The Age Old Question: When Does Christmas Season Start?
Christmas season starts right after Halloween, November 1st. If you disagree with me, you’re wrong. There is a break in the season for proper Thanksgiving festivities. The week of Thanksgiving is the Christmas season bye week if you will. Some of us like to be holly jolly for more than Freeforms 25 days of Christmas.
The Holiday season should be celebrated as such, of course, according to your own personal and religious traditions:
Halloween
It should be clear when Halloween is, October 31st, every year. Spooky season is for the entire month, and back into September if you’re exceptionally spooky. Go to Salem and see the Hocus Pocus house and hang around dressed up with literally everyone all day. (Please tell me you all avoided it this year with everything canceled and COVID still around) I have friends that live in Salem so it’s always a treat for me. A very crowded treat but they’re worth it, as are the corndogs from the food trucks in Salem Common.
Merry Season
After Halloween and spooky season are caput, Christmas season begins. Merry season. It’s acceptable to start getting prepared for Christmas at your house. Whether you’re putting the lights up while it’s still warm enough to feel your fingers and toes or starting to buy your friends and family their gifts. Indulge in hot chocolate and a candy cane. Live your best life, watch The Grinch however many times you want before Netflix starts judging you. Feel Michael Buble and Mariah Carey defrost by your open fire.
Thanksgiving
The week of Thanksgiving is always pure chaos, even if you have a strategy and lists as my mom does. Grocery stores are packed from the time they open until they close. It’ll be even more chaotic as we navigate that as a nation while combating the coronavirus. The turkey buying, potato peeling, carrot chopping are all important parts of the holiday. Could take days depending on your tolerance level for people. It’s a day for fasting then feasting and laughing at the sibling who forgot to grab the cranberry sauce. Of course, followed by the inevitable tryptophan-induced nap.
Merry Season: The Sequel
Right after Thanksgiving dinner, I will pop in my Collectors Edition Elf blue-ray, put on an Elf t-shirt, and have a hot beverage in my Elf mug. It’s officially Holly Jolly season! This is when Jack Frost starts nipping at your nose, you hear the jingle bells and the sleigh bells start to ring every day. You might see mommy kissing Santa Claus – but not before the 24th! Clear your evening schedule for some Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. The Heatmiser becomes a favorite for the grumps in your life (aka me). Get all the shopping one can do done as early as you can so all the husbands/dads who are out on the 24th have less of a line. Take some time to see the lights in the neighborhood or at La Salette. Spend time with your loved ones and bake cookies. Take a drive up to NH and see the ice castles. Then the main event, presents and movies with the family! Or anyone who shares your affinity for elf culture.
Feel free to fight me on this but you’ll be wrong. Christmas time is now. We are in Phase One of Christmas season, it’s time to accept the facts.
-Jess Donahue (@jldx392)