A couple of weeks ago I walked into the Lowe’s store in Flowood to grab a plug cover to keep the water out of one of my outside plugs. The site and sounds hit me like a freight train.
On one side of the aisle was a whole herd of ghosts, and goblins, and giant skeletons, and even a giant Abominable Snowman screaming and hollering and haunting at the folks across the aisle playing Christmas jingles, and ho, ho, hoing, and blinking, and twinkling, and singing that Santa was on his way. All for sale to anyone with the right amount of cash or credit. I couldn’t help but take a video to share.
So, my friends, there you have it, proof positive that, like it or not, it appears we’ve let it slip up on us once again. Somehow it seems we get caught with our eyes closed every year. Just when we think we’re getting going good with football season and tailgating, October rolls around and all of a sudden it’s here. That multi-month-long holiday fest Hallothankschristmasgivingween! If it sounds familiar, yes, you have indeed read about it in this space before.
Don’t believe it is here already? Just look around you next time you’re out and about shopping for charcoal, or perhaps a lawn mower blade, some “more” ant poison to feed the ants, or some fertilizer for the fall tomatoes
Walmart is a perfect example. I was searching for a new water hose nozzle last week and I witnessed it with my own two eyes. That spring and summer stuff is all gone. It has been replaced by the Hallothankschristmasgivingween merchandise. You know, pumpkins, and costumes, and pilgrims, fall leaves, and pretty green trees in all shapes and sizes.
There are Hallothankschristmasgivingween ribbons and bows and candles and whole cornucopias of good things. Fruit cake makings are piling up beside the pumpkin pie mix and candy corn and a friend of mine even sent me a picture of the eggnog she was sipping on over the weekend.
This popular holiday festival really slipped up on us quickly in 2024. Last week was warm — no, hot — and humid and then a couple of mornings we had frost on the pumpkins in Sebastopol.
No kidding...frost! It was actually on several lawns — we only have one pumpkin and it is on the porch — up on Highway 21. I saw it on my way to work. It should, however, make the turnip greens and collards taste better when supper time rolls around.
We were tailgating at Mississippi State this past weekend and had short pants, short sleeve shirts, sweat shirts, jackets and blankets all in one neat bundle. It was chilly upon arrival, pretty darn hot during the day, and cold again as we exited the campus en route home.
Sunday it was too chilly to have breakfast on the patio, just right for lunch on the patio, and back inside we sat down in the kitchen for dinner.
I piddled around outside during the afternoon and finally gave up because it was just cool enough to make my nose run and I can’t get anything done when my darn nose is running. Back inside out of the chill, but with the airconditioner running, I sank into an easy chair in front of the television where we tuned into a horror flick on HBO. Zombies were eating everybody they could get their teeth on.
The air conditioning and heat were going back and forth, back and forth all day and all night long, and I even turned on the space heater at work, on Monday morning.
As we whiled the day away Sunday, it became even more evident that we had completely missed Hallothankschristmasgivingween Eve and the holiday season had begun well before the witches and ghosts started zipping around on the front of the house via some of those nifty little light show projectors that is found on the Hallothankschristmasgivingween aisle.
The proof was everywhere Monday afternoon when finally the dreaded trek to the store for those things everybody has to have at some point — tissue for the running nose most importantly — occurred.
Truthfully though I really can’t do much poor mouthing about this holiday because there has in fact already been some Silent Night and Oh Come All Ye Faithful and You Better Watch Out and those other songs heard more typically in December toward the end of Hallothankschristmasgivingween playing on the stereo inside our house and piped outside for those witches and ghosts to dance to.
So, enjoy the upcoming holidays, because, once again, whether you like it or not, they are here.
Happy Hallothankschristmasgivingween!
