Every time Christmas comes around, it seems a bit more"already?" every year. And it hits everyone a a little differently. For kids it's never soon enough and the wonderful terrible wait for presents begins. For certain adults it's a season sprinkled with  seasonal magic too - you can see it in their eyes and their holiday-themed sweaters. The curmudgeons are curmudgeonly all year round - it's just that the season gives them an excuse to vent  - against the commercialism, or the religion, or the crowds or the travel or the shopping. I'm neither and a little of both. I can't help being a little bit of a kid as I pass the towering trees in office lobbies and giant wreaths atop entrance,  feeling my heart swell a little as I greet security guards and baristas the day before the holidays as the shops close their shutters on Christmas Eve and the Metro North train conductors adorn their uniforms with bits of red and sparkle. New York is still a little bit  Miracle on 34th Street in its heart thankfully. Otherwise it would be a long dreary stretch of days from Thanksgiving until Spring