By Special Request

This past Friday, October 31, while on hold with a doctor's office, I heard it for the first time this year: Christmas music. Just now I checked my cell phone and had a message from my brother saying he had great blog material for me. He had just come from Wal-Mart, where he had been treated to Silent Night and other Christmas tunes playing on the in-store stereo system. Apparently Halloween is the new Thanksgiving.

I'm torn because I really do love the holiday season. I love the traditions we do to prepare for the upcoming season: watching It's a Wonderful Life, Elf and The Bishop's Wife (the original, NOT the Whitney Houston disaster), pulling out the Kitchen Aid mixer my grandma gave me for my wedding and making all sorts of Christmas cookies, decorating the front of the house with lights, wreaths and ribbons, shopping for special gifts (Anti-Monkey Butt Powder) and of course, listening to Christmas music. It really sets the mood for the season. But it's supposed to be 70-degrees here for the next five days, so it's NOT the season.

Of course, this theory doesn't really matter for people like my brother who live in areas of the country where it's 70-degrees most of the "winter." So I guess my argument is really that it's just flat out ridiculous to start Christmas music on October 31. Why can't we slow down, enjoy all the holidays (yes, Halloween is a holiday in this household) and not rush through everything?

What do you think? Take my new poll to the right--I'm interested to see the results of this one! Feliz Navidad...