Christmas too soon?

I know everyone has noticed that everything Christmas has been showing up in life like weeks too early. Most of the time, Christmas commercials, sales, etc. all start showing up at Thanksgiving or just before it.  So why does this year have to be different? I remember Casi saying, "because of the economy, they are pushing Christmas early." I think she is right, but I think it's a little odd getting into the Christmas spirit before you can think about enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner. I think Thanksgiving would be a little jealous that Christmas is encroaching in on it's allotted holiday time.

I think this Christmas is gonna be a little crazier than others I have experienced. Not just because of the economy, but for these reasons: 

1. Little family spats. One "fight" between my dad and his cousin made our Thanksgiving plans a little awkward this year. We didn't know what the hell we were doing until yesterday, and then again today, plans changed. Hope it goes better at Christmas.

2. Whit (my brother) & his girlfriend are going out of town for Christmas. They are going Melissa's (my brother's girlfriend) house in Texas for Christmas. Because of this, we are going to celebrate our household Christmas early. Now, I have to plan ahead and make sure to get their gifts early on, so no last minute shopping for me. Also, our Christmas day is going to be a little less exciting because of their absence.

3. Deciding if I should just get gifts for my family or get gifts for everyone I care about in addition to my family. I'm not usually a gift giving person, even for birthdays. I just like being there for the person's birthday, making it a happy one. Personally, I think that makes a birthday.

4. Figuring what gifts to get. This is the hard part. What should I get for everyone? What does dad like? What does mom need? What does Whit want? What would Melissa like? Then, I have to think about my extended family. My 4 grandparents, my 2 cousins, cousin's fiancee, and their 11-month-old daughter. Now, I can't pull the "Oh, their extended family. They won't mind. They probably won't even notice." Well, I can't. We celebrate Christmas Eve and open gifts with them. [No, we don't wait til Christmas morning to open gifts.]

5. Figuring out what I want for Christmas. Now, this is the big one. I don't really know what I want. I can think of a few things I would like, but I don't need them. For, example, I would like an Touch iPod or an iPhone, but I don't really need them. I have a working iPod video, and my phone is kind of new. [Would July be considered new?]. So you see my predicament? Very soon, my family will start asking me what I want for Christmas. Actually, I was home maybe 5 minutes yesterday before my mom asked me what I wanted. So there you go. Then, sometime next week, my family is going to be asking my mom (and maybe my dad) what I want so they can figure out what to get.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love getting presents at Christmas just as much as the next person, and  I would feel extremely left out if I didn't get any gifts. Also I'm not trying to be a Scroog, but how did we get to the "4AM store openings on the morning after Thanksgiving" when it is just the FIRST DAY of Christmas shopping? Why do we worry ourselves over the material aspects of Christmas? How did we ever get that worked up over gifts at Christmas? What ever happened to "the meaning of Christmas"? [Yes, I'm a bad Catholic and an agnostic, but that is besides the point.]

So as not to leave everyone down on an awkwardly, kind of depressing blog about Christmas, here is "The Llama Song." It makes me laugh so much. I promise you will love it.

BAM!