Friday, November 17, 2006

Where Did T-Day Go?

I have been in the process of remodeling/redecorating a few rooms in my house. This has been going on since January and I’m in the final stages – finally. One of the rooms I’m working on is our family room. I’m putting together a lodge/hunting/rustic type of décor for it, at the same time trying to keep it balanced out with the rest of the house. I’m happy to say I’m pleased with it to this point. I’ve been carefully selecting fabrics for furniture, draperies, and carpet. The walls are paneled so that was an easy check off my list.
I thought this would be the perfect time of year to shop for the accents (floral, afghans, knickknacks, etc) since the colors are of a rustic, fall-ish nature (get it? Hahahaha).
Anyway, I’m out shopping the DAY after Halloween. November 1. Pre-Thanksgiving - by weeks even. Everything I find is already picked through. Clearanced out. Which, on the one hand is a good thing since everything I do buy is 50-70% off, but trying to FIND what I want, in the quantity that I want, is next to impossible. Anything that isn’t Christmas – diappeared.
I asked a sales associate at my favorite craft center where all the Thanksgiving stuff went. Gone she says. Have to get it before Halloween or it’s gone. We go straight into Christmas Nov. 1 (keep in mind that this particular store has a “Christmas section” all year long for those crafty crafters). The stores load up for Halloween (it’s apparently becoming big money now) and throw a little Thanksgiving in with it. That’s it. That’s what Thanksgiving has been reduced to. A throw in. An extra. A few pilgrim paper plates with matching napkins.
Even some discount stores are open on Thanksgiving Day now and have early, early bird specials just for the occasion. If it wasn’t for the fact that most stores have to close in order to stock for the day after Thanksgiving sales – there would be now reason to have Thanksgiving anymore. The retailers have made it as such. A non-holiday. There’s no money in so it’s gone way-side.
Gobble Gobble

2 comments:

Glo said...

Yes I totally agree in our Brownie troop I am the assistant leader and the leader ask me to fill in for her as she had another appointment, We did a write it tryit, And one of the things we did was color a Thanksgiving page and on the back they were to write what they were thankful for. I to discussed the importance of the Thanksgiving season, and how the stores go straight from Halloween into Christmas and how Thanksgiving seems to have been put on the back burner. I told the girls as they get older that they will be more thankful for things that are gone, people and things that aren't in their life anymore.

Lovi said...

Good for you! In today's world where it seems that everything comes down to the bottom dollar - it's more important than ever to teach the youngins' that money indeed cannot buy everything. Friends and family are where it's at!