In recent years that has been a definite increase in Halloween displays in people’s yards. It could be that it is warmer in September and October and those big orange bags not only work for hauling leaves, but make nice decorations, too.
We did get out a couple of nights and saw everything from complete graveyard scenes to 8 foot tall pumpkins. But Halloween is behind us and it’s time to head full steam into the Holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Sure, I know that Hobby Lobby has had their Christmas decorations out since early fall…but today at Runnings they were officially filling shelves with decorations, gift wrap and holiday baking supplies. Don’t know how it was in your hometown, but the official start of Christmas in Maddock was the day after Thanksgiving. We didn’t have Black Friday in Maddock, but the store windows were usually changed from Thanksgiving to Christmas on that Friday.
And speaking of Black Friday…well that whole experience has certainly been modified over the years, too. It was a tradition to sit down after Thanksgiving dinner and go through the various circulars looking for those “too good to be true” Black Friday items. This year, and I kid you not, I saw an ad for an early Black Friday savings event in July. They used a Christmas in July theme, complete with a special Black Friday sales event. Could be that we someday will see a Black Friday sales event in January. Every merchant wants to get a jump on the competition. I guess I just see it as taking the excitement out of getting up at 4:30 AM to catch those really, really, special deals at 5 AM on the Friday after Thanksgiving. And what’s more, how good you used to feel about getting a majority of your Christmas shopping done in one day.
But shopping for Christmas presents is really only a small part of the season of Christmas. I would be all for the Christmas season starting earlier if it meant we could add a month to those other events that bring smiles and warm hearts. We seem pretty focused on packing as much as we can into a couple of days and we tend to lose sight of the many special events, like the Holiday Open House in Downtown Minot on November 28th. This year’s event will feature a special parade as Santa arrives in Downtown Minot at 4:30 PM.
Chloe Raye and Jared Schumaier will provide Holiday Music starting at 5:00 PM on the big stage. The tree lighting is at 6:05 PM and then stay tuned for the Downtown Minot Christmas Extravaganza Fireworks Display!!!
It might be a bit chilly but some of the merchants will have hot chocolate or apple cider to warm you up, and of course there is always the excitement of the Holiday Open House to keep you warm. A new event this year! Citizen’s Alley will be open you can skate all night (bring your own skates) for just $5.00- or- you can go on northernsentry.com or the Northern Sentry Facebook page and register for a pair of free tickets. Drawing will be held on Wednesday, November 26th!
Cookies with Santa at the Taube starting at 4:30 PM. It will be a great night for everyone.
I am also really excited to see the Mouse River Players presentation of Scrooge running November 20th-23rd & 28th-30th. Tickets are on sale right now at mouseriverplayers.com.
Hey folks, it’s full throttle to the holidays…ready or not!
Just in case you missed it! FREE FIREWORKS DISPLAY in Downtown Minot at 6 PM on the 28th of November. Mark those calendars and get ready to bundle up and enjoy the show!
Today’s Chuckle:
The trouble with each generation is that it hasn’t read the minutes of the last meeting.
