What is it with store staff that makes them think that shoppers enjoy hearing Christmas carols the minute the clock strikes midnight on November 1st? It is only the end of November but I feel that I have heard Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman enough times to last me a lifetime. Now that I think of it, if I had never heard those carols at all, it would have been fine with me. I understand the whole psychological reasoning behind creating a gift giving atmosphere but I truly believe that shoppers are fully aware of the fact that Christmas comes less than two months after Halloween. If anything, hearing that annoying music over and over again, entices me to run out of the store screaming rather than shopping till I drop. I think we need to start an Occupy the Mall Parking Lot movement and insist we will not enter a store unless the blasted music is banished. How about some quiet background music that actually soothes our frazzled nerves? Maybe an end of summer seminar for all mall staff in charge of the stereo on-button, I know I am dating myself here, and a field trip to a high end spa that knows a thing or two about the role music plays in mood elevation is what we need to raise Holiday sales figures. And while they are at it, how about banishing the music from mall parking lots period? Is it really necessary to assault our brains the minute we walk out of our cars?

Enough venting. After all, this is a blog dedicated to exploring all the things I like about the winter season. I must say that today I sorted through my stack of Christmas CDs and came up with a line up that will be ready to go once the time arrives. And that time, in my estimation is rarely before the beginning of December. Here a a couple of pieces that I particularly like and look forward to hearing every year.