An elf drowns a baby reindeer every time you bring up Christmas before Thanksgiving.

That’s what I was told yesterday when I expressed my excitement for the holiday. My apologies, but when Halloween passes and the creepy costumes on the shelves are replaced by bells and fake snow, my heart instantly turns to syrupy sentimentality. I have no shame in celebrating early. Plus, I know elves wouldn’t do that to innocent reindeer, that’s complete baloney. With that said, let’s begin decking the halls; it’s time to hurdle into Christmas spirit at full speed.

I understand that only the most hardcore Christmas lovers are going to light up at the first Christmas commercial they see or faint string of Christmas music that reaches their eardrums but there are a sleighfull (get it?) of reasons to prepare for Christmas early. Getting into the Christmas spirit early will allow you to create the environment you desire to celebrate the holiday so the sooner the better in my opinion. The holiday season is stressful between the shopping, the cooking and the planning. I don’t know one person that honestly enjoys being crammed into a retail store with fellow shoppers like sardines, or that thrives on the last-minute family plans that seem to be hanging on by a single thread and I certainly don’t know anyone who appreciates the “it’s Christmas and I have so much to do” feeling. The natural rise in the nation’s blood pressure that ruins the fun and festivities is completely unnecessary and completely avoidable. Get the decorations out of the attic, saunter through stores when you get a chance, watch Elf and sing those old-school Christmas songs like no one is listening.

It has come to my attention that people believe premature Christmas spirit is causing Thanksgiving to become nothing more than a launching pad for Christmas; some go as far as to say people are treating Thanksgiving like the forgotten middle child. Pish posh, I see no problem with stuffing the turkey while Frank Sinatra sings Christmas songs in the background. We can still sit around and complain about how we ate too much and then go shopping so have a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the merriness.