Now that Halloween is over, let the Christmas season begin.

We might only be in the month of November but, believe it or not, people are already preparing for Christmas. It's true. Some people are so busy planning for the next holiday that they forget to enjoy the current holiday.

My 3-year-old son was sad to see the Halloween decorations come down. This year he really got into the Halloween spirit. To take his mind off skeletons and ghosts and goblins, I've tried to get him excited about the Thanksgiving turkey. But everyone else is preparing him for Christmas, as if it were next week.

"What's Santa Claus going to bring you?" they ask him.

"It's the beginning of November," I tell these people.

They reply with a "bah, humbug."

Then they tell me Christmas will be here before I know it and that I shouldn't let it sneak up on me.

How can it sneak up on me if Christmas music is being piped through every store? TV stations are constantly advertising their holiday lineup.

Eggnog is even on the shelves already. But I love eggnog, so I had to get a few dozen gallons.

Believe it or not, stores are already running out of their Christmas decoration stock. I know this fact because my mom complained about the lack of miniature Christmas village buildings at one of the craft stores near her home.

"You know that Halloween just ended, right?" I asked her.

"Mike, once Halloween ends, it's officially Christmastime. Didn't you know that?" she asked me.

No, I didn't know that.

If I remember correctly, my family and everyone else I knew during my childhood used to set up for Christmas two weeks before Dec. 25. Sometime between then and now, people began setting up for Christmas on the day after Halloween.

In fact, on Halloween this year, I saw one of my neighbors with a Christmas tree in his driveway.

I wouldn't be surprised if-- pardon me. I have some Christmas carolers outside. Let me acknowledge them for a moment.

I ' m back. And I've got c a n d y canes. I guess I'll stick them in my son's Halloween trick-or-treat bucket with the candy he hasn't even finished.

Why can't people let Halloween reside in their minds a bit longer? Why can't people give Thanksgiving its due? Why can't people just enjoy the current holiday?

Oh, who am I fooling with this phony gripe? I'm just as guilty as the next person of jumping into the Christmas season too early.

Look at me, I'm writing a Christmas column. And I'm not thinking about Thanksgiving or that silly turkey.

I've already asked my son what he wants for Christmas. You know what he told me? He said he's going to ask Santa Claus for Halloween decorations.

E-mail Michael Picarella at pic@theacorn.com.