It seems like no matter how many times I wash my hands, avoid sharing drinking glasses, and dodge uncovered coughs, I am bound to catch a cold every year.

It’s the same with Christmas spirit. It’s unavoidable. It covers every surface, pours out of every radio speaker, and gleams off of every tree in the Park Cities area.

Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday, followed closely by its runner-up, Halloween. But when I have yet to even stuff myself with turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, giving in to the voice of Delilah DJing Christmas carols on 103.7 KVIL violates my number one Christmas rule: No Christmas spirit allowed until at least the second week of December. 

It is commonly known among die-hard Christmas fans that the Christmas spirit is among the best feelings a human being can experience. It only takes one small event-a whiff of apple cider or the sight of lights strung around a tree further down the street-to kick-start that familiar warm and joyous feeling within us. When that feeling comes too soon, though, it ruins the entire essence of Christmas.

I experienced this minor tragedy a few weeks ago while walking through Macy’s at NorthPark Mall. The Salvation Army man, ringing his bell and standing by his donations bucket, greeted my friend and me as we entered the store. This didn’t bother me. I gave a dollar and proceeded inside.

It hit me faster than a bullet. I tried to block it out, to think about schoolwork or the fact that it was only mid-November-anything besides what was coming at me so fast. But I had lost. When a true Christmas lover is surrounded by miniature Christmas trees and hears the all-too familiar lyrics, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…” flowing out of the speakers from above, that Christmas lover has already lost. And I had.

So here I am, only a few days into December, and the Christmas spirit is already wearing off. It really is like a cold. It’s easy to catch, but can only last so long until its effects wear off. 

Yet I still have hope. Knowing me, if I catch a cold once, I’m bound to relapse within a matter of days. Perhaps all I need is to share some hot chocolate with a Christmas spirit infected person and my Christmas will be saved.

Katie Simon is a junior journalism major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].