Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #3!- HOLIDAYS BEGIN 11/12/13!!

[DisneyJamieCA]

Subbing - heading to WDW the first week in December. It will be our first MVMCP and we're excited.

Welcome aboard, but just so you know, this is a Disneyland thread. I hope you have a wonderful trip

 

[Sherry E]

It's Saturday, which means it's time for another theme in the rapid fire Daily Countdown to the holiday season at Disneyland Resort!!!!

...10 Days Until the
Holiday Season Begins at Disneyland Resort!!!! ​

Each day this week -- from Tuesday, October 29th through Sunday, November 3rd -- there has been or will be a new Disneyland Resort holiday mini-theme!! Unlike the weekly themes, the participants' photos for the daily mini-themes may only be posted on the days the themes go up in order to earn entries into the random draw to win the $25 Disney gift card. If you don't have photos to fit the daily themes, check back on the following day as there will be a new theme posted every morning (times may differ).

The weekly theme -- which is currently Disneyland Resort - Holidays Gone By -- is still active and open for photos from now through tomorrow, Sunday, November 3, 2013.

Several people may have photos to fit the daily mini-themes, but will they be able to post them in time to earn an entry? Let's see if everyone can rise to the challenge and get their photos for the daily themes in on time. Muahahahahahahaha! Anyone who can get his/her pictures in on the days the mini-daily themes go up [by 11:59 p.m., Pacific Standard Time] will receive TWO entries for each photo contribution!!

Anyone who is not able to get photos posted on the day of each mini-theme but would still like to post the photos may do so when we get to our final weekly theme Holiday Cornucopia (on Monday, November 4th).


So...what will be our eighteenth overall theme (and fifth daily theme) of 2013? Yesterday we saw how the Bugs enjoy the holidays, using oversized lights and giant ornaments for decoration. Today we deck the halls by the sea!

In the Spotlight Today...

PACIFIC WHARF & PARADISE PIER!!​

Of California Adventure's two nautically-themed lands, Paradise Pier definitely has the edge on Pacific Wharf in terms of seasonal embellishments.

From the holiday character photos and large Christmas tree on the Pier, to wreaths and garland located on or near the Little Mermaid attraction, Paradise Pier exhibits its love for the holidays in an understated -- and yet fitting to it theme -- manner.

Pacific Wharf, on the other hand, while encompassing the feel of an authentic fisherman's village, has very little in the way of Yuletide splendor. The code word for today is: spy. You won't find many touches of the holidays around Pacific Wharf but the Ghirardelli store offers up free samples of its delicious peppermint bark to anyone who goes inside, so it is a must-visit for any peppermint enthusiasts!

Paradise Pier


(December 2012)

(November 2012)

Mickey's Fun Wheel was supposed to have holiday colors projected on it or from it, but...

(December 2011)


The large wreath at Duffy's photo spot...

Exciting decorations on the Little Mermaid building...

Tree in Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta...

In the vicinity of Garden Grill...

Pacific Wharf

(December 2012)

(November 2012)

Free Ghirardelli peppermint bark sample!

​

Please feel free to post your Pacific Wharf and Paradise Pier photos today only. The final daily mini-theme will go up tomorrow, Sunday, November 3rd, 2013. We will wrap up this Countdown on Monday, November 4th, with the final Theme Week -- Holiday Cornucopia.

Also, please continue to post your Holidays Gone By pictures through tomorrow -- Sunday, November 3rd, 2013, 11 p.m. PST -- if you have them, as we are still in that Theme Week.

 

[mrsw94]

Now that we are done with Halloween and my kids are back in school (year round so they were off for 3 weeks in Oct-total nightmare!) I can get some real planning done! I just ordered red sweatshirts for the kiddos. Now I have to decide if I want them to be Christmas (Mickey head with a santa hat) or just Disney so they'll get more use out of them. Hmmm...decidsions!

I did see the Peppermint ice cream at Safeway last week, but it was $3 a carton and I am trying sooooo hard to save every penny I can I didn't buy it. But I still might have to get some.....

 

[siskaren]

Subbing - heading to WDW the first week in December. It will be our first MVMCP and we're excited.

Here's the thread to subscribe to for information about MVMCP:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3105124

 

[trishakay84]

Is it okay to jump in & share a couple pictures if I haven't posted any in this thread before? I wasn't sure if I needed to resize them before uploading to photobucket, but they look okay in the preview.

