Christmas wreaths were hung with icicle lights, and children drew Santas and sleighs soaring heights. Each storefront on Main Street had put up a tree with the brightest ornaments you ever did see. The local fall fest – now a winter bazaar, and that’s not the strangest thing I saw by far. Creep crept into TV ads through local stations, pushed end-of-year sales ‘longside Christmas donations. He touted “Black Friday!” to help stores survive (and so we’d forget Thanksgiving was s’posed to arrive). The Creep made the church bells ring old Christmas songs. Without even knowing it, I sang along so filled with the spirit of Christmas. Remember, when Creep made this happen, it’s not yet December! And right when I thought nothing else could be said, the Creep turned the cityscape white, green, and red! The Christmas Creep’s treatment had sent my head reeling, I shook myself free from all this Christmas feeling. It seemed crazy he could get ‘way with this – spinning Thanksgiving as a day no one would miss. I stood up to the Creep, shouted “this can’t be real!” Hey, I love Christmas too, but Dude, what’s the deal?!” I reached to grab him and yelled “Change it all back!” but that Creep! He’s transparent – which botched my attack. The Creep smiled and told me, “My work here is done, but I’ll leave you with one last word before I’m gone: Next year when I come to makeover this scene, I’m going to start sooner – before Halloween!”
The Coming of the Christmas Creep | Joy Colter
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