I don’t know about you, but for me, there comes a certain time of year when I can’t walk through a store the same way I do the rest of the year. It always starts the same way. I go in for something normal—groceries, household things, maybe just one quick thing I swore I was only going to grab—and somehow I end up drifting into the seasonal section without even realizing it.
And then it happens. I slow down. Because the moment I catch those first Christmas displays going up, everything feels different. I start to get excited because Christmas is coming, and that has always been my favorite time of year to decorate and shop for. Are you the same way?
I’ve always loved that part of shopping, even when I wasn’t planning on it. The lights, the colors, the way everything feels a little more intentional than the rest of the store. It doesn’t matter how stressful life is outside of it—inside those aisles, things feel a little softer. I think that’s why I never rush through them.
I’ll stand there looking at ornaments or decorations longer than I should, just letting myself take it all in. Sometimes I’m thinking about what David and I used to do when the kids were younger, and other times I’m just letting myself enjoy the quiet of it all before life pulls me back out into the regular aisles again.
There’s something about Christmas displays that always brings things back, though. Not just the holiday itself, but everything that came with it. The planning, the small traditions, the random store trips where I said I was “just looking” but always ended up finding something I didn’t know I needed.
And I can still picture those moments clearly. Walking through stores with bags already in hand, passing displays that used to make the kids stop in their tracks. The kind of moments where nobody is rushing because we’re somewhere we don’t want to leave too quickly.
Even now, I still catch myself doing the same thing. I’ll pick up something, look at it, put it back, and then pick it up again like I’m trying to decide if I should bring a little bit of that feeling home with me again. Because that’s really what it is.
It’s not just decorations or holiday items. It’s the reminder of all the seasons that came before this one. The years that felt busy but still full in a way that only makes sense when you look back. And somehow, even now, those aisles still manage to slow everything down long enough for me to remember that part of life doesn’t have to be rushed.
Not everything has to be moved past quickly. Some things are meant to be walked through slowly, even if it’s just for a few minutes in the middle of an ordinary day. And Christmas aisles have always been one of those places for me and my family.
How about you? Are you the kind of person who can’t wait for Christmas decorations to appear in stores, or do you try to hold off until later in the year?.
How about you?
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates .
