Well, we put up our Christmas lights, but that's because we're taking vacation Dec. 13-25 and we wanted at least 1 mo. with the lights.

I think Thanksgiving has become the vacation centered around the world's busiest shopping day (Fri. following Turkey Day) as much as anything.

Oh, and I saw a national buy nothing day thread here a while back. Let me encourage everyone to ignore that, and buy what you can. Lord knows our economy needs it.

Sorry, Timber, I know I'm a subversive cuss, but I refuse to frequent malls or other shopping venues unless absolutely necessary from mid-November to the beginning of January. I buy a few small gifts for my family (which is very small now), and I've already gotten my wife's gift long ago, but other than that, I steer clear of any of the "mauls" as I call them at this time of year. It's probably also why I don't hate the holidays, since I try to keep them as stress-free as possible.

Thank the heavens we have no small children, for if I were faced with the prospect of braving "Rampages-R-Us", I would just as soon take a revolver to my temple and put myself out of my misery. That and Chuck E. Cheese are two very important and vital reasons why my wife and I do NOT have kids, and do not plan to do so in the forseeable future, unless someone were to perform a forced frontal lobotomy on me.

-Sazerac

I agree that people get a little crazy with the shopping so early. But I do like to get mine done before DEC just so I do not have to go into the malls after DEC. So I may be guilty for bring x-mas so early. This year is a little more special for me and my wife since we have a new baby she wil be 7 months. Even though we will buy her gifts and wrap them up. She will be happy chewing on the paper. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]