One thing about being both a photographer and a blogger is that you have to plan ahead. Some of my blog posts are finished and scheduled 3 weeks in advance. Some are a bit more last minute. But usually I like to think ahead. Sometimes way ahead. And ironically, I got the idea for this blog post last Christmas and jotted it down on my calendar for this year.
Anyway, this working ahead gets even more awesome at Christmas time. I get to shoot family sessions for Christmas cards as early as October, and I have every excuse in the book to get my Christmas shopping and crafting done early so I can blog about it before the holidays have flown past. So I am thankful that the stores have already exploded with tinsel and glitter. In fact, this past weekend, I snapped up a few red and white knitted stockings so that our future family will all have matching stockings hanging from the mantel. No announcements. No concrete plans. I just want matching stockings.
But I have standards when it comes to Christmas this early.
First rule: No Christmas decorations out until after Thanksgiving. Yes, I'm working on a few crafts. Yes, I have already dug through our boxes of decorations. But the official decorating day is Black Friday.
Second rule: Enjoy fall before it's over. We're having a bonfire this weekend and I hope we're able to squeeze a few more fall festivities with all the busyness of the next few weeks.
Third rule: No Christmas music until at least close to Thanksgiving. Last year I think I made it to around this time before we succumbed. But this year I'm hoping to get all the way to Thanksgiving. Thanks to Pandora, I'm not stuck listening to whatever the radio stations choose to play.
Fourth rule: No peppermint desserts until after Thanksgiving. Caramel, apple, and pumpkin are all acceptable (and delicious) fall flavors, but peppermint has to wait.
So the countdown is on.... 15 more days until we host Thanksgiving dinner at our house (crossing our fingers that it's a success) and then all the Christmasness can be fully enjoyed!