Halloween is past and, with the start of November, comes the start of all things Christmas. The commercials have begun; of course the stores have been putting out holiday-related items for months. The catalogs are clogging my mailbox.
I can remember when the day AFTER Thanksgiving was the "official" start of the holiday feeling. My mom would take us shopping -- a big treat, because there were no malls and we didn't go shopping on a routine basis for "frivolous" items.
But it made it all the more magical. You knew that month would be filled with baking cookies, sending and getting cards, buying presents, looking at the "wish book" over and over again, praying Santa and your parents would get the hint.
There was always the big party at school, and of course the decorations were made with our own little hands.
I know we didn't get tons of presents; we were far from rich, but everyone else was basically in the same boat so no one expected a TV or dozens of gifts.
But it was a wonderful time of year and filled with anticipation.
That was long before radio stations went "all holiday" in November; holiday ornaments debuted at card stores in July; and mega malls were THE place to shop.
It may be only the beginning of November, but for far too many people, the dreaded race is on.