Here are a couple shots of paradise pier from December 2012! Going back this year, less than a month to go! Super excited!

Pretty colors on Mickey's Fun Wheel!

My camera has a panoramic function, used it for this and for a photo of the IASW overlay too! Fun feature to have.

 

[Sherry E]

Let me take a moment to point out that when I started this Theme Week Countdown back in early August, we were on Page 62 of the thread. As you can see, in 3 months we have grown by 100 pages -- and the holidays at DLR have not even begun yet, so it's not like we've been posting all new info and photos from this year's festivities. That's amazing!

Also, within a month or two prior to starting the Countdown, this thread had maybe 39,000-ish views. If you go to main Disneyland forum and look at the number of views (on the right-hand side of the page) now, you will see that the number of views has jumped up dramatically!

Thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their lives to round up photos and participate in the Countdown, as well as help out with dispensing information and advice for this year's (and future) holiday travelers. Thank you, also, to everyone who makes sure to bring news and info here as it comes in. And thank you to all of the folks who are about to take their very first Disneyland Resort holiday trips this year, who decided to join in and stick with us! Group hug, everyone!

...Two more themes to go in the 2013 Countdown; 2 Disney gift card winners to be determined; and the holidays at DLR begin in 10 days (probably even sooner than that, but we'll just say 10 days to be "official"!), meaning that many people from this thread will be embarking on their DLR holiday trips!!



trishakay84 --

Of course it's okay to jump in and post photos! Better late than never, right? By all means, if you see we are doing a theme and you know you have photos for it, please share! Of course, we only have 2 themes left to go for this year's Countdown (tomorrow and Monday), but you still earned 2 entries into the random draw to win a $25 Disney gift card just for posting your beautiful Paradise Pier/Mickey's Fun Wheel photos in today's daily mini-theme!

Sherry E: We'll be there the weekend of the CP so I'm sure we'll take some downtime from the parks when it gets really busy....that will be the perfect time to wander through DTD and the hotels! We are staying offsite- just can't justify the price difference....plus the $$ we save, we can use to upgrade to 5 day hoppers and souvenirs and snacks

Thanks for all this wonderful info....now that we are getting closer, I will need to review the first page

mrs. ariel --

You're welcome!

So you're another one who will be at DLR in that same general time frame (when a lot of us will be there, it seems)! That early December block of time seems to be very popular this year.

I think you have the right idea -- if Disneyland gets too crowded on either CP day/night, it's a perfect time to stroll to the Grand Californian and enjoy the lobby environment. In fact, if I don't stick around to see the CP on 12/8 I might do that same thing.

I have MIA this week - Halloween with 4 kids is exhausting! But I did have my first red cup drink yesterday - Gingerbread Latte while my girls were at Nutcracker rehearsal. Their new recipe is wonderful!

Jamie --

I wondered what happened to you in the last couple of days. I'm glad to know that it was just Halloween stuff and not another emergency/medical scare!

Now that we are done with Halloween and my kids are back in school (year round so they were off for 3 weeks in Oct-total nightmare!) I can get some real planning done! I just ordered red sweatshirts for the kiddos. Now I have to decide if I want them to be Christmas (Mickey head with a santa hat) or just Disney so they'll get more use out of them. Hmmm...decidsions!

I did see the Peppermint ice cream at Safeway last week, but it was $3 a carton and I am trying sooooo hard to save every penny I can I didn't buy it. But I still might have to get some.....

mrsw94 --

Wow! Three weeks off in October! Times have certainly changed since I was in school, when there was no such thing as 3 weeks off in October.

You know, that $3 carton of peppermint ice cream is actually a good deal -- or at least it is in my area of L.A.! When Dreyer's is not on sale, the cartons run anywhere from 5.99 to 6.99, which is crazy when you consider that the size of the carton has shrunk in the last couple of years. When it is on sale it is usually $3.99 or so. And if it can be found at $3.00 or $2.99, it is a steal. In fact, the $3 carton is cheaper than a peppermint ice cream holiday cone at Gibson Girl in Disneyland!

However, I totally, completely, absolutely understand what it's like to be saving pennies and counting every dollar. I do that on a regular basis, and so I know it's not always possible to get something even if it is relatively cheap.

