'Tis the season ... finally

It used to be that those who felt the need to string up lights and wreaths prior to November were in the minority. Start decorating prior to the leaves changing color and chances were you’d be lumped in with those weird neighbors who never took down their house lights to begin with — too much trouble they’d explain, much to the chagrin of their children and next door neighbors.

But slowly, with each passing year, the people who held out in decorating somehow became the latecomers. The day-after-Thanksgiving race to get the most and best decorations up fell to the wayside because numerous houses dotting the block never waited for the starting gun to fire. Think of it as turning your clock back a month before daylight savings; not quite correct but somehow still ahead of the game.

This year, however, the mere individuals like myself who oppose holiday hopping — the idea of preparing for one holiday before another has even had the chance to pass — has an unlikely ally: Nordstrom. It seems the upscale department store has put its foot down and refused to hang even one sprig of holly until Thanksgiving has passed. Like me and others who find the new trend toward holiday preparedness a little ridiculous, the chain finds the idea of preparing for Christmas too early unnecessary.

Bless Nordstrom now — the store has a bigger reason for thanks giving than it’s annual sale and remarkable customer service.

For years I have bemoaned the practice of placing elves on the porch and mistletoe in the hallway long before my car windshield even has a chance to frost up in the morning. Likewise, for years, I have been decried as a modern day Scrooge and labeled a holiday hater simply because I believe in the notion of one holiday at a time.

Now, with backing from Nordstrom, I may finally make my point: Holidays are wonderful as long as each gets the proper amount of recognition and doesn’t supersede the ones before it.

What would people think if we told each other, oh I would have celebrated your birthday but I was too busy planning for Christmas or too wrapped up hiding Easter eggs four months in advance?

The joy of holidays are that they do only come once a year. Jumping the proverbial decorating gun only takes away from the uniqueness of the season, not to mention the frenzied crowds of the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday. Retailers depend on that day to recoup what they’ve lost during the rest of the year, much as those of us with a long to-buy list consider the weeks before it a reprieve from the "I want …” chorus of those who haven’t yet learned about the myth of Santa Claus.

Now, with Thanksgiving officially past, it is the season. Let’s not ruin it by having jumped in too early.

Michelle Durand’s column "Off the Beat” runs every Monday and Thursday. She can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com<