You can’t enter a store without being bombarded with Early Black Friday sales. It’s one more tradition that has morphed into an extended money grab and gotten away from its original focus. Christmas decorations have been out for weeks — or at Hallmark, since July — and soon valentines will be filling the shelves.
Now, everything is available for extended periods. All these “early” promotions dilute the intensity that occurs when there is actual anticipation — as used to occur when waiting for Thanksgiving so Santa could arrive, the window decorations could appear, and Christmas shopping could begin.
To replicate the enjoyment that comes from condensed activities, resist the temptation to do things “early.” Save the holiday decorating until Thanksgiving or December. Wait until the day after Thanksgiving to shop for those bargains. Hold off on the valentines until the calendar has turned. Don’t fall for the manufactured lure of “early.”
