'Tis the Season?

[HostDave]

September 13, 2012
By Christopher Kyte, President

This past weekend, I was wandering through one of our country’s vast retail outlets. You know the kind. It’s a giant big box with everything under the sun inside from birthday cakes to bedroom slippers and from shampoo to toasters. They take your portrait, make you eyeglasses and some even have small banks inside. They might be overwhelming, but the chances are good that they’re going to have just about anything you’re looking for.

And when I say anything, I should probably clarify that I mean anything at any time of the year.

I had gone in to do a little grocery shopping and also to see if I could get some pots for my patio when I noticed an aisle dedicated to candy and next to it plastic pumpkins, artificial spider webs, plastic bats and, of course, scary masks. I’d forgotten that Halloween is less than two months away. For me, that still seems a long way off but I suppose other folks are starting to think about trick or treating and haunted houses.

But then as I was doing my grocery shopping, I noticed there seemed to be more jars of gravy, boxes of stuffing and cans of pumpkin pie mix than I remembered from my last visit. I could deal with the fact that the Halloween items were already on the shelves but finding an increased number of Thanksgiving goodies seemed to be going a bit too far.

Then I rounded the corner and saw artificial Christmas trees going up on a display along with strands of lights, cartons of ornaments and lighted Santa Claus figures. Halloween candy I understand. Cans of cranberry sauce seemed like taking preparedness to a new level. But Christmas cards and wrapping paper three and a half months before the big day? Are you kidding me? I’m surprised there weren’t Valentine’s Day teddy bears and chocolate Easter bunnies hiding there somewhere, too!

I remember my grandparents always saying that the holidays seemed to come earlier and earlier as the years went by. As an adult, I figure out it wasn’t the holidays that came sooner, it was all the merchandise.

I thought nothing more of it, went home, headed to work this week, and promptly sat down in a meeting to discuss marketing initiatives for our upcoming Old Fashioned Holiday voyages. Perhaps it’s not too early to be thinking about the holidays after all.

Unlike fruit cakes, the space on the American Queen’s journeys won’t last forever. You can always head back to the store to buy more holiday lights, but once our suites and staterooms are sold, they’re gone for good this season. So while it might be soon to think about what gift to buy Aunt Sally, it’s not too soon to plan your vacation.

I invite you to come aboard the American Queen, her halls decked in Victorian holiday finery. Sip a glass of eggnog with a Southern twist, join in carols and watch the riverbanks for the Cajun bonfires lit to guide Papa Noel on his way. Amid the glitter and elegance of a Steamboating holiday is the camaraderie of new friends, the joy of family and the satisfaction of knowing this journey is unlike any other.

And if you need any mental reminders to focus on holiday plans, just head off to your nearest big retailer, fight your way through the Halloween costumes and the Thanksgiving treats to find artificial Christmas trees looming over the shoppers. If you’re lucky, you might even be treated to some carols playing on the store’s public address system. Then grab your phone, call your travel agent, and plan on spending the holidays with us instead!