Here's the thread to subscribe to for information about MVMCP:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3105124

siskaren --

Thank you for providing that link for Jeslynb. It's interesting to kind of peek in and see what's happening with the WDW/MVMCP festivities. I don't think there is a big holiday-season-at-WDW-thread equivalent to this Superthread over on that side of the board, is there? I know I've seen some WDW holiday hotel threads, and of course the MVMCP thread, but not one main all-purpose holiday thread.




Now, it's time for me to get back to the Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas marathon!!!

 

[Luisa]

Here's my few for today's theme, unfortunately you can't tell at all that they were taken during the holidays! Getting excited now, 13 days until I leave for SFC then Disneyland!

 

[Mickeybell]

Todays Mini theme pictures.

It was raining this night.

 

[jason41483]

They need to do a Christmas theme inside Space Mountain.

My wife and I can't wait to see the holiday decorations soon.

Halloween was fun, but overwhelming - one CM working at Splash Mountain said Halloween is one of the busiest holidays during the entire year because the overlays are limited to just one month, where holiday is up for nearly 2 months for a longer visiting window. Crowds were nuts on 10/25 and 10/26... and lots of rides were breaking. Haunted Mansion broke once while we were in line, they closed the ride. Then, it stalled many times while on the ride. Indiana Jones broke near the end and we sat in the dark in the vehicle. Splash Mountain stalled a couple times and caused a log jam. Just a lot of traffic in a short time.

Bring on the lights and snow!

 

[kylieh]

mom2rtk - I was just reading through the thread with DD11. DD thinks your DD looks just like an American Girl doll which is the biggest compliment my DD pays to anyone! (your daughter is gorgeous)

SherryE - I can't believe it is more than a week since your response, and I haven't replied! Sorry. DH thinks he will go get a Corn Dog. He had one last time we were there and really enjoyed it. AG didn't get back to us about payingbooking for the craft class and meal, so DH and I decided we will stick to the normal lunch.

Anyway, it is just under 4 weeks to we leave for the US, and 5 weeks to we get to DL!

 

[mom2rtk]

mom2rtk - I was just reading through the thread with DD11. DD thinks your DD looks just like an American Girl doll which is the biggest compliment my DD pays to anyone! (your daughter is gorgeous)

SherryE - I can't believe it is more than a week since your response, and I haven't replied! Sorry. DH thinks he will go get a Corn Dog. He had one last time we were there and really enjoyed it. AG didn't get back to us about payingbooking for the craft class and meal, so DH and I decided we will stick to the normal lunch.

Anyway, it is just under 4 weeks to we leave for the US, and 5 weeks to we get to DL!

LOL, thanks so much. My daughter is past her own AG doll phase , but will appreciate that compliment greatly.

 

[Jeslynb]

Welcome aboard, but just so you know, this is a Disneyland thread. I hope you have a wonderful trip

Derp! Guess I was a little trigger happy, lol!

 

[mrsw94]

Let me take a moment to point out that when I started this Theme Week Countdown back in early August, we were on Page 62 of the thread. As you can see, in 3 months we have grown by 100 pages -- and the holidays at DLR have not even begun yet, so it's not like we've been posting all new info and photos from this year's festivities. That's amazing!

Also, within a month or two prior to starting the Countdown, this thread had maybe 39,000-ish views. If you go to main Disneyland forum and look at the number of views (on the right-hand side of the page) now, you will see that the number of views has jumped up dramatically!

Thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their lives to round up photos and participate in the Countdown, as well as help out with dispensing information and advice for this year's (and future) holiday travelers. Thank you, also, to everyone who makes sure to bring news and info here as it comes in. And thank you to all of the folks who are about to take their very first Disneyland Resort holiday trips this year, who decided to join in and stick with us! Group hug, everyone!

...Two more themes to go in the 2013 Countdown; 2 Disney gift card winners to be determined; and the holidays at DLR begin in 10 days (probably even sooner than that, but we'll just say 10 days to be "official"!), meaning that many people from this thread will be embarking on their DLR holiday trips!!



trishakay84 --

Of course it's okay to jump in and post photos! Better late than never, right? By all means, if you see we are doing a theme and you know you have photos for it, please share! Of course, we only have 2 themes left to go for this year's Countdown (tomorrow and Monday), but you still earned 2 entries into the random draw to win a $25 Disney gift card just for posting your beautiful Paradise Pier/Mickey's Fun Wheel photos in today's daily mini-theme!






mrs. ariel --

You're welcome!

