It's not (insert winter holiday of your choice) until . . .
 

It's not Christmas until . . . I hear "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" and "(You gotta) Shop for Christmas Presents".

What signals the start of the season for you?

It's not Christmas until I hear Band Aid's Feed the World/Let Them Know Its Christmastime on the radio.

When I was younger, it wasn't Christmas until I saw Santa sledding down the hill in his Norelco razor.

It's not Christmas until I hear "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon & Yoko Ono. My word, it will be 28 years since John was killed on Monday!

It's not Christmas until I've seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

It's not Christmas until I've heard "Christmas With a Capital 'C'"

and of course, it's not Christmas until I'm completely stressed out!

Realistically, it's not Christmas for me until sundown on December 24, or maybe when I hear the Service of Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge on the morning of December 24. ;)

But more in the spirit of the question, it's not Christmas until I hear "Merry Christmas from the Family" by Robert Earl Keen.

For me, it's not really Christmas until I've seen A Christmas Story...

It was on TNT last night, but live-in hates the movie. I'm going to have to wait to watch it until he's doing something else and won't mind me huddling up on the couch with some peppermint coffee and maybe some cookies.

Incidentally, it's one of the only movies growing up that my brother and I could watch again and again without getting bored and beating the living crap out of each other. Ahhhh, the holidays.

Sorry, but live-in just can't be a real guy if he hates that movie. :p

Oh believe me, I mocked him mercilessly.

Something about a mom/teacher/wicked witch/glenda singing "You'll shoot your eye out" creeps him out, I guess.

My mom and I love that movie! For Christmas last year we got her tickets to go see it in Cleveland, it was awesome! All of the actors were great! I think we're going to go again this year... perhaps I'll drag the bf along lol. They also have the house as a museum so I'm hoping to get to that too :)

That being said... it's not christmas until I hear 12 pains of christmas lol. It cracks me up!

It's not Christmas until I hear that Cheech & Chong Christmas story on the radio.

It isn't Christmas until Santa arrives at Macy's during the parade.

It isn't Christmas until Peter Comes Home (Thanks for the link alphagamzetagam).

It isn't Christmas season until my kids get their chocolate advent calendars from my Mom. I don't care if decorations are up on October, it isn't Christmas until I can hold that itty piece of chocolate over their heads to make sure dinner is eaten without complaints!

It's not Christmas until . . .
 

"The Year Without A Santa Claus" - but only so I can sing Snow/Heat Miser!

It's not Christmas till my school finally cuts the cord and lets me go home!!!

It's not officially Christmas until I get up in the middle of the night and gorge on the chocolate chip cookies my nephew left for Santa so that he can wake up in the morning and see they've been eaten. :D

(Honestly, the kid doesn't give a flip about Santa, I just like eating the cookies :o).

It's not Christmas until hubby and I have our "wrap-a-thon." This year we managed to be DONE Christmas shopping in mid-October, but still haven't wrapped ANYTHING. To be fair, we use brown craft paper, and hand make amazing bows and hand paint every package-- and it takes forever. But we'll put in Christmas movies and wrap until we are both very cranky. *LOL* That's the start of the season at our house.