Christmas is WAY too early

I expect for the stores to bombard us with Christmas early but it seems like this thing is out of control.My neighbors have their Christmas lights up and yesterday one of the Christian radio stations was playing Christmas music.

I mean...CAN WE DO THANKSGIVING FIRST!!!

I for one love spending the holidays with family. But I DETEST feeling the pressure that this commercialized holiday puts on me to perform. I am easily stressed out when it comes to doing things RIGHT. Christmas, as deemed by our society, has too many demands and I just can't keep up. Baking, gifts, parties, holiday cards, visits, decorating, Christmas photo, etc...etc...can spell...PRESSURE AND STRESS. So....I just wanted to know if anybody else feels the same.

This year, my aim is to make this holiday special to ME! I still want to love on my love ones but not to the "nth". I aim to have a few quite evenings in front of the fireplace with a good book. I plan to watch the Sound of Music with my girls over some popcorn and some hot chocolate. I plan to keep some kind of Christmas candle burning...and I plan to shop AFTER Christmas for deep discounts. Now, if I can only get up to the guts to tell my family I don't want to go deep into the gift giving. :)