This year Christmas hit me like a bus side swiping a little smart car. I should have known. This is not the first Christmas that came a month early. Two years ago Christmas was in November as well.

My in-laws run an orphanage in Thailand and so they live there half the time and live here the other half. So Christmas comes to us when they come.

The Christmas two years ago my wife insisted that we bring our cat who was just fixed and in heat (how does that work?) with us. So my wife, father and mother in-law, the cat (in heat) and I crammed into a car. We drove over 800km (approx. 500 miles) to celebrate Christmas with the in-laws. There was five of us in a one bedroom apartment that my brother in-law rented. And he had a male cat named King who was huge.

Just in case you don’t get the point, four of us slept on the floor in the living/dinning room with the King chasing our (in heat but fixed) cat. It was like trying to sleep in jungle with Simba and Nala on their honeymoon. Need I say more?

Well this Christmas was a little better as it was celebrated only 45 minutes from where we live and there were no animals except a lazy old dog. Christmas came on November 7 this year. There were plenty of relatives from my wife’s side of the family and 3 babies to keep us all busy.

I guess it is like the flu vaccine where they give you a shot of the flu to build up an immunity to it. I suppose I now have no excuse not to be ready for Christmas in December. That all being said, I love Christmas and it was fun even if it was a little early. It is my favorite holiday and I would celebrate it more often if my bank account could keep up.

For all you that live south of the 49th parallel get ready Christmas already hit us and I think it is heading your way soon.