So there you are walking down the aisle in your local CVS on the Fourth of July looking for a chaser, or perhaps some American flag bandannas. You reach up to grab the last package of flash tattoos, and when you yank too hard and a Santa hat falls right on your face. What the hell! You look up to see not only the Halloween stuff stored up there, but some deer and a sleigh. I mean obviously the holidays are fast approaching right? It's practically mid-summer, they weren't put out even sooner? In the fast paced society we live in today, it's a wonder Christmas stuff is even packaged up and put away at all (in Target it's not; we see you Target). With stores decorating the second the clock ticks to 12:01 a.m. on November 1, how are we not supposed follow suit when we see Christmas everywhere we go?

Don't get me wrong; I'm a huge Christmas lover. My home's lawn is covered with light-up deer, glowing presents, and a big fake Santa, along with a real tree and icicle lights lining every inch of my house's facade. But we really have to slow down. Not only are we rushing through Halloween, but we're completely disregarding Thanksgiving, undeniably one of the best holidays of the whole year! I know we're all excited about Christmas but calm down people! We have a whole month for the festivities and the 25 days of Christmas marathon; now we need two whole months? I know the time flies and it's so sad to see Christmas go, but at the same time we're really going to start playing Christmas music and decorating the house when some people still have pumpkins on their porch?

On the other hand, we're not the ones to blame for this early-bird thinking. Stores have commercialized Christmas so much that now we feel we're behind on our shopping if we don't leave the table early on Thanksgiving to get on line for that 10th new iPhone with just an "s" added to the end of the name. Are the deals really worth cutting a family holiday short? Only stores like P.C. Richards, which is closed on Thanksgiving, and Nordstrom, that refuses to decorate until Black Friday morning, still have their priorities intact.

By all means, remain super excited for Christmas season and all of the joy it brings, but wait until you see Santa cross your screen on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Enjoy your pumpkin pie with a side of Mariah Carey and wake up at 5am on Black Friday to start your shopping. However, keep in mind the beautiful feast of Thanksgiving, the time we spend with our families, and not to mention the delicious food, before you rush to put on your red stockings and watch Elf on an endless loop. The end of the meal on Thanksgiving Day marks the beginning of Christmas season, not a second sooner, because like Nordstrom I believe in celebrating "one holiday at a time."