So you're another one who will be at DLR in that same general time frame (when a lot of us will be there, it seems)! That early December block of time seems to be very popular this year.

I think you have the right idea -- if Disneyland gets too crowded on either CP day/night, it's a perfect time to stroll to the Grand Californian and enjoy the lobby environment. In fact, if I don't stick around to see the CP on 12/8 I might do that same thing.






Jamie --

I wondered what happened to you in the last couple of days. I'm glad to know that it was just Halloween stuff and not another emergency/medical scare!




mrsw94 --

Wow! Three weeks off in October! Times have certainly changed since I was in school, when there was no such thing as 3 weeks off in October.

You know, that $3 carton of peppermint ice cream is actually a good deal -- or at least it is in my area of L.A.! When Dreyer's is not on sale, the cartons run anywhere from 5.99 to 6.99, which is crazy when you consider that the size of the carton has shrunk in the last couple of years. When it is on sale it is usually $3.99 or so. And if it can be found at $3.00 or $2.99, it is a steal. In fact, the $3 carton is cheaper than a peppermint ice cream holiday cone at Gibson Girl in Disneyland!

However, I totally, completely, absolutely understand what it's like to be saving pennies and counting every dollar. I do that on a regular basis, and so I know it's not always possible to get something even if it is relatively cheap.

[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

We are a year-round schedule. I have a love-hate relationship with it.

Well since you put it that way, I guess I'll have to buy some on my grocery store run next week! I have a tendancy to get price points in my head that are no longer realistic, like $2 for a HALF-GALLON (not the chintzy sizes they have now). I am sooooo cheap!!!

 

[ksromack]

Thank you for providing that link for Jeslynb. It's interesting to kind of peek in and see what's happening with the WDW/MVMCP festivities. I don't think there is a big holiday-season-at-WDW-thread equivalent to this Superthread over on that side of the board, is there? I know I've seen some WDW holiday hotel threads, and of course the MVMCP thread, but not one main all-purpose holiday thread.

We had a pretty big one last year for December by Tofubeast....I feel so lucky to have been amongst such wonderful December Disney moderators

You know what's funny? We did MVMCP last year and not once got a cup of hot cocoa or a cookie! We did, however get an awesome picture of hubby and I with the 7 dwarfs and with Cindy/Prince/Tremaines.

I'm happy to get to see the Christmas festivities (at least THIS year) at DLR/DCA for free

Hubby and I have to work this weekend....we just got home (I work with him every third weekend, but not normally during the week)....we played christmas music all day today

 

[pattyduke34]

Ok, I have a few for this one too!! lol

 

[mrsw94]

My kids just picked a show to watch off Netflix and they picked......

Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed In!!

Can I just tell you they are gonna go NUTS when they find out we are going in Dec!!!!

 

[Davidg83]

Does anyone have any pictures of the Christmas Mickey ears that are available so far this year? I'm trying to decide if I should pack mine or buy a new pair! I already have the gingerbread ears and the Santa outfit ears. Tough decisions!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Here are mine for today

 

[u2pixi]

I called this morning to book the holiday tour- it threw me a bit when the guy answered with "Happy Halloween"!
I was thinking about the thread afterwards (it was 2am here when i called and i had Yo Ho Yo Ho in my head from the hold music!)- we don't use happy holidays here- usually just Happy/Merry Christmas so that would be my response to you if you said happy Holidays- just because that's what we use here!

Have a great day everyone,

Amy

 

[Sherry E]

I've been busily updating and tweaking assorted posts on Page 1 again. I won't say which ones or what I've done, but I have been jumping around between them and making little changes here and there! (And all the while the Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas carries on in the background! Thanksgiving House is on right now, and that's new for this year.) Now my next mission is to check on the listings in my "Other Things to Do" section and see if the links to those holiday pages are up yet.

Luisa, Mickeybell, pattyduke34 and Bret have each earned another two entries into the random draw for their posts in today's mini-theme!

One more mini-theme is coming up tomorrow, and then Monday starts the big Holiday Cornucopia Theme Week!

They need to do a Christmas theme inside Space Mountain.

My wife and I can't wait to see the holiday decorations soon.

