December 16,
2009What better way to celebrate an anniversary than with a new champagne cocktail? I first drank these with my Stuttgart family at my cousin's 30th birthday party, and have loved them since. They are quite easy.
Let's put the Zhu Zhu in perspective: we all remember these toys, but how many are still must-haves? Many have become classics, but there's a demarcation line somewhere in the 80s: while the customers became more desperate, the toys became less worthwhile.
With retailer Christmas creep, Thanksgiving has moved from the gatekeeper of the holidays to become Christmas ™ Beta! The only way to save it is to move it earlier in the fall.
Early fall is more accurate historically. The pilgrims were in New England, where it snows in October. By November, they had hunkered down for the winter.
If you accept Black Friday as the start of the American Christmas season, you go right from wondering how to put up with your relatives through a round of third helpings to wondering what in the world to buy for them. This creates stress, not goodwill toward mankind. So let's give everyone a break between the two holidays.
Move Thanksgiving up a bit in November to about the second week, and the retailers can still have their Black Friday shopping insanity, but everyone can have a bit of a breather before really preparing for Christmas. It's not too close to Halloween: time enough to switch the decorations and find the gravy boat. The Thanksgiving-Christmas bond still remains.
Move Thanksgiving into the near two months between Labor Day and Halloween, and it's divorced from Christmas, no longer the test-run. Make it early enough and there's no conflict with Halloween. Everyone gets a break before the next round of family gatherings.
This might even fix Christmas creep; December first might return as the start of the Christmas season.
![[Matroyshka dolls at the Philadelphia Christmas village.]](/images/Matroyshka.jpg)
Copyright 2009 Susan J. Talbutt; all rights reserved.
Last updated December 11, 2009