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My sister Ann arrived early to a family event bearing sweet gifts – Christmas nougats – three bags. Two of the bags were peppermint and one was a mixture.

“Can I bring them in the house?” she nervously asked.

She had a reason to be nervous. In the ‘When do you decorate for Christmas?’ discussion, I am pro ‘After Thanksgiving.’

I realize many have already put up a tree and may even have gifts below it. I also realize that by waiting I’ll have to quickly turn my home around from fall leaves to winter wonderland. It’s okay.

My own daughter Monique said… well she says a lot. Just put her name under the ‘Christmas Now’ column. I guess you should add my daughter Elise’s name there, too. She put up a Christmas shower curtain that matches her ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ bath mat. (As I write this it’s 75 degrees and muggy.) My daughter Lauren has the same bath set, but it’s in the closet until ‘After Thanksgiving.’

Now I must admit, ‘After Thanksgiving’ for me means immediately after. The night of Thanksgiving, I distribute Christmas pajamas to my children and grandchildren, signaling the beginning of my Christmas season.

Seriously, it doesn’t bother me when people choose to begin celebrating Christmas. And that’s what I told Ann in response to her question about the candy. To prove it, I agreed to do a taste test of the cinnamon and wintergreen nougats. Lauren and her daughter Adeline walked in right when I was unwrapping a candy and stared.

“Everything’s fine. It’s just a taste test.” They joined in and we all agreed on our preferences – peppermint, then cinnamon, with wintergreen our least favorite.

“I have a confession,” Ann said. “I started listening to Christmas music last night.”

I couldn’t speak.

 

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.