Christmas in the Stores

A few weeks ago, I walked into Sam's Club, and to my horror, I saw that they were selling Christmas trees.

That really surprised me, though it probably shouldn't have. I said to Grig, "What happened to Thanksgiving?"

He remarked, "What happened to Halloween?"

"Oh yeah," I remembered, "that does come first."

It makes sense logically. Christmas is the most lucrative time of the year for stores. Why wouldn't they have their sales last as long as possible.

I was talking to some kids the other night, and they also told me about how they had turned on Christmas music the night before while they were cleaning and they were jamming out to it.

I thought it was pretty funny, but I also fondly remembered us jamming out to "The Monster Mash" as we prepared for Halloween.

So many things have changed since I was a kid. When I was younger, they didn't have Trunk-or-Treats. There was only trick-or-treating. I LOVED trick-or-treating. Now, because it's so dangerous in some places, they provide trunk-or-treating so kids can still have the experience without possibly walking into danger.

Wasn't he adorable?

We took Kevin trick-or-treating last year. We're going to take him again this year. It is a tradition I want to continue as long as possible. We try to only go to people or neighborhoods that we know, but who knows?

Halloween was a big deal at my house. My father had dozens of monsters that moved and made noise for Halloween. He also had a lot of monster bobble-heads. Maybe it was a little unusual, but I really enjoyed it. My aunt would also make a haunted house out of my grandma's basement, and it was really impressive. I liked helping with it.

Thanksgiving is also equally important to me. I have a lot of family, and it was always a time of talking, playing basketball, and eating. The food was always amazing. Now, we also have Kevin's birthday to look forward to around that same time in November. It's crazy that he's turning two soon.

Even though I understand why stores do it, I probably won't be concentrating on Christmas until we're done with the two holidays that come before it.

I like Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I want to enjoy them while I can. I think half the fun of  holidays when you're a parent is watching your kid(s) learn to love them.

I'm excited this year. Kevin's going to have a lot of fun.

I am too.