How To Get From Halloween to Thanksgiving
1. Think of This as a Time to Rest
Halloween’s over, the candy has either been eaten or stashed away, and there’s several weeks to go before Thanksgiving. What to do, what to do? Well, if getting out and enjoying the fall weather doesn’t seem a viable option (see: Florida), then take a nap.
Seriously. Stress and burnout tends to hit peak levels during the two-month stretch from November to December. Why is that? Well, November ends with a Major Holiday and then immediately jumps into a month of Major Holidays, all of which include parties, meet-ups, and get-togethers and will likely involve most of your time and attention. And because December happens to be the most wonderful time of the year, everything from gift shopping to social events will automatically upgrade from minor chores to Herculean trials.
That’s why the stereotypical holiday meals tend to be so huge; sometimes you eat to celebrate, and sometimes it’s because you have to make a choice between more pie and causing a scene.
The solution? Take some time to relax now before the rush. Nothing complex; take a mental health day from work, get the kids out of the house, and just chill. Doing nothing for a little bit can do wonders for the holiday experience.
Plus, you can use that day to finish the rest of the Halloween candy.
2. It’s Still Technically Fall
Ever notice how the decorating schemes for Halloween and Thanksgiving mostly operate from the same color palette? You get orange, brown, black, and red for one and orange, brown, white, and red for the other. Coincidence? Or just the dastardly schemes of the Holiday Decoration Syndicate? You be the judge.
November still qualifies as the fall, so keep the pumpkin spice out, avoid the malls if you can, and try to enjoy some of the seasonal offerings like cool weather and leaf piles.
Side note: if there actually was a Holiday Decoration Syndicate, its headquarters would be at the North Pole. Why? Because they want you to believe Christmas goes with EVERY SEASON. Seriously, Christmas in July? What’s wrong with you people?
3. Keep Santa Out For Now (If You Wanna)
Yes, the carols started appearing on the radio at 12:01 a.m. on November 1. Yes, the holiday ornaments went on sale at the superstore back in mid-October. And yes, your neighbor purchased all the inflatable lawn displays at the hardware store and plans to channel Clark Griswold by lighting up the neighborhood in red and green lights for the rest of the year.
It’s an exciting time to be sure, but does that mean you have to share in that excitement of early holiday preparations? Nope.
One of the biggest joys of November, aside from college football rivalry weekends, rests in the anticipation of what the forthcoming holiday season will bring. But the operative word there would be “anticipation,” which is Latin for “tell Santa to get back in line behind the pilgrims.” Unless you want to, in which case you could do holiday mash-ups with probably make the turkeys pull the sleigh or have the elves chilling with the Native Americans.
It’s fine to prepare for the holidays, but do it on your own terms.