Christmas in April? I found it in the clearance bin
We Christmas enthusiasts share a knack for living the year a bit off-center. It’s never bothered me that Christmas seems to start earlier each year, writes Digital Content Developer Anni Alatalo.
It was a Tuesday in April, and I was running a mundane grocery errand. On a whim, I decided to peek at the clearance table. There, amid various spring odds and ends, I spotted the real treasure: gift wrap with a gridded back, top-notch and sturdy, featuring designs of gingerbread cookies, evergreen trees, and those trendy rows of houses! It was exactly the kind of Christmas find that sets my heart fluttering. And we Christmas folks know precisely what to do in that moment: buy multiple rolls.
At home, I tucked the rolls onto the top shelf of the closet, where I keep a box of reusable gift tags, recycled ribbon, and other wrapping supplies. When I’m wrapping gifts on the day before Christmas Eve in a quiet house, it’s absolutely essential that the only new supply I’ve bought—wrapping paper—be just right and of excellent quality.
Christmas often starts for me with these small coincidences. It doesn’t have to be December or even autumn—no mulled wine or snow required. I just need a tiny reminder that the best time of year is coming. For some, seeing Christmas items in April is simply too much, too soon, too crazy. They wonder if we could just calmly enjoy each season. I see it differently, and it’s never bothered me that Christmas seems to start earlier every year. Do we really have too many celebrations anyway?
Maybe for us Christmas fans, the holiday spirit smolders all year. Whenever I spot something Christmassy—a recipe I want to try, a gift idea I want to make for someone close, or a decoration that would suit our home—my inner Christmas lover rejoices. It’s wonderful when Christmas plans take shape. That doesn’t mean I celebrate Christmas year-round; they’re just small hints of the season to come. And we can choose to welcome those hints if we wish.
I know that this isn’t at all strange to many of you, dear readers. I believe we Christmas people share that knack for living the year slightly off-center. We might not open the mulled wine or hang ornaments in the summertime, but discount-bin gift wrap has already set our plans in motion. What kind of Christmas am I longing for this year?
