Now I am a Christmas enjoyer. I'm Christian so it's one of our biggest festivals of course but I also love the secular side with twinkly lights, tree and festive treats aplenty. I always thought I was an early bird choosing as I often do to start decorating the first weekend in Advent (four Sundays before Christmas Day) but it seems this year people have gone Christmas cray-cray spectacularly early.
Retail and hospitality obviously get in early and I do like to play my version of listening for the first cuckoo with "spot the Christmas menu." September seems to be the earliest.
However all over the internet people seem to have hurled their pumpkins even before they have rotted to a disgusting mush on the doorway, and festooned their homes ready for Santa and the Baby Jesus even before Hallmark have launched their Christmas channel.
I'll admit to maybe partaking of the odd mince pie and eating my own body weight in Lebkuchen (icing covered not chocolate-coated please) long before my tree goes up but I have a child with a birthday in early November so no more Christmas style activities are allowed until their celebrations are over. We have a week of them apparently this year so I can't watch elf or sing along to Noddy until mid-November.
However I am completely understanding this urge to blot out the terrible, depressing costy livs situation with tinsel and as such did invest in two small festive Gonks this week, one to liven up my kitchen shelf and distract me from the ever increasing price of groceries and in my workspace for the sheer joy of him.
I might add a wreath to my front door in a couple of weeks if I can be bothered to collect stuff to make one and I will definitely be visiting every shop and garden centre with a festive section as soon as birthday week is up but I'm still going to try and resist heading to the attic for the main Christmas decorations for a while yet.