Preparing for "Christmas"

I went shopping tonight for a birthday gift for my dh, who turns still-three-years-younger-than-me-just-up-a-notch tomorrow. It was inescapable that stores are in full swing for "Christmas".

Ok, let me explore those quotation marks a bit. I struggle with cultural vs. Christian Christmas. We are still in Ordinary time, and the mall is playing Christmas songs and everything is decked out and people are starting to wish each other "a happy holiday" (which makes me want to yell, "could you please be more specific?!"). And I am moving more and more towards a desire to celebrate Advent as Advent and to begin celebrating Christmas on December 25, not to wrap it up then. I feel the need to instill into my children that the Christmas we celebrate is not the Christmas celebrated in the culture at large.

Now, it is not that I am being an anti-incarnationalist here. Been there, done that. When I was in college I was vehemently opposed all of the festivities and trappings that I saw a polluting the true Christmas. I had a skinny, bendy Santa with no head (have no idea where this item came from). I hung him in effigy on my dorm door, upside down, with large black letters "DEATH TO SANTA." Several people found it so disturbing that my RA finally took it and refused to return it.

It took my conversion to Catholicism, whose climax came at the Midnight Mass, Christmas Eve, 1991, to truly open my eyes to the Incarnation of Christ and Its millions of beautiful ramifications. I remember the first time I went to Mass on the feast of St. Nicholas. The priest spoke movingly of how St. Nicholas, or the traditional Santa Claus, mirrors God's loving generosity. I have had a great love for good ol' St. Nick since then. And I love the beautiful decorations, the music, all of that.

I just wish it would all happen at the right time.

I would love to walk out in public on the Feast of the Holy Innocence and still see the beautiful decorations and still hear whatever music one might hear to commemorate Christmas. This year I am determined to go Christmas caroling during the octave of Christmas (and before, as well, because alas that's when my parish is going out). We want to try celebrating the 12 days of Christmas with our family. I am pretty lame when it comes to celebrations, anyway, so it will be a stretch. But I just feel this need to be counter-cultural. Yes, I want to embrace all that I can of what is good in the cultural "holiday season". But I want to build and preserve a Catholic Christian celebration as well, for myself and my family.

Stumbling in the dark here. Any good suggestions to share?