I should've posted this sooner, it's a bit late now to spot the offenders, but there were way too many people putting up their Christmas lights early. An faux pas I've come to call a "false start". It's one of the unwritten man rules that you don't put up your decorations until after Thanksgiving Day (at least after the dinner on Thanksgiving Day). Just like everyone knows you're supposed to leave them up until after New Year's Day. You don't start too soon, you don't quit too early. It's like running a race, you start when everyone else does or you lose. You finish when everyone else does or you lose. (*and everyone knows that if you leave them up year-round, you've lost so badly you can never compete again)

Even if you're unable to have a family dinner on Thanksgiving Day and you eat a few days early, you still can't put your lights up until Thanksgiving Day. Otherwise it's a false start. It'd be like going over to eat at someone's house and they already have a Christmas tree up - you just don't do that until afterwards.

Retailers? They're immune to this rule because they, of course, have to be able to sell you decorations if you're going to put up your decorations on the day of Thanksgiving. But remember, just because you bought them early does not excuse you from having to wait until Thanksgiving to put them up.

Now that you can go ahead with your decorating, when you're done why not practice some holiday trick to show your friends and family?