The Holiday Grinches...

I'm not one of those people who is crazy about Christmas. I don't decorate, put my tree up, listen to Christmas music or even start shopping until Thanksgiving is over.

However, once Thanksgiving is over...the decorations and the tree go up while I am listening to Christmas music and shopping online!

I love the excitement that Christmas brings with it. I love the bright colors, the twinkling lights and the smell of pine in my home. I love the sense of community, friendship and family that comes out as we all prepare to celebrate. I love that my girls can't wait to leave cookies for Santa and carrots and oats for his reindeer.

Here is what upsets me this time of year...The Holiday Grinches! I appreciate the fact that there are people who can find this holiday overstimulating, greedy, commercialized and just plain annoying but I don't appreciate it when they let it all out in front of my girls.

We are only six days after Thanksgiving and I have had to divert my girls' eyes and ears away from four different people!!

Please find The Holiday Grinch encounters below.

1. At Michaels Craft Store - A lady was complaining (with naughty swear words) that the store was too crowded and that if people who shopped here on a regular basis, like her, were only allowed in it would be empty and peaceful.
Uh, hello?! Empty?! If it was as slow as she would like it year round...the store would be out of business. Christmas brings in a lot of money for stores to help them keep their doors open year round. I didn't really mind the complaining about the store being too crowded but the swear words in front of my girls and A LOT of other children really upset me.

2. At Target - A parking space argument that involved the screaming of swear words, hand gestures and honking. I told my girls that they were just excited to see each other and rushed them along.
Come on people, don't come to the stores on the busiest days after Thanksgiving if you can't be polite in the parking lot. Wait and go later or shop online where you can swear all you want!

3. The Mall - Two totally cute teenage girls that had to start talking about how all of these "little brats" waiting in line for Santa were "so stupid" ( a word we are not allowed to say in our home).
I was a teenager once too and I wasn't into little kids but there are such things as manners and apparently these two did not have any. I told the girls that Santa would probably bring them coal for Christmas.

4. At Church - Yes, you read that correctly. We went to church on Saturday to make our Advent wreath as a family and the lady at the table next to ours was talking about how she can't stand when the church gets crowded during Advent season and there are so many "strangers" beside her in the pews.
Are you kidding me?! As Christians we should welcome people into our churches with open arms. It doesn't matter if they come every Sunday. We have no idea what their life is like or how they practice their religion throughout the year. We should just embrace the time they do join us. The more the merrier, right?!

So, the next time you are out and about between now and Christmas, please think about what you say and do in front of people. It is one thing to think it, it is another thing to speak it and act upon it. There are a lot more Whos than there are Grinches...and really, do you want coal in your stocking?!