Halloween was fun, but overwhelming - one CM working at Splash Mountain said Halloween is one of the busiest holidays during the entire year because the overlays are limited to just one month, where holiday is up for nearly 2 months for a longer visiting window. Crowds were nuts on 10/25 and 10/26... and lots of rides were breaking. Haunted Mansion broke once while we were in line, they closed the ride. Then, it stalled many times while on the ride. Indiana Jones broke near the end and we sat in the dark in the vehicle. Splash Mountain stalled a couple times and caused a log jam. Just a lot of traffic in a short time.

Bring on the lights and snow!

jason41483 --

A Christmas theme in Space Mountain! Now that would be interesting. It could be called "Christmas in Space"? How about "Merry Mountain"? Or "Space Mountain Cosmic Christmas"?

It's only Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy that is limited to Halloween Time (which was 9/13 - 10/31 this year). Haunted Mansion Holiday runs all the way from the start of Halloween Time to early January.

As for the length of Halloween Time vs. the holiday season at DLR, both seasons are often about the same length, or the holiday season is only slightly longer. Despite the fact that the holiday season has much, much more to offer in terms of decor and overall resort-wide merriment, Halloween Time gets roughly the same amount of time devoted to it each year, give or take a few days (depending on when certain dates fall in a week).

This year, Halloween Time was one day shy of being 7 weeks long, and that's just the "official" length of time. I'm not even counting the fact that the decorations begin to appear before the start of the season. The holiday season will end up being just shy of 8 weeks long this time around (not counting the early appearance of decor and merchandise). So there is only going to be a one week difference in the seasons' lengths. Sometimes the difference/gap is even smaller than one week.

I've seen the Halloween Time crowds grow over the years. Again, it's kind of interesting when you factor in that the holiday season has so many more things to see. I think that Mickey's Halloween Party has a huge influence on the crowds that come to the parks in October -- the party only takes place for about a month, so a lot of people probably pack into Disneyland to attend the MHP during that time frame.

Also, I get the feeling that a lot of what drives the crowds into the parks for Halloween Time is the novelty factor. Even though the holiday season at DLR is very special, I suspect that many folks have a sort of 'been there, done that' view of the holidays, assuming that it will simply involve a whole lot of crowds packed into the park to see decorations they think they could see anywhere. The holidays are not as much of a novelty anymore, while Halloween is still kind of intriguing to many people. I can tell that the holiday season has lost its luster for many people over time.

In any case, I hope you enjoy the holidays at DLR! This time around -- unlike Halloween Time -- the hotels will be decorated and in the spirit too, with Santa and carolers and all of that. I agree -- bring on the lights and snow!!!

mom2rtk - SherryE - I can't believe it is more than a week since your response, and I haven't replied! Sorry. DH thinks he will go get a Corn Dog. He had one last time we were there and really enjoyed it. AG didn't get back to us about payingbooking for the craft class and meal, so DH and I decided we will stick to the normal lunch.

Anyway, it is just under 4 weeks to we leave for the US, and 5 weeks to we get to DL!

kylieh --

I'm sure the normal lunch at AG will be wonderful too. Your DH will get a corn dog at Farmers Market? I wonder if he got that at Charlie's. I am trying to scan my brain to remember anywhere that sells corn dogs in Farmers Market and that might be the place, although I think there is another place too.

The Grove and Farmers Market will be decorated by the time you get there, so that will be fun. (It snows at The Grove every night, just like at Disneyland.)

We are a year-round schedule. I have a love-hate relationship with it.

Well since you put it that way, I guess I'll have to buy some on my grocery store run next week! I have a tendancy to get price points in my head that are no longer realistic, like $2 for a HALF-GALLON (not the chintzy sizes they have now). I am sooooo cheap!!!

mrsw94 --

I don't think you're cheap at all. I don't know your money situation, of course, but I would only think someone was cheap if they had a lot of money to spend and still always took the cheapest way out or bought the cheapest goods, or tried to get out of paying their fair share of something when they could afford to pay. There is a big difference between being cheap (or choosing not to spend money that you have plenty of) and being sensible (watching your pennies because you have to do that).

You're not kidding about the chintzy sizes. A few years ago I began to notice several different types of products 'shrinking' in size. Not only did the ice cream cartons get smaller, but so did the peanut butter jars, the orange juice cartons and random jars of pasta sauce, among other things. And yet, the prices mysteriously stayed the same -- or got higher! I can't even believe that Dreyer's in a non-sale week is almost $7 at my stores. That is crazy for that size. It's only worth it if it is a 'buy one, get one free' week!

