Unusually Blah Season

I overheard this conversation on the street downtown today.

Man #1: "It just doesn't feel like Christmas this year, to me, at all."

Man #2: "Yeah, I know. We're not even going to put up a tree this year. And I haven't bought a single gift yet."

This encounter prompted me to write this post--one that I've been contemplating for weeks. And while I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment those two men were expressing, something does feel weird to me. It is not a case of what I'm seeing; it's what I am NOT seeing.

I am not seeing many Christmas parties this year. You know, the traditional business open-house style holiday bash. In years past, there would be at least 3 or 4. This year only one company that I know had a Christmas party. From what I gather, most companies are doing something low-key for staff only. It appears that people are cutting back, saving money ... only spending on employee appreciation. The in-house luncheon or dinner seems to be the trend this year.

My wife owns a catering company. From her perspective, business is way off this year. Typically the whole month of December is insanely busy with parties and holiday bashes. This year, all of the activity was concentrated into one weekend, which fell last weekend - December 16th to 18th, by the way.

Though I don't have an official count ... or any statistical basis for this observation ... it seems to me that the volume of Christmas cards is down, too. This appears to be the case at home and at the office.

Is it just me ... or is the 2005 holiday season a mostly Scrooge-ish affair? It is entirely possible that I/we have overlooked, ignored and offended many. So it could just be me, or us.

Come on, marketing geniuses, help me out here. Let me hear from you, please!