a christmas blog... sort of...

so today . . . i discovered the elusive christmas peacock...

what? you didn't know there was such a thing as a christmas peacock? where have you been, mars?????

i love christmas. it is my favorite holiday! and one of the things i love about it is the decorations. does the world ever look prettier than in the month of december? lights, sparkles, snow, poinsettias, holly, and of course baby Jesus--i love it!

but not in october. october is supposed to be about pumpkins and pretty colored leaves and cornstalks. october is supposed to be when you break out your sweaters and scarves and maybe buy a new pair of fuzzy boots from costco--which you have to do in october or the ones in your size will be gone! and then you will have to wait a whole year to get a gray pair! (oops. digressing again...) october is all about crisp, cool days, and nights scented with pumpkin spice candles...

...not christmas peacocks.

i get the whole "christmas in july" thing. if you are someone who plans ahead, then july is probably about the right time for you to start your shopping. (who am i kidding. if you are someone who plans ahead, you started your christmas shopping the day after christmas!) and i understand how, when the thermometer says 95 degrees and you have been wearing your shorts and flipflops for two months, the promise of snow-covered evergreens and twinkly lights could be inviting. but the truth is, i have never, ever seen anyone buy a christmas tree in october. ever. and yet, that's when the majority of the stores have decided it is time to break out the christmas gear...

i am all for long christmas celebrations. our tradition has always been to put the christmas tree up the day after thanksgiving and leave it up until martin luther king, jr day in january. why, you may ask, is that our tradition? well, i have a lot of christmas decorations. it takes me a couple of days to get everything out, put the decorations up, and put all the boxes back where they belong. so the long weekend after thanksgiving works for me. especially since it seems like it is impossible to find a free weekend in december. in fact, i have discovered that if i don't get the tree up before i go back to school after thanksgiving, it probably isn't going to happen.

yes, we have had more than one christmas without a tree.

and i like to leave it up for a while after christmas, because it seems like we are always so busy in december that we don't really get to just sit and enjoy the beauty of the decorations--that's what january is for! and taking it all down and cleaning and dusting everything takes waaaay longer than getting it out. in fact, a three day weekend really isn't enough. and since, in my current job, i have to work on martin luther king, jr day, sometimes i have to wait until president's day to clean the christmas from my house!

and yes, i know president's day is in february...

i'm sure the stores think that if they put the christmas stuff out early, we will all start thinking christmasy thoughts and start spending money. and they probably think that if we start spending it early enough, we will spend more.

and they are probably right.

because apparently anything can be a christmas decoration if you put a santa hat on it. this seems to be especially true when it comes to yard decorations. unless you have a nativity set in your yard, odds are most of your yard decorations are wearing santa hats. put a santa hat on a teddy bear and it becomes a christmas decoration. put a santa hat on a tall, green, skinny, furry guy and suddenly he is a christmas decoration. put a santa hat on a penguin or a dog or a singing fish, and it becomes a christmas decoration. i can sort of understand the thinking behind a flamingo wearing a santa hat--if you live in florida. but today i saw a christmas peacock. yes, i said peacock. a PEACOCK!!!!

i found myself at home depot this afternoon. we are having more work done on the house this weekend, so i needed to get supplies. and as i was wandering about, looking for a microfiber dust mop (no, that isn't for the work this weekend. that is to help me corral all the dog hair that i can now see on my wood floors!) i saw this...(no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. there is the elusive christmas peacock, nestled between the elusive christmas flamingo and the more traditional lighted deer.) home depot had devoted a large area to christmas decorations. which i guess is ok. maybe people do like getting into the christmas spirit two months early--while shopping for paint and light fixtures and crown molding... maybe people really will think, "i need some christmas decorations--let's go to home depot!" but i have to admit, it isn't the first place i would think of to bulk up my christmas decoration inventory...

home depot has given quite a bit of retail space to stuff that is probably going to just sit there for another month and a half before anyone starts buying it. because really, where are you going to put an 8 foot lighted artificial tree for the next two months? or those large lighted snowmen? or the lighted grazing deer? and even if you have a place to put them, who is going to buy a GIANT ILLUMINATED CHRISTMAS PEACOCK?!?!? and what does a peacock have to do with christmas anyway?? and why am i even thinking about christmas in october?!?!?

curses, home depot, i feel you trying to suck me into your early christmas vortex. i wonder if i can find my santa hat...