The Jersey Shore Needs To Stop All Of Our ‘Early Christmas’ Complaining

It happens every year. The minute a store puts out a Christmas display or a neighbor begins to decorate their house, the complaints begin about Christmas coming too early. I'm here to tell you that this year I really think that complaining needs to stop.

First of all, this is no ordinary year. The phrase "we need a little Christmas'" has never been more appropriate in our lives. Sure, on any other ordinary year seeing Christmas stuff everywhere before you've even finished stealing your kids' Halloween candy is a bit much. But not this year.

And sure, in a normal year, we can all moan that the whole holiday is too commercialized and that the focus is too much on gifts and toys and material things. But not this year. And here's why I say that.

While I strongly believe that each of us should focus on what the spirit of this season means, there is also room for the other stuff (the gifts, etc) for some very specific reasons. The kids have had a rocky road the past 18 months, so maybe their list to Santa can be one or two items longer this year, right?

And as for grown-up gifts, every single one you purchase at a local retailer goes a long way to strengthening the community, saving and creating jobs, and maybe even saving the business entirely.

Yers, absolutely focus on the true meaning of the season, but if you can help local business and bring extra joy to kids along the way, that's not a bad thing, right?

So, this year, when your urge is to get upset over the early Christmas push being shoved down your throat, maybe you can take a minute to remember, this is no ordinary year.