Monday, November 19, 2007

I am already sick of Christmas carols.

I must sound like every hokey midwestern newspaper lifestyle columnist when I say this, but whose bright idea was it to break out the Christmas decorations before the end of October? I've been hearing Christmas music for the past three weeks and seriously, the only seasonal tune I have patience for prior to November 1st is "Thriller".

But we're three-quarters into November, so this rant is a bit overdue. The holly and Irving Berlin classics are probably more appropriate now, but with this ridiculously uneven weather we've been having, I really don't know what's appropriate and what's not. I don't expect it to feel anything like Christmas until December. I did, however, finish all my Christmas shopping yesterday. My aversion to crowds will certainly plunge me into agoraphobia one day, but for the time being it's just an excuse to be very, very efficient.

Meanwhile, it's never too early to plan for Christmas at Edgewood. We are expecting our first full shipment of Poinsettias tomorrow, and have been gradually determining our holiday menu for a couple of weeks. November, as notoriously slow as it is business-wise, is a prime planning month. Brenda has outdone herself this year with her centerpiece ideas. I've not yet finished photographing the samples, but they will be up on the website within the week. In addition, as a result of our success with them at Passover and Rosh Hashanah, we're bringing in a new range of seasonal planters - another holiday gift-giving idea. They should be arriving next week and will simultaneously be featured online. And of course, the aformentioned Poinsettias will be given a facelift in the form of new containers and dressings.

Reason enough to be like me and do your shopping early, hmm?