Just last week (Aug 27th), I packed my daughter into the car, turned up the radio, and began the commute to her Nini and Papi’s house.

Yes, I still listen to the radio from time to time, not because I want to listen to that music, but because I don’t want to make the choice of what to listen to.

In between the new hits and old jams, the ads for car dealerships, plumbers, and car repairs fell on my numb ears. I’m so used to ads that I’m to the point I don’t even notice what most of them are selling. However, one ad stood out to me—

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back.

I am not a holiday timing police officer, but something about the PSL coming out in late August felt strange. It is still so hot out and while the monsoon season does give Arizona the occasional gloomy day, it still feels like we’re in the middle of a hot horrible summer. That’s because we are.

Later that day, I stopped by a local grocery store to pick some things up, and right outside the front door was a sign for the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

This made me think about all the times I’ve walked into a store during the summer only to find fall decor, or walk in during fall only to find winter decor, etc. etc. Why is that? It seems more and more stores are always one (or even two) seasons ahead.

Halloween and Christmas are my two favorite holidays. Not because I love trick or treating, or spending Christmas morning with my family opening presents and reflecting on the birth of Christ (although I so love those things), but because they are two holidays that have the ability to completely change the vibes and atmosphere of the season.

Halloween is now Spooky Season, and Christmas is like 4 weeks of hot cocoa and cozy movies, all culminating in the dawn of a new year!

I grew up in Prescott, Arizona, which if you know anything about that city, just know, AirBnbs, Californians with too much cash on hand, and blood-thirsty realtors have gutted the real estate market, and we love the Christmas season.

Every December, Prescott turns into a Hallmark movie. The town’s square and courthouse get decorated with Christmas lights, and most of the surrounding stores follow suit. There are huge events like the Lighting of the Courthouse and Acker night, when musicians from the area are hosted by local businesses to play and raise money.

Christmas is a big deal in Prescott.

That’s why when I think of Christmas and Halloween, I don’t think of the day itself, II think of the season surrounding it.

One of the contributing factors to the seasonality of these holidays is the department store. Going to Walmart and seeing the Halloween decorations and costumes reaffirms that yes, it is in fact spooky season now.

Now, and I’m really going to sound like a boomer here, it’s so different.

I can at least understand starting the Pumpkin Spice Latte in late August, but I’ve seen some department stores putting out Christmas decorations already. Even in early July, Zelphia and I went thrifting at a Goodwill, which had Halloween decorations in a prominent display up front.

I don’t have an issue with department stores getting ahead, but I can’t say it doesn’t bum me out when I’m knee deep in Spooky Season and see Christmas decor where the Halloween section used to be.

It’s the replacement that makes me sad.

It makes me feel like the season is already over. Like we’ve all collectively gotten over the excitement of the season before even celebrating the holiday.

I’m no expert in how grocery stores operate. I missed my big opportunity to work at one in high school and worked at a candy shop instead (Prescott really is a Hallmark movie, huh?).

I did some research to try and get to the bottom of this, and the reason is surprisingly obvious.

The supply chain is borked right now, and it has been for a while.

It now takes a long time for something to be ordered and received by a department store. On top of this, there’s no knowing when the entire supply chain will get completely stopped by a world event. You never know when a military conflict or bad parking job will clog up the entire system.

Because of this, stores order and ship goods well in advance of the season. We’re talking like a year in advance.

When the goods finally get to the states months later, stores don’t want to pay the high price of warehousing the goods until the season starts, so they put them on the shelves as soon as they can.

Why risk missing the season due to supply chain issues? Imagine if a store got its Halloween goods like 2 weeks before Halloween due to supply issues. They wouldn’t be able to sell all the goods, and most of them would have to be on a heavy discount.

It’s not just the duct-taped-together supply chain that causes stores to be a season ahead. It’s also a marketing strategy.

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that people are always looking for the next thing.

For example:

GTA6 and Hollowknight Silksong might be the two most anticipated games of all time ever, period. If you look at the comments about how long people have been waiting for these games, they rarely say they’ve been waiting since the game was announced. They typically say they’ve been waiting since the last game came out.

For those who aren’t tuned into video games, imagine going to see the second Avatar movie and saying, “I’ve been waiting for this since 2009”— No you weren’t.

All this to say, people are always looking forward to the next thing. I think seasons are huge in this. During the hot summer, people can’t wait for the fall, It’s a totally normal thing.

Stores tap into this, but by giving people the opportunity to enjoy the upcoming season before it even starts.

The biggest issue I have with starting the next season too soon is the seemingly inability to live in the now.

As a newer dad, I started to notice just how difficult it is to live in the moment. This is something I’ve dealt with here and there, but having a baby has made this extreme and also persistant. I think it’s the lack of sleep.

I want to be able to enjoy the holiday seasons in full. I want to submerge myself in the seasons. When decorations are trends for holidays start early, I start to experience a sort of seasonal dissonance.

But here’s the thing.

This year, I’m taking control of the holiday season!

I want to transform our house for each holiday. That means putting out candles that match the season. I’m talking pillow covers, blankets, trinkets, AND music.

The vibe will be palpable.

It’s sad to say that many holidays in America revolve around consuming. Food, drink, media, etc. Many people confuse this with consumption-core, buying things, throwing them out when you’re done, spending thousands on Amazon, etc. etc.

That’s not exactly what I mean.

I mean, making some apple cider and watching Gilmore Girls, or Twilight Zone.

I’ve been starting to get excited for Spooky Season. I’m planning what shows we’re going to watch and peeping the calendar to see if we could sneak in a Betrayal at House on the Hill night with some friends.

There’s no way to know when an arbitrary season like Spooky Season starts. If you want to start listening to Christmas music on September 1st, go for it!

What I want is to start the excitement for a holiday soon enough to enjoy it, but late enough so the excitement will last.