Why is it that Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas seem to have melted together in to one holiday that begins in August and lasts until all of the clearance merchandise has left the store sometime after the first of the year? This is, at least the impression I get anytime I go to any store.  I mean, seriously.  It seems to take all of the fun out of each individual holiday.  It seems like I am so bombarded by holidays for so long that I become desensitized and don’t get excited anymore.

Seriously, if I want a Christmas tree when it is still 80 degrees outside then I will head out to a Christmas specialty store… not the place where I do my weekly grocery shopping.  I know this is a way for retailers to maximize sales, but come on.  I am not kidding when I tell you there was a Santa Claus on display next to a pumpkin at a store I visited recently.  What’s next?  Jack-o-lanterns dressed as Santa, and Dasher, Dancer, and Prancer decked out in orange and black?  Poor Thanksgiving is nearly crowed out.  Turkeys and cornucopias are lucky if they get any shelf space.

There is one good thing to come of this.  The fact that stores seem to been so ahead of seasons makes it easy to find warm weather fashions in January for those of us who like to plan little getaways to warmer climates.  But this year I’m sure the Easter baskets and Fourth of July fireworks will be on display right beside them.