We had a pretty big one last year for December by Tofubeast....I feel so lucky to have been amongst such wonderful December Disney moderators

You know what's funny? We did MVMCP last year and not once got a cup of hot cocoa or a cookie! We did, however get an awesome picture of hubby and I with the 7 dwarfs and with Cindy/Prince/Tremaines.

I'm happy to get to see the Christmas festivities (at least THIS year) at DLR/DCA for free

Hubby and I have to work this weekend....we just got home (I work with him every third weekend, but not normally during the week)....we played christmas music all day today

Kathy --

Well, we holiday-loving mods are happy to have you on board for the seasonal merriment!

I figured that someone had to be keeping some sort of all-encompassing holiday season thread over on the WDW side of the board, but to set it up with the kind of info in it like I have on page 1 of this thread would be nothing short of a Herculean effort, because WDW is so massive and there are so many facets to it. It took weeks to set up this thread (and it is always a work in progress). I cannot imagine how long it would take to set up a WDW holiday season thread! Yikes!

I'm glad you're getting in a holiday trip to DLR before we suddenly have a party forced upon us, with extra charges for fireworks and snow and the parade. It makes more sense at WDW because there are many other places to go and do things if a party is not to one's liking. At DLR it's not that way.

My kids just picked a show to watch off Netflix and they picked......

Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed In!!

Can I just tell you they are gonna go NUTS when they find out we are going in Dec!!!!

mrsw94 --

That's so awesome! I hope the kids love DLR in December. If they love the holidays and they love Disneyland, there's no way they couldn't love celebrating the season at DLR.

Does anyone have any pictures of the Christmas Mickey ears that are available so far this year? I'm trying to decide if I should pack mine or buy a new pair! I already have the gingerbread ears and the Santa outfit ears. Tough decisions!!

Davidg83 --

Do you have the Jack Skellington ears?

I don't know if anyone other than Liza/funatdisney and Lucrezia have paid attention to the ears this year so far (and that would have been during their Halloween Time visits). I'm not even sure if the full array of ears has been put out yet. We're still 10 days away from the official start of the season, so it's possible that more merchandise will be set up between now and then.

When is your trip? I would expect that as the days roll on and we get closer to November 12th, more reports of merchandise will come in. Stay tuned!

I called this morning to book the holiday tour- it threw me a bit when the guy answered with "Happy Halloween"!
I was thinking about the thread afterwards (it was 2am here when i called and i had Yo Ho Yo Ho in my head from the hold music!)- we don't use happy holidays here- usually just Happy/Merry Christmas so that would be my response to you if you said happy Holidays- just because that's what we use here!

Have a great day everyone,

Amy

Amy --

The CM on the phone said Happy Halloween this morning? What is going on in the world? First I see a Halloween TV commercial on November 1st (after Halloween is over) and now a Disneyland CM is saying Happy Halloween on November 2nd? When did people start celebrating Halloween after it ended?

I've heard that quite a few countries use "Happy Christmas" instead of Merry Christmas as a greeting. And, of course, we rarely say "Happy Christmas" here, although I don't think anyone would mind if it was said to them because it still fits. I've heard "Happy Yuletime," "Happy Winter Solstice," Season's Greetings," "Happy New Year," "Merry Xmas" and "Happy Thanksgiving." It seems like "Happy Christmas" would make sense, but for some reason we say "Merry" instead.

I still don't know when it is officially acceptable to say "Happy Holidays" to people out here in L.A. I feel like I'm supposed to pretend the holiday season is not here and therefore have to stifle my greetings until after a designated date in November! If I were to say "Merry Christmas" now, on November 2nd, I would probably be laughed out of town. Saying "Happy Holidays," however, seems like it would be better because it can cover several different holidays and the entire season.

Still, though, if I were to run into a neighbor by the mailbox and say "Happy Holidays!" tonight, they'd probably look at me as if I'd just arrived from outer space.

I've come to the conclusion that people are in denial. Many of them don't want Christmas to be here soon so they try to avoid acknowledging its pending arrival by not exchanging or accepting a holiday greeting! They still wish it was Halloween. They'd rather just have Thanksgiving and then skip ahead to New Year's Eve. They'd rather that the whole month of November was devoted to Thanksgiving, but that Christmas didn't get any more than 2 weeks in December!