Gearing up for the Christmas countdown

I walked into the local Wal-Mart Supercenter over the weekend, and it really came as no surprise that Christmas music was blaring over the loudspeakers.

Yes, it had only been a few hours since the last of the trick-or-treaters had wandered off into the night; and yes, it seems odd to be humming "Silent Night" when it's in the mid-70s outside. But if you think this is going to be one of those "Christmas comes too early" rants, you're in for a disappointment.

The fact is, this is simply the way it is. The day the pumpkins and witches come down, the Christmas trees and Santa Clauses go up. (Or, in the case of Lowe's, the Christmas trees were up a month ago.)

The nice thing about it is you really don't need a calendar anymore — you can always tell what time of year it is by looking at the seasonal aisle at Wal-Mart. Christmas gives way to Valentine's, which segues to Easter, then to "summer picnic" season, followed by back-to-school items, then Halloween, and finally back to Christmas.

So the appearance of stockings and mistletoe and reindeer and ornamental snowflakes really doesn't bother me. But what does alarm me is that it's a reminder of how far behind I am in my preparations for the holidays.

For those keeping score at home, we are currently 50 days out from Christmas, which isn't too bad. But the problem for me is that with various relatives in different places (and on different schedules), we end up celebrating early with several different factions of the family. In fact, we traditionally do one of our Christmas celebrations during Thanksgiving weekend, which is (gulp) only 22 days away.

And we've done zero preparations. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

We do have one thing going for us, which is that we've more or less agreed to scale things back a bit this year. For the last several years, it's seemed the holidays have been getting a little out of control. A few too many gifts. A few too many toys. A bit too much energy directed toward stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, just isn't that important, especially once December fades away.

Then the whole financial meltdown thing came along, and it just seemed like a good time to tone down the whole Christmas thing. We'll buy fewer gifts; and we'll receive fewer gifts. And in the process, we think our enjoyment of the holiday will increase.

Nonetheless, it's time to get going on getting ready. We need to make our lists, and check them twice. We need to figure out when we're going to pull out the tree and hang up the stockings. We need to schedule our trips to the various families we'll celebrate with, here in Arkansas, as well as in Missouri and Iowa.

I think the election has been the big stumbling block for anyone thinking about getting a head start on the holidays. For the last several months, the campaign has dominated our nation's consciousness. Luckily, it's over now. And it's time to put the debates and arguments behind us, come together as a country and return to some normalcy.

And really, the holidays are the perfect way to do it. After all, Christmas time is about people coming together, and sharing the things which unite us. It's a season of hope, of joy and of peace.

So I don't care if Wal-Mart is playing "White Christmas" and peddling tinsel and wrapping paper. It's not too early. If you ask me, Christmas can't get here soon enough.