Just last week, I wandered into Hobby Lobby (dangerous territory for anyone with a pulse and a credit card), and there it was: Thanksgiving marked down 75% off -- while Christmas had clearly moved in -- aisles and aisles of everything Christmas. If you’re a late decorator, consider this your friendly reminder: run, don’t walk.
Time for confession, dear friends. Our home? Fully decked. Inside, outside, upside-down — we are Christmas-ready. I may very well be the first in our neighborhood to fire up the twinkle lights. If loving Christmas early is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
But here’s what I’ve learned: it’s not really about when we decorate. It’s about why.
Both Thanksgiving and Christmas invite us into the same heart posture — gratitude, kindness, generosity, joy. One season thanks God for His blessings; the other celebrates the greatest blessing of all. In truth, these holidays and holy days hold hands.
So yes, I’m happily aboard the early -- Advent/Christmas express.
Thanksgiving ushers us into remembrance — for warm homes, family hugs, answered prayers, second chances, and mercies new each morning. And then, like a gentle hinge, it swings the door wide open for Christmas — for nativity scenes, carols, candlelight, and that miraculous moment when heaven bent low and placed Hope in a manger.
As I set out my favorite nativity scenes, I’m reminded all over again:
Christmas isn’t just a day -- it’s a story too big to fit into 24 hours.
The One who hung galaxies chose to come close. The One who named every star chose to be wrapped in cloth. The Almighty became Emmanuel -- God with us. God with me. And God with you.
So if someone says, “It’s too early for Christmas,” let’s smile graciously and whisper, “Not for me.” Because gratitude and joy were never meant to be seasonal. They’re meant to be lived, breathed, shared.
It’s never too early — or too late — to celebrate the Hope of the world.
#joytotheworld #Christmas #Thanksgiving
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