A lot of you are probably thinking “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” just like the popular Christmas tune. But it’s not that time of year yet. I understand some people love Christmas, but hold your horses, it’s still November.

If you are one of the people who can’t wait to listen to Christmas music, just hold off a little bit. If you start playing Christmas music now, by the time it actually becomes December, there’s a good chance you might be sick of it. I’m not trying to sound like a Grinch – I love Christmas myself – but things are much better enjoyed in moderation. You wouldn’t celebrate your birthday a month early, so why do the same with Christmas?

Christmas is special because it only comes one time a year. By preparing for Christmas prematurely, you lose what makes it so special. So if you already bought your gingerbread house and started hanging up your stockings, take them down. You can wait two more weeks.

With colorful leaves still falling on the ground, it is hard for me to think of Christmas, which I generally associate with winter and snowflakes. As soon as Halloween passes, people like to jump right into Christmas completely and forget about Thanksgiving. What about the age-old Thanksgiving story – how the pilgrims traveled across the Atlantic Ocean on The Mayflower and feasted with the Native Americans? However, the story of Thanksgiving is presented to many people as a time for being very merry, as seen when the colonists broke bread with the Native Americans. Although there was much previous conflict between the Native Americans and European settlers before coming together with peaceful relations, the idea of this history is that people with all their differences were able to come together, help each other and not only share a meal, but a celebration.

This is why it’s also an important family holiday that sometimes people overlook. Everyone has differences with their family, or maybe don’t get to see each other as often, so don’t take advantage of the time you are privileged to spend with them on this holiday. Not to mention, who would want to pass up a day when you can overindulge in delicious foods like turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.