trends that grip our nation each season. Usually, these pushy little reminders come around just after Thanksgiving, but, this year, I was offered a holiday drink at a coffee shop as early as October. For consumers, frazzled civilians, and busy clients, this is always a little shocking.

Halloween and Thanksgiving approach quickly enough, but when someone tries to sell me a gigantic, electric, inflatable snow globe when I'm trying to buy candy for trick-or- treaters...quite frankly, my first reaction is a worried vision of me somehow slipping into a two-month-long coma, preventing me from buying any gifts, wearing any ugly sweaters to white elephant parties, or tasting any strong eggnog with overly-sprinkled cookies.

Similarly, I feel awkward and uncomfortable hearing "Winter Wonderland" on a hot, sunny day while I'm wearing shorts and flip flops.

I think just about everyone has those crazy, psyched-for-the-holidays neighbors who plaster 80,000 tiny, twinkling lights to their house Griswold-style, just as their children are bouncing off to their first day of school. Often, these people are found to be talented or, in the least, enthusiastic carolers, and ardent protectors of the $250 light-up reindeers that perpetually attempt to feed on their frost-bitten lawns.

Decorating one's house can say a lot about people; there's the stereotypical procrastinators who either don't ever take down lights and vintage Santa Claus prop-ups or leave them up until spring or summer, the early birds aforementioned, and those of us whose arms tire after hanging up five ornaments and a shedding, Charlie Brown Christmas wreath and decide that this winter may be better spent admiring the work of others.

It's not that I particularly abhor the spirit of giving and holiday season in principal or applaud Scrooge's emotionally distant persona, it's just the theory of getting such a ridiculous jump start on it that worries and annoys me. For me, there are few days quieter than the day after New Year's Eve, when all the hype is done with, all the stores finally give in to clearances, and the materialistically-simulated climactic time of the year has passed once again.

Yet, then again, with these early reminders; maybe next year, we'll all be watching yet another Tim Allen holiday movie in mid-August and reading The Night before Christmas on the Fourth of July.


SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story



Current Rating
Based on 5 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
Submitted By: Karin Malchow
posted on 11/16/2006 @ 11:58:29 AM
Rated Story
The Valentine's Day stuff comes out after New Year's Day. There is no rest for consumer-driven holidays.
[Report as objectionable]
Submitted By: Karen Gilbert
posted on 11/16/2006 @ 10:24:35 AM
Rated Story
Excellent analysis Kelsey. Though I tend to love the holiday season (but we need some snow) the extensive over-marketing is getting out of hand.
[Report as objectionable]
Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Kelsey Page

Boulder , CO

Kelsey Page has posted 56 stories and 11 comments since joining on 9/21/2005. Kelsey Page 's average story rating is 4.92.
SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY
STORY RSS FEEDS
WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?
Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

Loading Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

This YourHub.com community is produced by The Denver Newspaper Agency
Web Development and Channel Analytics provided by Indigio

terms of use //  privacy policy
the staff //  advertise //  help & faq
buy photos