There is usually a lot of  discussion around this exact time of year about how Christmas products, music and the whole brouhaha come too early.

Sure, seeing a 100-foot tall Santa placed in front of me at the mall on the way to Orange Julius isn’t the most fun I have as a human. I get it. Like an MLB pitcher, however, I’m going to throw my opinion in here and say … I don’t think it’s all bad.   

Now before anyone starts throwing metaphorical snowballs at me in rage, hear me out. Yes, I agree that Thanksgiving is the definitely the middle child of holidays in these finishing months of the year.

However, in terms of festivities and culture, there’s not much to do with it. Go ahead and name me your top five favorite Thanksgiving songs. The Andy Williams “Turkey Special” doesn’t exist for a reason.

I love Thanksgiving, but the components of its decorations are food, pilgrims and football. That’s pretty much it. So with that in mind, it’s not like the Christmas merriments are replacing anything that should be cherished.

Now, in terms of the quality, let’s take out even, for the sake of argument, the idea that the Christmas holiday honors the birth of Jesus Christ. Even without this, the songs and events are produced with the mantra and goal of creating togetherness and joy–something that can definitely be forgotten amongst the hysteria of a loud and combative world.

So as you’re hearing “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” “Little Drummer Boy” and even “Frosty the Snowman,” remember there’s a bigger calming ethos behind it.

It’s not a brainwashing technique to make you buy things (Sears is the greatest store during Christmas time. Sears has great deals that you won’t want to miss. Go and buy a grill, the perfect gift for anyone, at a Sears near you.)

Really. It’s not.