Last night, at the drug store, I pressed the button on what I thought was a Hallowe'en decoration and suddenly, Xmas music started... and so did my downward spiral into Winter Holiday Depression...

Again.

Damn.

I favor a Constitutional Amendment banning Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving. We've got a radio station in Detroit that starts broadcasting Christmas music 24 HOURS STRAIGHT from November 1 though Christmas. (And their ratings spike every year when they do it, so it's just me hating them, I guess.) I did make my neighborhood diner change the station, though. It was 70 degrees out, some of the leaves hadn't changed yet, and they're playing "Frosty the Snowman."

I think it was back in the 50s (maybe the 60s) that Charles Schulz did a strip where Charlie Brown came home from shopping for a Halloween costume depressed, because the stores were full of Christmas stuff.

Back then, it was a wry exaggeration.

Is that Santa's stage or are they going to have singing elves concerts?

Christmas stuff has been out in the stores for ages now.

The local mall department stores already have a few Christmas decorations up, and Target of course. But the mall itself is as yet unsullied by pre-Halloween blinking lights. But I have no doubt that they'll be up by November 2.

Well, we spend $5 billion on Halloween and put the decorations out about a month beforehand. Sooooo, since we spend $460 billion on Christmas, let's see...that means the decorations for this Christmas should be set out in mid-1999. Or maybe this is just the rolling out for 2016.

WOLX, the local oldies atation goes to 24/7 "Christmas" music on Thanksgiving day, until Christmas Day. The used to play something Christmassy on the quarters, fifteen after, and fifteen to, which was just about right. 24/7 puts me in Grinch mood by the Saturday after Turkey Day.

It's all audience. You can attract a certain reliable set of buyers, so that's what you do.

In news, it's soap opera women.

I'm not sure who buys this stuff though. Mothers, probably.

Most people can't stand it, but they're not buying anyway, so don't figure into the business model.

They're not running a charity, after all.

There's no holiday for buying your pets presents.

A new frisbee is always welcome, I guess, any day.

But it seems like there ought to be a day for it.

We get our dogs little presents for Christmas and their birthdays. No cake, or party, or anything too insane, just a new toy or chew bone. They don't know what day it is, but we have a good time watching them enjoy their presents.

I refuse to shop anywhere that doesn't wait until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas decorations. Granted, I save a good bit of money during November...

Sadly, Christmas (by the time it gets here) has come to have as much meaning as "For The Children(DumbocrapTM)" :-/.

I am already set to completely ignore the mall for the next few months. This just gives me an additional excuse to avoid the place.

However, I doubt that our mall has Christmas decorations up. Usually Halloween night is fairly cold with snow on the ground and the mall holds an event encourage trick or treating there. With a bonus of having a safe atmosphere compared to wandering around neighborhoods in the dark.

I can't imagine seeing hordes of goblins, ghosts, and zombies parading down an aisle of Christmas decorations.

I have no intention of verifying, though.