It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

You be the judge.  Is it Christmas or is it Halloween.

This was my front stoop on Sunday night.

I was surprised to see the field covered in snow during Sunday's Patriots game.  They were wearing "throw back" uniforms and my guess would have been that Hubby had tuned into one of those classic games on ESPN, but it was in fact live.  It was snowing just 40 minutes south of us.  Soon enough the rain turned to snow at our house.  The neighboring town reported an inch and a half.  Not much by New England standards, but on October 18th it is something to talk about.

The Boy asked, "Is it Christmas."

Though he was disappointed that he would be going to bed and Santa would not be filling his stocking that night, it made me realize how quickly Christmas will sneak up.

A few years ago I set an annual deadline for myself.  All Christmas gifts should be bought and wrapped by Halloween.  Yes, it seems extreme, but it's the best thing I ever did.  We avoid the malls, the chaos, the stress and the last minute over-spending and instead enjoy the month of December stress-free.

Well, that's not entirely true.  I spend the month in an elementary school classroom where the visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads and the sugar high of candy canes proves to make teaching a challenge, but I digress.

Getting everything done early allows us to appreciate the sights and sounds of the holiday season.  We decorate our tree, make cookies, watch Christmas specials, etc at a relaxed pace.  So it looks like I need to get cracking.  

I'm off to make a holiday to do list with a deadline.

Ho Ho Ho!