I’m feeling a bit confused and stressed at being in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays this week (and last.) I am sure that I am not alone. Since Thanksgiving is so very late this year, nearly the latest possible 4th Thursday to be the official American Thanksgiving Day (the latest being 11/28) and leaving just 3 weeks (4 weekends including next weekend which is both Black Friday and Small Business Saturday) before the Christmas Holiday is here and gone.

Does this shorter season mean that people will cram the same amount shopping into less time? Maybe but not guaranteed. That is why retailers nearly everywhere are already deep deep into Christmas – the music, the decor, the pre Black Friday specials and I just want to be able to enjoy a few more days of fall, orange, harvest and the hay bale at the front door. It’s festive but looking old and dated now that the Holiday House tour has been through the Borough. We are a mix of browns and red & green festiveness and it clashes.

I know it will all turn out ok in the end and I hope the local shops are being conservative in their inventory but adequate enough to meet demand. Customers are fickle, they want a deal and if they don’t find it in one shop they’ll get it in another, or worse yet, through Groupon or Living Social.

Applaud those who stuck it out and kept fall themes in store but if you’ve already gone over to the other side of the turkey, keep your holiday caroling to yourself for just one more short week!

Dawn aka Hat Girl