Halloween in Summer and Christmas in the Fall

I hate it.  It’s August and Halloween decorations have been out since July.  By the time I feel like I’m ready for the Halloween spirit there won’t be any decorations left as the stores move the Halloween items – now 50% on sale – to one aisle in order to make room for Christmas.  Forget about Thanksgiving.  Those decorations get lost somewhere in between the ghosts and skeletons and the few fall-like wreaths and wilting scarecrows scattered around the spooky leftovers.  The grocery store aisles are packed with Halloween candy.  I can’t buy any of the good stuff now because I’ll eat it and by the time I’m ready to buy my favorite chocolates all that will be left are the hard candies and imitation caramels.

I hate it.

I can’t stand being forced to think about Halloween – my very favorite time of the year – before Labor Day.  Many kids aren’t back to school.  It’s still hot during the day and the nights have yet to reveal a hint of that sweet smell of cooler days ahead.  Being raised mostly on the East coast I remember fondly McIntosh apples, bowls of candy, pumpkins you can actually keep outside because the heat won’t rot the core, and baskets of colorful mums.  While our house was always decorated with ghouls and ghosts and spooky things I never remember shopping for Halloween decorations until well into late September.

Never in July.

I’d like to add to my already healthy Halloween stash but I simply cannot force myself to buy Halloween stuff right now. It’s depressing to see everything in the stores.  By the time I’m ready to dive into everything Halloween all I’ll be able to find are three mismatched ghost dishes and a bat missing one of its glowing red eyes.  What’s more annoying is that I’m buying the stingy leftovers while Christmas music plays overhead.  I hate it.

Please don’t force feed us the entire holiday season before August has time to shift into September.  I want to ease into Halloween, coast into Thanksgiving, and enjoy every day of December sipping latte’s with a hint of peppermint while I shop for – Valentine’s Day cards!  No!  Please stop.