I have been changed.

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It is by far my favorite holiday. I was one of those purists who insisted on waiting until after Thanksgiving to start spreading Christmas cheer. I wouldn’t dare infringe on turkey day’s significance.

Key word in that sentence is “was.”

I have been changed.

George has been talking about Christmas since we put away Christmas last year. He truly wanted it to be the next holiday after every other holiday and birthday. He just couldn’t wait for the excitement of the season. Goodness, he even believes it is its own season in the calendar year.

Watching his little body get filled with joy at just the thought of Christmas persuaded me to just embrace the holiday. Why wouldn’t I want to do something so simple to bring him the greatest joy he has ever known?

He loves everything about the season. He had to touch every single decoration that came out of the box. He wanted to put the lights on his own tree, and I am pretty sure he was inspired by Clark Griswold. We went to the Christmas section so many times to look at every possible layout we could have in our house. He loves the music, the movies, and just the general spirit of the season. Buddy the Elf is his spirit animal. He is just enamored by it all.

I just kept asking myself this…

Why wouldn’t we want to celebrate Christmas longer?

The decorations are so joy filling when I walk into my home.

The music is beautiful and calming.

There is just an air of happiness. Just read this for more proof.

I always end up with a long list of Christmas movies to watch, so why not start spreading that out more…never mind that it may also mean that the list gets longer.

There is always such a busyness that occurs during this time, so decorating early allows for some peace to occur. We can be in the moment a little more to enjoy all the spirit.

It’s a constant reminder of God’s love for us, which is something we need a whole lot more of in our house. It makes Christmas more than just the one day. It really is a season for us.

So here we are after the first week of November with our house fully decked with all the twinkle and greenery.

And it is all worth it to see George get pumped about turning on the tree every morning.