It's just WAYYYYY too early!

Every year it annoys me more. There I am on a bright, balmy afternoon, bringing in the mail (which, for some reason, still brings me joy even though the days of receiving letters and greeting cards is long past), and there it sits on the bottom of the pile. The first Christmas magazine.

Okay, the usual holiday barrage of catalogs had begun back in September, but I find it really jarring to read about Christmas before the first snow. (Unfortunately, that happened last week. But it rained later and everything melted away before we could get too depressed.)

This, of all years, I'm not nearly ready--or in the mood--for Christmas yet. Wayyyyy too busy.  And you know in early December when I am in the holiday mood, they'll be sending me magazines featuring Valentine's Day and St. Paddy's Day recipes.

Now the catalogs I like. I love the t-shirts and signage. They give me ideas for graphics.  Like this one I made earlier this week. Isn't Sarge just adorable? Couldn't you just pick him up and smother him with love? I'll be using it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

But getting back to those Christmas issues, I'm going to read them all (and so far four have arrived), but not until at LEAST Thanksgiving. Luckily, I have lots of other reading material (just found a cache of magazines from June and July I'd put aside and forgotten). I see it as delayed gratification.

So how do you feel about the early holiday barrage?