Before I start this article, I just would like to say I love the holidays—especially Christmas—and I, by no stretch of the imagination, consider myself a Grinch or a Scrooge. I’m also not nearly as bad as my dad who personally calls this time of year the “Silly Season” (I love my dad very much, but everyone in my family proclaims he is the physical embodiment of Ebenezer Scrooge). In fact, this time last year, I was listening to my Christmas music playlist on Spotify which I started playing November 1. So, no, I would not say I am a sad, grouchy person who hates the holiday season. However, since last year, I’ve noticed a change and I cannot be the only person who is already getting sick of the holidays.

It all started the day after Halloween—November 1. I was watching one my favorite television shows—“The Golden Girls”—on Hulu while having breakfast and the first ad that popped up was a Walmart commercial advertising “lay-away” items for Christmas. As soon as I saw that ad, I just kind of had to step back. It was only the first of November; Halloween, October 31, was just the day before. And all of a sudden, Walmart was pushing their Christmas ads on Hulu?!

After that incident, I immediately felt like a sixth sense had started firing off in overdrive. I couldn’t help but notice how pretty much everyone else around me—even my mom—was getting ready for Christmas! She even asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I was like, I don’t fam! Halloween wasn’t even a week ago! Give me time to recoup! Suddenly, I became hyperaware of how all the stores I was going to had Christmas decorations up and ready to roll while their Halloween stuff was shoved off in a corner and labeled as “on sale.” There are even some people who already have their freaking Christmas decorations up while others haven’t even gotten the chance to take down their skeletons and zombies or throw away their pumpkins.

It’s utter madness. But, it’s also not a surprise.

Whether we’ve noticed it or not, once Halloween is officially over—and sometimes even before—companies automatically start advertising for Christmas. And it’s honestly sickening. It’s so hard to get excited about Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas, when we’re constantly being told about all these sales going on at different stores for Christmas gifts. It truly feels like Christmas and other holidays have lost their meaning over the years.

The holiday seasons shouldn’t just be about buying “the best gifts” or about money. It’s honestly really aggravating seeing all these commercials about how “you can rule the holidays” by spending the most money on your family members. Once I got into high school, I didn’t get excited about the holidays because I was thinking about all the gifts I’d get. I was genuinely excited just to hang out with my family into the wee hours of the morning. I have a particularly large family and it’s hard to get everyone together on a regular basis. So, the holidays are the time of year when everyone can agree on a specific date and time to hang out and enjoy each others' company. I think as everyone gets older, we all begin to appreciate the holidays as a time to spend with family and friends rather than the time of year to spend as much money as possible to impress everybody.

I know Thanksgiving has become a pretty controversial subject nowadays—for reasons that I believe are completely understandable—but I personally think it’s a seriously under-appreciated holiday. I mean, who doesn’t want to spend an entire day stuffing their faces full of turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie?! But in all seriousness, Thanksgiving is a pretty great holiday, too, and it just seems completely glazed over. Why? Oh, yeah, because the huge companies putting out those ridiculous commercials about buying the best gifts can’t make a profit from it. Why? Because you don’t buy gifts for Thanksgiving. The only places making the money during this holiday are the grocery stores. Thanksgiving is one of the only holidays where gifts are entirely optional! All you need is an empty stomach and to bring some food and liquor. It’s the family-only holiday; the celebration of thanks and being grateful for all that you have. Thankfully, it’s the one freaking holiday the companies can’t exploit.

As we all get older, yes, some do run the risk of becoming like Scrooge, and for some of you reading this, you might be worried you’re already turning into a grinch. But don’t worry; you’re not alone. Many people find it difficult or even impossible to get excited about Christmas when the only things advertised are deals for the holiday season. And it’s super frustrating when all these commercials air even before Thanksgiving has happened. For me personally, Christmas doesn’t start until the last float of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has rolled through New York’s streets: Christmas isn’t here until Santa rolls in on his sleigh!