Santa Claus on November 10?

Give me a break! We went to the mall today so I could get some maternity black tights to wear to church. (I learned last week that non-maternity pantyhose just don't work on a pregnant body. The entire time at church I was fearful my panty hose would fall to my ankles. ) But anyway, while we walking the mall, I was astonished to see that Santa was already seated at his red velvet throne talking to the little children while his elves collected a ridiculous amount of money for low quality photos. Seriously? We still have nearly two more weeks until Thanksgiving! What is this world coming to? I must say I am grateful that we are having a rather meager Christmas this year due to our tightened budget. It is forcing me not to get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday and enjoy the sorting through at Goodwill for that one special inexpensive gift for my family members. I used to love thrift stores and I have been taking my kids for the past week. Goodwill marks lots of their price tags with a number and each day a different number is half price. You can get some really good bargains if you go everyday. I've been having lots of fun with it and Emily has memorized what day is what number. I have a rule that I cannot buy anything that is not half price (unless it is will never be half price), is less than $2, or is Pyrex.