'Tis the season?

Picture this: It’s the night before Halloween. You sit down in front of your television to see what scary movies are on to get you in the Halloween spirit. All the lights in your room are off to set the mood. You’ve got a big bowl of fresh popcorn in your lap. You’re totally ready to get creeped out by whatever zombie movie you can find. And then, the most unexpected sight flashes onto the screen... a Christmas commercial?!

Yes, you read that correctly - a Christmas commercial. I, myself, was the victim of this misfortune. A snow-blanketed front yard. “Jingle Bells” or some other recognizable Christmas carol playing in the background. A typical all-American family drinking hot cocoa huddled together around a beautifully lit tree. These are not the usual elements of a commercial shown the night before Halloween - nor should they be.

Don’t get me wrong - Christmas is my favorite holiday and it’s without a doubt my favorite time of year. I love listening to Christmas music, decorating the tree and wrapping presents. There’s just something so magical about that time of year. But it should stick to a certain time of year, preferably beginning after Thanksgiving. The fact that I saw a Christmas commercial before Halloween had even passed was just astounding to me.

I usually expect Christmas commercials and Christmas music to start being played very soon after Halloween ends, but I had never experience them before Halloween before in my life. As much as I love Christmas, that’s how much I wish Christmas-themed movies, music and commercials were played closer to, oh I don’t know, Christmas. I don’t want to get sick of Christmas before it even has time to snow!

During this time of year, I want to see commercials for turkey, stuffing, gravy and other such Thanksgiving Day staples. The occasional commercial with snow, carols and bundled up children is alright, but I don’t want it to be overkill. I would hate to have the season ruined before it even began.