OK, ladies. I had what I think might be a brilliant idea. It struck me as I was buying my daughter a space heater.There is a trend I have noticed during mid-November. For years, it turns out to be the time when my children suddenly, really need new stuff, and they need it right now. I would love to wait and give them these things for Christmas, but that becomes difficult.
Take the space heater, for instance. I could let my child freeze in her new apartment for another six weeks, but that seems harsh just to add a package under the tree. I could have held off on the new phone, but again, that leaves them without a phone for a month or two. I could have said no to her new curtains, but people can see in her windows now and that’s not good. I envisioned garden tools under the tree. She’d rather not leave her weedy yard looking nasty for another six weeks so she bought her own. My son in Boston can’t really wait for winter clothes or new boots or even gift cards for food. He’s a starving student and it’s 40 degrees and snowing there.
OK, I digress. My fabulous brainstorm is to lobby the country to swap Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Perfect, right? We could wrap up all those November must-haves as gifts and have our Christmas all celebrated, done and dusted by the third week of November. We could split up the time off for Christmas and the New Year, perhaps easing the travel crunch. By the end of December, we would have something even better to give thanks for.
Moreover, wouldn’t you just love to have Christmas fall on the same day every year? Third Thursday in November works for me. Never mind the arbitrary and stuffy old church calendars — it’s time to make the holidays fit our crazy schedules, instead of having the holidays make our schedules crazier. You know I’m right.
For now, I will just long for the days when my list was made up of toys. First of all, strolling the aisle of Toys R Us was lots of fun. But primarily, your kids might have changed their minds 16 times between mid-November and Christmas, but they could still wait. One can manage without the latest toy. But now that they are grown, their needs are so much more immediate and, of course, expensive.
Which brings us to the bottom line — one’s bank account. Even if those on my list find there is something they want or need that can wait for Dec. 25, I am pretty certain I will have run out of cash by then.
Let’s get lobbying, girlfriends. We can make this happen. Our rallying cry — “Flip the holidays!” And yes, you have to make your own signs.
