Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What Day Is It Again?

This morning I saw Halloween decorations. Not at the store. On somebody’s house. And not just a little fall pumpkin on one of those banners everyone around here displays.

As I was walking the dog, I rounded a corner and spotted a five-foot tall ghouly thing with rotting flesh and bad hair, hanging from an upstairs window. I thought it couldn’t be for Halloween…maybe they had a themed party coming up, or it’s their idea of home décor. I thought, wow – I bet their homeowner’s association is going to be all over them for that one. But no, a gigantic plastic jack-o-lantern on the porch confirmed that they were just rushing the season.


When I was little, we’d carve a pumpkin after school on the day of Halloween. If my mom had time to hunt for it, she’d drag a cardboard cutout of a cat out of a drawer somewhere and we’d tape it to the front door.


We’ve got a month and a half until Halloween gets here. I can’t imagine putting a Christmas tree up on November 10th…yet every year the lights and lawn decorations start showing up earlier and earlier.


But what do I know? I think it’s still summer. Oh wait…it IS still summer.

19 comments:

Kelly Polark said...

Wow, I love Halloween but that is a wee too early! My kids make me get our fall stuff (Halloween stuff) the last weekend of September. We have a whole load of stuff, so I do like to have it up the whole month.
And yes, it is still summer, and it's been gorgeous here in the midwest. We had a cool summer and the last week has been warm and perfect!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on this. Still summer. (I'm in denial, though)

PJ Hoover said...

I have a newly created mud patch out front I need to plant some stuff in, and while looking at it today, I thought how fun it would be to make it a temporary pumpkin patch :)

msprimadonna67 said...

My hubby is giddy with the anticipation of Halloween, but he wouldn't dare put up the decorations this early. Not because it's too early, but because he's so worried that someone will be too sorely tempted to either vandalize his hard work or to steal it. I put up decorations for Christmas for years and never worried about theft or vandalism, but it's a growing concern.

MG Higgins said...

DH went to Costco this weekend and said Christmas decorations are already out. And, yes, IT IS STILL SUMMER!

Kimbra Kasch said...

I love Halloween and I have fall decorations around my porch - maybe I'll do a post this weekend. I won't pull out the Halloween decorations though, until October 1st - at least.

No need to rush life - it's whizzing past me as it is . . .

ICQB said...

I remember carving my pumpkin on Halloween too! And eating a quick hot dog, donning my costume, and out the door for some trick-or-treats. Of course that was back in the day : )

Nowadays we usually have some sort of spook house or themed garage. The preparations may take weeks, but it only goes up on Halloween, and it comes down when the trick-or-treaters stop coming that night.

Brenda said...

I use to love the different holidays, but now it seems that they are shoved in our faces so early that I'm tired of them before they actually get here...sigh...

Adrienne said...

Kelly - I hoped even hard core Halloween fans would agree that was a tad too early! I like Halloween, but I've always been more into the costumes than the decorations. I'll enjoy seeing them...next month.
:)

Green Girl - We might be in denial, but we have the official calendar on our side!

PJ - A pumpkin patch would definitely need a little advance planning... :)

Donna - Sadly, I guess that is a concern. I've learned the hard way not to put out anything too precious. But you can't let it stop you from having your fun.

MG - I hate when I'm looking for a summer item around July, and they've already taken it away to make room for the fall and winter stuff.

Kim - True, I don't need more reminders of how quickly the year goes by. I'd love to see a post of your fall-decorated porch, though!

ICQB - That always looks like a fun thing to do. I'm afraid my garage is a house of horrors with no preparation, though. :-/

Lilfix - Maybe that's why I love Thanksgiving. Good food and company...without the over-commercialization.

Lisa said...

There are many celebrations too here in Malaysia. This Sunday, Muslims celebrate Eid Mubarak. Other celebrations in line are Deepavali, Christmas and Chinese New Year. The festive season has started a month ago and the malls will not let go till February.

Anne Spollen said...

I say the same thing, Adrienne, then I buy candy really early and eat the whole bag (just the chocolate ones - I have a little self respect)

There are stores here who have Christmas decorations for sale already.

It's sort of silly...

Keri Mikulski said...

It's like after Labor Day, it's holiday time. :) Love this time of year.

Mary Witzl said...

I've seen Halloween decorations in August and Christmas decorations in early September, in L.A.

Way back when, people put up their Christmas trees on Christmas Eve night. Deferred gratification: it seems to be a thing of the past.

Adrienne said...

Ocean Girl - So many cultures and traditions...sounds like a retailer's dream. :)

Anne - I forgot to mention that candy doesn't count. I'm sampling the dark chocolate Reese's (quality control, you know) right now.

Keri - My son's birthday is coming up - we let him usher in the holiday season! :)

Mary - Reminds me of the Queen song - I want it all, and I want it now...

Unknown said...

Gosh! someone told me they heard X'mas carols in a shopping complex!!! Maybe it was just for the music?? dear me, when it's too early for any celebration , the wait seems so long and it takes the excitement of praparation away.

Nishant said...

I love Halloween and I have fall decorations around my porch - maybe I'll do a post this weekend.
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LW said...

I am hanging on to every bit of summer that I can..
My tiny seashells sit her at my desk …
I will not think of fall until
September 22, at 5:18 pm EDT,
that is the precise moment that fall will
arrive.

And still
I will not put up fall decorations until the first frost hits the ground…

Louise

sruble said...

I'll admit I start celebrating Halloween early, but I try not to impose it on others. (For the record, zombies and vampires are a year round subject ... as long as there are no pumpkins, right?)

Then again, I can see why they would put up their decorations so early. It's already Christmas in the stores, despite the fact that Back-To-School just got over and we haven't even had Halloween, not to mention Thanksgiving!

Also, as soon as I see pumpkins for sale, I'm buying them to make pumpkin seeds! The day after Halloween, the pumpkins mysteriously disappear here. They don't even come back for Thanksgiving, which is just so wrong.

Hmmm, seems I have a bit to say about this subject. ;)

Adrienne said...

Keats - Christmas carols already? How sad to think you could be perfectly sick of them long before the holiday gets here.

Nishant - I love the fall colors - I look forward to seeing posts about them.

Louise - I have seashells around all the time. Maybe I should decorate my Christmas tree with them!

Stephanie - There are good reasons to plan ahead - I think it was last year that I forgot to buy a pumpkin, and my husband and I went to about six stores before we finally found a puny white one.
And I hear there might be a shortage this year...
And no pumpkins for Thanksgiving, that is wrong!