Kraynak's Time of Year


“It’s that Kraynak’s time of year”. Ho, Ho, Ho!!!! The Christmas rush is off and running, and right on schedule at the beginning of October. Midst my Halloween decorations and the opening salvo of family negotiations as to who is going where for Thanksgiving (we are demanding bilateral talks while the rest of the families want 6 party talks), I saw the first Kraynak’s commercial with its sickening jingle on television last week. For those of you not familiar with this area, Kraynaks is a garden center located in Hermitage, PA, just across the border, and is known for its miles of aisles of imported Christmas accoutrements as well as its world famous Santa’s Christmas Land. The “lil’ darlin’s” love it.

The season has been rushed to the limit this year. For over a week, both QVC and Home Shopping Network have been pushing the holiday cookware, wrapping paper, lighted poinsettias and Christmas trees. In fact, I saw some of this stuff in August. Gift giving is the battle cry for the rest of the merchandise they are selling, especially the jewelry. I know that I will simply not be able to live without that Invicta watch. My mother even quizzed me today as to what we want for Christmas this year. I gave her the Lucy line from Peanuts: Tens and Twenties.

This afternoon I went to “Christmas in the Woods”, a craft show in an area better known as Shaker Woods. At least there was a chill in the air. Last year we went in short sleeve shirts. There is nothing I like better than to look at wooden Santa Clauses at a show featuring local artisans. By the way, the artisans must specialize in import/export because as we were leaving, we peaked into some of their trucks and trailers which were left open, all loaded with boxes that said “Made in China”. Hey, never knock another man’s hustle.

I am already making plans to go to the Christmas Light Up night in Pittsburgh. And I am looking for various Christmas concert tickets. If only the leaves would fall off my burning bushes, I could go to Kraynak’s and buy twinkle lights and get them up before the weather turns nasty, unless I lived in Buffalo, where that horse has already left the barn.



While flicking around the television channels today, I noticed that the Home Shopping Network theme for tonight was Holiday Home Solutions. To what? I didn't know that my home had any holiday home problems. Maybe it is practicing preventative medicine. Somehow I think the best medicine would be to put the holiday where it belongs, in December.

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