Candy Corn on Christmas

Shopping for Halloween this year was a frightening experience; far scarier than zombies, werewolves or the acting in those Twilight movies.  The shock came when I was perusing the candy selection, trying to decide which motion activated ghoul would best scare the people around my apartment. An aisle away from these scream-inducing devices sat an inflatable Santa, reindeer, and as much red and green as could possibly be stuffed into a 20-square-foot section.

I know, right?!

My first thought was that the only way this would be acceptable would be if the Santa had fangs and Rudolph was some sort of twisted slasher-flick villain. But no, the truth of the situation was, after Christmas was done kidnapping Thanksgiving, it had set its sights on Halloween as its next victim.

A part of me gets it.  I mean, who doesn’t love Christmas?  The presents, visits from the family, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, “Home Alone” on television.  It’s a magical time of year.  But in all honesty, doesn’t the sight of Santa Clause or the sound of sleigh bells for an entire quarter of the year start to cheapen that magic?

In an effort to fight the power and the (jolly red) suits manipulating Christmas, here are a few fun and inspiring resources that remind us that there is still a holiday called Thanksgiving…you know, that one day that happens before the all-important Black Friday shopping experience.

1)    The Salvation Army has a lot of great resources for giving back in your community.
2)    Feeding America is a fantastic organization linking to all sorts of food donation centers across the        country.
3)    Tons of Thanksgiving recipes to kickstart your appetite.
4)    …and of course, the Top Ten Highlights of NFL Thanksgiving Day Games, courtesy of ESPN.

Geoff
@savestheclash