Is It Time Yet?

Hello again!

Emily, what are you doing? I thought you weren't blogging until December.
Yes, well, it is currently 11:50 P.M. and the only things I have accomplished today are (in order): eating mozzarella sticks for breakfast, rereading Paper Towns for just about the 9.7th time since autumn started, and crying over the beautiful train wreck that was Liz Lemon's wedding. (What happened to the plan, Liz?) I'm too terrified to even look at my NaNo novel, much less try and edit it, in fear of projectile vomiting all over my computer screen due to my nauseatingly Full House-esque dialogue. So blogging seemed like the only option right now.

You do realize you're blogging every day for like, 31 days, right? Shouldn't you be saving your ideas?
Yeah... that sounds like a problem for future Emily--you know, the same girl who has to take care of my trigonometry homework, memorize my choreography, and clean my room. I've really been piling it on her these days. Poor kid. Never even stood a chance.

Deliberate self-cruelty aside, what I want to talk to you about today is that age old question: when is it appropriate to start celebrating Christmas? Where does that magical, undecided day fall when I can pull out the tinsel, crank up the Harry Connick Jr., and drink myself into an eggnog-induced stupor?

This is a very difficult question to answer because really, it's different for everyone. I know people who descend into the deep caverns of their basement--flashlight and spider-killing shoe at the ready--to retrieve that nightmarish blow-up Santa Clause the day after Halloween. I also know those crotchety grumps who are, quote, "disgusted by the media's grotesque take on the commercialization of Christmas and blatant consumerism of today's society." So they Scrooge it up until around the 18th, all the while glaring at you as you hang up your Christmas lights on November 27th. Me, I guess I sort of fall in the middle. I live in America, so I don't think it's very fair to a certain holiday that celebrates being content with the things you already have in life, if you just skip over it and get to the good part with all the shiny boxes with the pretty red bows. And I do believe that... to a certain extent.

The thing is, I also understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas early. I know this is kind of an obvious thing to say, but Christmas is fun! It's fun to decorate trees and make gingerbread houses and watch Christmas specials. If that's the kind of stuff that makes you happy and gets you excited, do it! And don't let other people make you feel bad about showing your enthusiasm. A vlogger I follow, Margaret, recently made a video on this subject and she had some interesting thoughts on the matter. If you simply cannot understand why anyone would choose to hang their stockings before the turkey is served, this may be the slap in the face you need. It certainly was for me. (Also, you should look at some of her other videos because she's pretty cool.)

It doesn't matter when you celebrate Christmas. If doesn't even matter if you celebrate Christmas at all. So if you're one of those people who judges that girl who proudly struts around campus in her reindeer sweater in early November, take a minute to think about it. Is what she's doing really so offensive that it completely ruins the holiday season for you? If the answer is no, you may proceed with your day without gabbing to your friends about how much you hate it when people don't have the patience to wait until after Thanksgiving. If the answer is yes, you're an asshat.

See you in December for the start of Blogmas! (For real this time.)