Jingle Bells

How soon is too soon for Christmas decorations? How soon is too soon to be asking how soon is too soon for Christmas decorations?

You can blame all this confusion on the DePrati department stores near my house.

Two days ago, on September 27, I walked into the Home Decor part of the store on a whim and was greeted by a festive holiday display replete with decorated trees, lights, and all manner of Christmas-themed dishware. And tchotchkes galore.

If I had been carrying my camera at the time, I would now be posting some scintillating snapshots of things like ice cube trays in the shapes of snowmen and Christmas trees; hot cocoa mugs with gingerbread men for handles; glittery pink reindeer ornaments; and much, much more.

The ice cube trays really struck my fancy. Being from the northern hemisphere, where it is generally cold at Christmastime, I find it comical that such things as Christmas-themed ice cube trays exist in the first place. But here, they are a practical Christmas accessory. I'm just not sure about the snowmen; Guayaquil has never seen one speck of snow, much less enough to make a man out of it.

The whole point of this ramble was to assure readers that if and when the company Christmas displays pop up way too early - heralding not joy and harmony, but rather stress, frustration, and displeasure at the brazen untimeliness of it all - they can know that the same thing happens all over the world. If that's not a consolation, consider buying some Christmas-themed ice cube trays and making little Jell-O snowmen for sport.