“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.” Except there’s one problem, it’s still November.

It’s no secret that as soon as the curtain falls on Halloween the Christmas decorations get yanked out of their boxes and radio stations ditch their typical tunes for a more holly jolly sound and no one really seems to mind. Stereotypically the holiday’s put even the “grinchiest” of people during the rest of the year in a better disposition which is always a good thing for those who have to associate with them. And even though the parents who have to play Santa Clause feel a slight ache coming from their pocket book, the joy on Christmas morning provides a rather rapid cure.

The traditions put before us by the promise of Christmas are always comforting, and even as we age they present an air of excitement. Someone of say, the college age probably doesn’t get the same thrill as a child wondering if they hear hoofs on the roof but there is always some aspect to look forward to. Buying gifts, for example, is thrilling for both the giver and receiver. Anticipating the person’s excitement when they see you got them exactly what they wanted is always intoxicating, which is quite possibly why the hunt to find that exact special something is always on.

But what, you may ask, is wrong with this very sugar-plummy picture dancing in your head? Well in the midst of all our joyous Christmas prep -towards the end of October and all the way through November- we have forgotten about another very prominent holiday in which we show our appreciation for what we already own before we go out and buy a truck load of new material items- Thanksgiving.

The two most commonly recognized traditions of Thanksgiving are the mass amounts of food to be consumed and the violence that will undoubtedly ensue during the Black Friday Shopping. Note how neither of these two activities involve sitting down and actually contemplating how lucky we are to be able to do these things-we are far too preoccupied with the actual “doing”.

Last year was the beginning of the Black Friday overhaul. 2013 was year that department stores and specialty stores decided to take the tradition of shopping in the wee hours of the morning for holiday gifts at a discounted price to the next level and open their doors on Thanksgiving Day. Of course, as Americans do, there was a momentary uproar as to how on earth companies could taint the holiday with material things but that quickly passed as this year’s opening time are even earlier. For Black Friday 2014 stores like Target, Sports Authority and, Kohl’s will be opening their doors to frenzied holiday shoppers at 6 PM Thanksgiving Day-a time where some families are just sitting down to their Thanksgiving meal.

America is a very blessed country in the fact that most of us can afford to go out and buy trinkets and knickknacks to give to our families on Christmas morning is a wonderful tradition that is not one to be left behind or taken for granted. But a day that has been entirely taken over by our need for tangible things is in fact the day that should make us most thankful that we have people to buy things for and the means to do so.

Over the years the people sitting around my Thanksgiving table have changed rather dramatically. Some new faces have been added and some others only there in memory, but one thing that will never change is my desire to be sitting at that table appreciating those sitting around it and the food placed upon it. I am truly grateful for those I will have the opportunity to buy gifts for at Christmas, but I would not waste time I could be spending with them fighting the sale crazed crowd to buy material things that don’t amount to half as much as real time spent as a family. Perhaps while waiting in the sea of people for the doors to be flung open on Thanksgiving night, remember that at that moment you could be spending time with your family, not waiting to buy things for them.