Too Early for the Christmas Tree?

It's November 30. Thanksgiving Weekend has come to an end. Black Friday has come and gone. It is now Cyber Monday.  It is officially the Holiday Season. The Christmas decorations are out in all the malls and stores. People are decorating their homes.

Before I get on the main topic of house decorations, I 'd like to sidestep for a moment and address retail holiday decorations. Every year I hear people complain that the stores are putting the Christmas decorations out earlier and earlier every year. No. They are not. In 1978, I got my first job working in the garden shop and toy departments at Sears. In the fall, the garden shop because the Trim A Tree Shop.  When did we set it up? Labor Day Weekend. That was in 1978 to 1981 folks.  From 1985 to 1987 I worked at Filene's Department Store. The deadline for putting up the Christmas Holiday Shop was Labor Day. That was in the 1980s. So, in fact, the stores are NOT putting out the holiday goods any earlier than they have in the last few decades. As for the store decorations, those did not go up until November. Some stores out them out earlier in November than others. But for the most part its mid-November before yo start seeing the holiday decor all over.

Now on to our main topic...

Is it too soon for the Christmas tree? Its a yearly dilemma for me. I mean. I personally think its too soon to put up the Christmas tree. I know many people, including friends do. It's Thanksgiving Weekend, the start if the holiday season, it's time to put up my tree. I get it. You're excited. You love the holidays. The sooner, the better and the longer you can celebrate Christmas in your home.

I like to wait...at least a week or two. I mean, if I put up the tree now, it will be up for over a month. And how special is the actual holiday if I have it up all month? I know. Its fun to have it up. It makes the house a little special. And why not spread the holiday cheer throughout the whole month? I get it. I do. I just prefer to wait at least a week after Christmas.

Growing up, we usually didn't get our tree until maybe two weekends before Christmas.  If I got a live tree, I would probably wait so it will stay fresh longer. But since I have a fake tree, I can put it up sooner. But not yet. Its not even December yet.

Maybe I will start by putting out some decorations this week. My holiday table runner. Some pine scented holiday candles. Maybe couple of nutcrackers, and I'll hand the Christmas tree dish towels on the oven handle. Oh! And maybe the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree statue on the table as a centerpiece. And my Santa. And the snow globe.

Oh, who am I kidding? Everything is out now. But not the tree. The tree can wait...until next weekend. Thats' what? Six days. No, maybe five. I'll put up Friday. If I can wait that long!

When do you put your tree up?

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving week. Not just the day itself, but the week. Why? Because it means a day off in the middle of the week. It means we get to leave work a couple of hours early on Wednesday. It also means that even though I will go into work on Friday, half the office will be out of the office and it will be quiet and more relaxed. That's why!

I have plans for Thanksgiving Day. I usually go to a friend's house. She and her husband have lovely outdoor entertaining area and we eat outside. And later when the sun sets and it cools off, we sit around the fie pit and maybe play games. It's nice.

And in recent years, I have hosted a Thanksgiving Eve game night at my place so that makes the holiday even more special. Better than the years when I would stay home by myself and sulk, maybe binge watch some TV. Sometimes on Thanksgiving Day, I would go out and get dinner at a drive through...El Pollo Loco. One year, I even went into Kmart just because I was curious to see who would be shopping on Thanksgiving Day. It got me out of the house.

My family is all back in Albany, NY. I live in Los Angeles. I have lived here for 12 years now. I have not been back for Thanksgiving since I moved to LA. I do go back for Christmas. Before that I lived in New York City for 13 and a half years.  When I lived in NYC, I went home every Thanksgiving, except the the couple of years that I was working acting jobs on the road. And there were two years when I decided to stay in NYC for Thanksgiving. That was so much fun.

The first time, I was sharing an apartment on the Upper West Side, and the night before my friend Bruin came over and he and I went to a local bar that was on the UWS in the 1990s called The Works on Columbus Ave right behind the Museum of Natural History. The streets all around the area here is where all the floats and balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are assembled and blown up the night before. And the area is mobbed with people walking around checking them out. My friend Brian worked at The Capezio Store on Broadway over the Winter Garden Theatre and on Thanksgiving morning they hosted a pot luck brunch for employees, family and friends where you could watch the parade. It was awesome because we were on the second floor and it was all windows facing Broadway. It was kind of a gloomy day and we were inside and eye level with all the celebrities on the floats. Really great. After, we went to see a showing of Aladdin at the Loew's down the block from our apartment and then went to a diner on Amsterdam that served Turkey Dinner. It was the best.

10 years later, I did it again with my friend Mark, minus the parade and we ate at Virgil's BBQ in Times Square. I decided not to go home until the day after Thanksgiving. I wanted to be there for my friend Mark who was not going home because he was going to work the day after Thanksgiving (he waited tables at Orso). And it gave me an excuse to not go home.  To be honest I didn't like spending the holidays with my sister's in laws. I just wanted to celebrate with my family. I don't want strangers there. I want just my family. No strangers. Yes, I'm a big baby.

So I went home the day after Thanksgiving and spent the rest of the weekend in Albany with my family. My cousin and his new wife were visiting from England, so I got to meet her. It also turned out to be the last time I would see my father. I had no way of knowing that at the time. He wasn't close to death. But about two weeks later, he had a heart attack and died. Made me wish I had gone home for Thanksgiving Day.

I know there's no sense in running things like that over in your head...If only I'd gone back for that Thanksgiving Day, I would have had another day with him. I was there. Just a day later. That's what counts. He did see me. Imagine if I hadn't gone home at all? I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.