I just deleted 5 of these from my email. FFS it's not even Halloween yet.

Have you been to Home Depot and Lowes...The Christmas decorations were on display/for sale a few weeks ago!

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Have you been to Home Depot and Lowes...The Christmas decorations were on display/for sale a few weeks ago!

Costco had some Christmas stuff out in early September!
I keep a desktop sized Charlie Brown tree under my desk for Christmas. Had a coworker ask, today, when I was going to put it out...
Told her, Monday after Thanksgiving, no earlier.

Walmart's Christmas sections were out two weeks ago.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Have you been to Home Depot and Lowes...The Christmas decorations were on display/for sale a few weeks ago!

Costco had some Christmas stuff out in early September!
I keep a desktop sized Charlie Brown tree under my desk for Christmas. Had a coworker ask, today, when I was going to put it out...
Told her, Monday after Thanksgiving, no earlier.

Yep I saw at my Costco beginning of September and just did this:

I loathe this entire time of the year. The next few months are hell. I’m just trying to do my normal stuff. Groceries, gym, stuff for the house/property, no extras. And it’s a complete bitch getting anything done. The traffic gets so bad, and so busy everywhere else I turn into a hermit. Gym, pool store to check my water, and groceries. Fuck everything else for over 2 months. Marketing and buying shit has nothing to do with Jesus, and I mean nothing. Shit show every year.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
I loathe this entire time of the year. The next few months are hell. I’m just trying to do my normal stuff.

I'm with you... somewhat. I love fall and Halloween. The kids in this area go nuts, and I have a bunch of friends over -- we make it fun for both the adults and the roaming goblins. Cooler on the porch for the adults, fire pit in the front yard for the handing out of candy and glow sticks.

The Thanksgiving and Christmas season can be a pain, though. There's a ton of pressure to go, do, visit, see, shop, party, and on and on.

A a couple of years ago my "adopted sister" and I had a good talk about the whole thing, and laughed when we realized we both were in "get me the hell to February mode." As families grow and scatter, the pressure to visit and entertain grows. There are work events and family events and all the other "stuff" that comes along with "the holiday season."

But we owe it to ourselves to manage that stress in a way that works for us. One of the key phrases that one of my closest friends and I remind each other of from time to time is, "maintain your path." In essence, keep your own system and balance in place. Feel free to say "no" occasionally, to go home and rest, to go to the gym or the range or the woodpile, to participate as much or as little as you'd like. "Learn the healing power of 'no,'" someone said.

Yes, the hassle level goes way up between November 1 and January 2. No doubt. But when we keep on about our routines, it helps us maintain our sanity and comfort.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Marketing and buying shit has nothing to do with Jesus, and I mean nothing. Shit show every year.

Can't disagree at all. To a great extent, we've lost focus (or knowledge) of the real meaning of many of our holidays and special/sacred events. And that stinks.

All of these coming holidays have forgotten "the true meaning for the season" and have been just a commercial cash cow. .......... drill sgt.

I'm kinda used to the store displays in September. That's been going on for years. This barrage of Black Friday emails in October is a recent occurrence and pretty annoying.

Remember all of the container ships sitting off the Commiefornia coast during the Fauci Flu? What we're seeing is probably all that old stock that was stuck offshore for months. That's why the Christmas Season has expanded.

JMHO

Next year I expect black friday sales to start July 4th. Full blown Christmas in the store aisles the day after.

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Originally posted by pace40:
I just deleted 5 of these from my email. FFS it's not even Halloween yet.

I just this morning received my first Black Friday advert of the year--a "Black Friday Early Access" advert from one of the places from which I buy fitness gear.

I have one thing on my list this year: A weight bench upgrade from a particular manufacturer. The rest I'll disregard.

I’ve been after my friends and family to dial back off on the gift giving for years. It’s expensive and pointless. None of us really need anything. Let’s get together, have a great meal and enjoy the time together.

It’ll be a bit rough for my wife’s family regardless since her dad died unexpectedly in August but that’s a different holiday season issue altogether.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
I’ve been after my friends and family to dial back off on the gift giving for years. It’s expensive and pointless. None of us really need anything.

My wife and I quit the Christmas gift-giving thing a couple years back. Same thing.

I probably will be giving myself a workout bench upgrade this year, but, that's more because I've found my current bench sub-optimal and I want to take advantage of the BF savings than "because Christmas."

I'll probably buy my wife a Christmas present, but, again: More for practical considerations than anything else. The bookshelves have been overflowing--even though we've gotten rid of a lot of books the last few years. So I've begun to buy books via Amazon Kindle. She'll want to read some of them and her Apple iPad Pro would be heavy to hold up for reading in bed, so I'm going to get her a Kindle Paperwhite reader.

Some of the deals at Home Depot were pretty good.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

for reading in bed, so I'm going to get her a Kindle Paperwhite reader.

I have two Kindle readers -- a Paperwhite and an Oasis.

The Paperwhite is a great all-around Kindle, I use it most of the time in the house, and it travels with me whenever I'm going someplace where I might have to wait, like Dr. appointment, etc.

However, for reading in bed, you really can't beat the Oasis. The lighting is so much better for that purpose!

A neat thing is that with two (or more) Kindles, they stay in sync. You can start reading on one Kindle, and you can pick up a second Kindle and it will open your book to where you left off in the first one. Needs wifi to do this, but it works well.

With the Libby app on a computer (or iPad or iPhone), I can visit the county library without leaving home and borrow books without burning time and gas. If I had decent hearing, I could borrow audiobooks, too.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Have you been to Home Depot and Lowes...The Christmas decorations were on display/for sale a few weeks ago!

Around here, 2nd gardening season starts Labor Day, and I plant more tomatoes then. I went to HD Labor Day weekend and they were tearing down the indoor seasonal garden area and setting up for Christmas.