I don't think it's a secret that I love Christmas. I think it's in my genes. A few years ago, my brother commented that during the holidays, my parents' house looks like Christmas threw up on it. My mom makes the house look like something out of a magazine. I believe she had nine trees last year. Nine. Trees. Now admittedly, half of those trees are small. One is a tiny table-top tree placed in the laundry room as a joke (all of the other rooms have trees, after all). But it's not just trees. There are ribbons and greens strewn throughout the house, a Christmas village (for the cats to sleep in), stockings for every family member, including the pets, candles, lights, etc. I love it. Possibly because I don't live there anymore, so I don't have to help with the setup or cleanup.
I'm already itching to get my Christmas decorations out. I will have them done by the end of the month, as I am hosting book club the first Thursday of December, and I want everyone to see my decorations. I might start them as early as next weekend.
One thing I love to do at Christmas is go to the mall and see all the decorations. Of course, along with going to the mall to see decorations, there is always shopping. And everyone has such great Christmas items! I love the scents that accompany Christmas, which means that I have to be careful to not buy too many candles or room sprays or shower gels. I don't need more decorations, so I have to avoid those as well.
I haven't been to the mall in months. I'm pretty impressed by this. It's definitely helped keep my spending in control, and I'm thinking about not going until my annual birthday shopping trip (when I use birthday gift money to replenish my work wardrobe). But the idea of missing out on the holiday decorations makes me a little sad.
And that's exactly what the retailers want. They do everything they can to get the customer into the store because they know that once the customer is there, they will end up spending money. So I will just enjoy the free holiday decorations elsewhere and avoid the temptation to spend. At least until January. When all bets are off.