Cheap Thrills: Jingle, Jingle, Jingle

I was appalled to find Christmas trimmings in Crate and Barrel on the day after Columbus Day.

Is there no decency?

I went over to this guy, deeply absorbed in the silver-and-gold area, and said, "I don't know whether to laugh or cry." He said, "Yeah, I can't believe I'm actually buying Christmas ornaments."

I tried to conceal my overwhelming sense of superiority.

Then I spotted the old-fashioned lightbulb ornaments I'd wanted last year. They had sold out before I got around to buying any on sale after Christmas. They were 95¢ apiece. (Boy, I must have been feeling oh-so-miserly last year.)

They were cute and shiny. And so colorful.

If you can't beat em.....