I love the Christmas season. It is my favorite holiday, and my birthday is two days before Christmas, so I look forward to December every year. I love everything about Christmas: family together, the food, the smells of cinnamon and pine, snow on Christmas morning, leaving cookies and milk out for Santa, building the first snowman of the season, all the baking, etc. My house is always filled with Christmas decorations and a tree filled with lights and ornaments. My dad will even put lights up outside and other various decorations in the front yard. Needless to say, my family and I do it all for the Christmas season.

But I am a firm believer in waiting until Black Friday to listen to Christmas music. I know that most retail stores start playing holiday music on November 1^st and their Christmas decorations are up a month in advance, but retail always works a season ahead. I always wait until at least the day after Thanksgiving to start listening to Christmas music, because Thanksgiving is a big holiday in my family. We put up our tree in early December and the same goes for our decorations. But then we'll keep them up until the end of January or early February. And by then, we've had enough of seeing the decorations and listening to the music.

There's nothing wrong with starting the Christmas festivities in November, it's just that you should pace yourself. Jumping right into the season is fun and all, but you still have over a month-and-a-half until Christmas. By the time that day comes, you're going to be sick of Christmas music. I know I would, and that's why I wait until a month before I start my festivities. And even then, I don't constantly listen to the Christmas music, I just won't skip it when it comes up on shuffle.

I'm as excited for the Christmas season as the next person, but it only comes happens once a year, and you don't want to burn yourself out before it even arrives. Again, there's nothing wrong with listening to Christmas music in November or June or December. Christmas music isn't always for everybody, and that's fine. It just depends on when you want to start your holiday season. I like to savor Christmastime and waiting until after Thanksgiving or even until December before delving into the season. We all wait eleven months for this season, and we should make it worth it by waiting and going all out.