Holiday Spirit
One of the prompts for my student’s Writer’s Group this week is centered around the debate on when it is an appropriate time to begin decorating for Christmas. Personally for me, as much as I love Thanksgiving and the food, I absolutely LOVE Christmas and all the decorating that comes with it. While I definitely agree we need to wait until after Halloween, I am not opposed to start getting in the Christmas spirit on November 1st. I hope you enjoy this fun and quick story I wrote based on this prompt! :)
“You’re crazy if you think I am going to let you put that up today,” Marlene says as she watches Oscar drag the bag that holds their fake Christmas tree up the stairs from the basement.
Oscar huffs as the bag falls over the final step and he sets it down, allowing himself to take a quick breather before continuing his task. “And you’re crazy if you think it’s too early to start decorating. Have you seen the Muses across the street? They started decorating last night. By that standards, we are behind.”
Marlene rolls her eyes at her husband. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that the Muses have standards, though. They also think it’s okay to set off fireworks the entire month of July.”
“Or,” Oscar starts, leaning over to start unzipping the giant bag, “they just have impeccable holiday cheer and enjoy not only being happy but spreading that cheer to everyone else. You can’t tell me that seeing all the Christmas lights doesn’t make you happy.”
“I just think we should put more focus on Thanksgiving first,” Marlene responds. “There’s plenty of fall decorations that we could be putting out instead.”
“I see your point,” Oscar says, pulling out the base of the tree and centering in front of the living room window. “However, I have never heard of people having “Thanksgiving” spirit. Thanksgiving isn’t about the decorations - it’s about the people and the food. Especially the food. How are we going to decorate for a holiday entirely centered around eating as much as you can and putting on weight?”
“They have those large, inflatable turkeys at the store now,” Marlene points out. “And all kinds of fall-themed decor, like fake leaves and pumpkins!”
Oscar continues his assembly of the tree. “First of all, pumpkins are for Halloween last I checked. And secondly, why the heck would I want to buy fake leaves when they fall from our trees for free?”
Marlene sighs, knowing there’s no winning in this argument - it’s the same one they have had for the past six years they’ve been married. “Can we at least wait to put any reindeer out until the end of the year at least? It’s only the first day of November, so I’d like to have some semblance of Thanksgiving coming first before jumping straight into Christmas.”
Oscar gives a nod, though Marlene knows for a fact he’s already tuned her out as he adds the last piece to the tree, stepping back to admire his handy work.
“It is officially the best time of year,” he says before turning on his heel and heading back down the basement stairs for what Marlene can only hope isn’t the reindeer.
