Christmas in my Heart

I'm sure you've heard it before.  For years and years people have been complaining about Christmas Creep.  It's the way stores start putting out Christmas trees, snowflakes and holiday decor before the Jack-o-lanterns of Halloween have even made their debut on your front porch.  And every year it seems to sneak earlier and earlier in the fall.  This year was no different. 
I happened to be in Target on Halloween morning and saw employees consolidating the Halloween stuff and setting up the first of the holiday displays.  Even before this (I think it was the last weekend in September), I was wandering through Kohl's and there were a few trees up with some holiday music playing.  And I was totally ok with it.  Truly.  I think I even smiled.
I don't mind a bit of creep.  Being a busy parent and student, I don't mind the reminders earlier in the fall that the holidays are coming.  I was able to start thinking gifts...and buying a few items.  So not only do I reduce the stress of waiting until December 1, I spread can spread my holiday spending over a few months.
America, in general, must be embracing the creep.  If stores didn't notice an improvement in their sales coinciding with the decking of halls, they wouldn't do it.  So it's working and ti will continue.  Basically, it's futile to let the creep bug you because it's not going to stop.  If you're seriously anti-creep, maybe it would be healthiest for you to avoid retail shopping for November.
Furthermore, I think the creep is a good thing.  I've noticed that early holiday time (say the first week of December) folks are pretty happy.  Plenty of "Happy Holidays" flying around in stores from cashiers and even other shoppers.  Is that really such a bad thing to start that early?  Wait too long, though and the grumpy shoppers are out and about tryign to make sure they get the thing they desperately want to give their mother in law.  Nobody likes that. 
Personally, I try to keep my spirits high.  Remember all the cheesy movies where people are happy, I want to be like them.  I think about the songs and I sing them in the car.  I had to google this to be sure of the wording, but it was Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol who said to the final spirit who visited him on Christmas Eve:
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."
I will try.