SAN ANTONIO – Nothing about the year 2020 seems to have gone as planned.
Now you might add decorating for Christmas to that list.
People all over town and across cyberspace are proudly decking their halls and hanging mistletoe before they’ve even stuffed their Thanksgiving turkeys.
“I think through social media and everybody who’s posting Christmas that trees are up, (it) just took a trend,” said Sam Vargas, a store manager at Michael’s.
Vargas says people have been flocking to his store at the Alamo Quarry Market, looking for anything to help them make their own yuletide decorations.
“The company went forward and had the initiative to go ahead and set everything from the beginning, earlier,” he said.
More than a week before Thanksgiving, Mary Enriquez was shopping for items to make it look more like Christmas at the nursing home where she works.
Bernice Kearney's house and tree.
“We are trying to just bring up the morale for our residents,” she said. “Since some families are not able to come in and visit, this is something that will liven them up by decorating their doors.”
They’re not the only ones who seem to need a little holiday spirit.
After months of loss and lockdowns due to the coronavirus, many people are ready for Christmas to come quickly.
“I almost feel like it’s people just sprinting to get some semblance of a feeling of connection,” said Melissa Pettit, Ph.D., a local licensed counselor who specializes in trauma and addiction, among other things.
Pettit says people also want to feel a sense of normalcy in the middle of all the uncertainty.
Preparing for Christmas, she said, may help to take their minds off all the trouble.
“I think a lot of us are more focused now on the importance of being together and maybe what the season actually represents,” Pettit said.
While it may seem a bit early for spreading Christmas magic, it appears that for some people it is happening right on time.