When is it appropriate to decorate for Christmas? It seems that before we got all the candy wrappers cleaned up from Halloween, that the Christmas decorations started going out and up. And so begins one of the greatest debates of all time. For most folks, there used to be a tradition that only after a good Thanksgiving meal was enjoyed by family and friends that we would gather together at some point and ”deck the halls”.

Some make the argument that now a days, we just totally ignore Thanksgiving and that we should make sure we are taking time to enjoy this special holiday of thanks before we get into the hustle and bustle of the Chrsitmas season. I love the holidays and enjoy celebrating with my family and friends. Any excuse to get together, have fellowship and enjoy some delicious food always sounds good to me.

I personally want to get the most out of everyday I am blessed with another day to live this amazing life, so I’m going to do my best to enjoy it all. When I was a little boy, we would go to my Grandparents for Sunday lunch and one of my favorite things was getting the Sears and J.C. Penny catalogs, flipping to their back pages and looking at the toys, so I could start making my list.

The magic of Christmas for me has always been in the anticipation, the looking forward to, the ”I can’t wait, but I’m going to have too!”, so I’m going to enjoy Thanksgiving as Thanksgiving – a time to reflect on all I have to be grateful for, an opportunity to say thank you to my Creator and a moment to savor with family and friends as we enjoy a delicious meal together.

As Thanksgiving comes to an end, I will allow my anticipation to begin by allowing my senses to take in and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that take me back as I continue to move forward to that most wonderful time of the year.

As for you? Do what you want to do. Do what makes you happy and what allows you to share happiness with others. As I see it, the holidays are not about rules, but about opportunities. And every opportunity I get to celebrate this amazing life and enjoy the fellowship of my sweet family and friends, I’m going to take and enjoy to it’s fullest, especially if something delicious is being served! 😉