PHD Rears Its Glorious Head

I am pleased to announce that I have stayed true to my pledge to repress my Christmas compulsion and my family's 15 massive boxes of Christmas decor remain safely tucked away in my attic. Similarly, I have exhibited immense willpower with regard to shopping for Christmas decor and/or gifts, and purchased nothing. Although I will confess, I did have a weak moment a week and a half ago and began the design work and initial construction on a mitten and tree garland for my children's playroom, BUT used materials I already had on hand. And then, today, I walked through the doors of my local Target.
I realized this afternoon that Halloween is tomorrow...Friday...and 1 big bag of candy from Costco is not going to be nearly enough. After unsuccessfully navigating the parking lot version of Frogger at Costco, I decided to pop into my favorite one-stop-shop, Target, for a couple bags of candy. As I walked to the back corner of the store, I sensed something different. Was that....Could it be...YES! The faint strains of Christmas music playing in the background. I started walking faster until I rounded the corner and there it was: Five halfway completed aisles of Target Christmasy delights. My mood was instantly lifted and I wandered in a happy haze through those five aisles for a solid 15 minutes. What's new? What's different? What are their design themes going to be this year? Did I purchase anything? No! Did I want to? Absolutely YES!
I couldn't help smiling as I slowly wandered away from the Christmas aisles, on to my more urgent candy buying task...I even found myself merrily humming a Christmas tune. Three hours later I still feel cheerful and a little giddy inside, with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. And I ask you, is that so bad?

Just say, "No!" to Premature Holiday Decorating (PHD)

After yesterday's post, I have taken to heart my issues with PHD. I will not ignore the effort I put into decorating for Halloween, five weeks ago. So, I submit to you the following photos:

Look at this gorgeous beast! It's my favorite of all the pumpkins we harvested (um, purchased) this year. I love the skin's texture and the particular shade of orange is fantastic. This big guy came from Boxx Berry Farm in Ferndale, WA.

I'm a huge fan of white pumkins. I love their sturdy elegance and when carved and lit, they are stunning. Again, these pumpkins and the lonely gord were harvested at Boxx Berry Farm, in Ferndale, WA.

Christmas in October

I woke up in the middle of the night ready to decorate for Christmas. Yes, I realize that it's only October 13th, but you see in my home we (and by "we", I mean me) are consumed with holiday decorating. If you're familiar with my Facebook page, you may recall the *&@$%! Halloween light fiasco of September 9th and September 10th. And, yes, you just had the same reaction as most of my Facebook Friends...why on earth was I decorating for Halloween in early September? I can't help it. I'm obsessed and it's a problem on many different levels. Problem #1: It's the barely the middle of October, and I'm mentally decorating for Christmas. What about Halloween? And don't even mention Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has the potential to be one of the most meaningful holidays for my children in terms of teaching gratitude and recognizing the blessings of a good harvest. Last year, we didn't even prepare the requisite meal. I couldn't! Too busy decorating the fourth Christmas tree...go away and leave me alone - order a pizza if you're hungry! Problem #2: No matter how satisfied I am with the previous year's holiday decor, no matter how much I tell myself, "Finally, I'm done. I won't have to buy a single decoration for next year!" the truth of the matter is that I'm a big fat liar. How could you not buy a little prize for yourself? Really, it's not even for you - it's for the greater good and enjoyment of your whole family. Uh huh, yes, and, um, for all of your holiday visitors. It doesn't matter that you live two hours away from your nearest relative and that your best friend lives in Florida. It's like Field of Dreams...if you build it, they will come.
Okay, this is just silly. I have a whole house decorated for the autumnal holidays and at least two and a half weeks left to further embellish on the Halloween vibe. I pledge to attempt to curb my Christmas compulsion and allow myself to enjoy the entire fall holiday season before frantically ripping down anything that happens to be a shade of orange and replacing it with something from my fifteen massive boxes of Christmas decor.