Kevin and I went to the grocery store the other day for a few items. He innocently asked where the fall decorations were.

I smiled and said, “You missed it sweetie.”

It’s that time of year when Halloween ends and Christmas begins.

Sorry Thanksgiving.

Why is that? Why do we forget Thanksgiving?

Because gratitude and contentment do not increase our desire to buy things. So a holiday that is supposed to be about thankfulness and gratitude has no place, or at least a very small place, in the marketing and consumption world.

So every year I find myself cringing at the store when the Christmas stuff lines the shelves on October 31st.

As I have said before, I do not hate holidays. I simply like them to remain as pure as possible.

A shared meal, shared memories, a few autumn decorations. The end. Simple and beautiful.

But how do we achieve this holiday simplicity when the world around us is pushing consumption??

This year, I am deleting any site or app that allows online purchases.

Walmart? Gone

Target? Gone.

Amazon? Gone.

No linked payment methods, no quick buttons to press.

I essentially removed any temptation to buy. But more importantly (for me), temptation to browse.

I discovered the browsing was more detrimental for me than the actual purchasing. The browsing created insatiability and desire.

I want to believe I have excellent self-control, but sometimes it is easier to outsmart myself and remove temptation.

So November will be the month of gratitude and contentment. The month of less scrolling, less wish lists, less “I want.”

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Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. My Dad always loved it too. Occasionally it would fall on his birthday (November 26th) and he would be so excited to have pie AND birthday cake.

This year, Thanksgiving is November 26th. It will be my 5th Thanksgiving without him.

So we will eat pie AND cake, and we will remember him and remember Thanksgiving!!!!

-Brittany