H ighs in the upper 70s. Lows in the 30s. If the Chattahoochee Valley weather can’t decide what season it is, at least we’re getting our cues from elsewhere. Radio station Sunny 100 (WGSY 100.1-FM) switches to an all- Christmas music format today, and shopping centers like Columbus Park Crossing and The Landings have already decked their outdoor halls. The Landings featured a visit from Santa last weekend, and Peachtree Mall hosts a parade for Santa’s arrival tonight.
It’s too much, too soon for some. “I don’t want to see it yet,” said Audrey James, 47, who stopped at Buford’s Brownies at The Landings for a sweet after lunch. Nearby was a giant display of a gingerbread house, and she could see a 10-foot-tall Santa made of tinsel climbing the Fuddruckers cupola as if it were a chimney. James insists she’s not a Scrooge, though. “I love Christmas,” she said.
“I just can’t believe they’re doing all this before Thanksgiving.” Callaway Gardens’ mega Fantasy In Lights show opens for tours this weekend. And the season’s first — and hopefully worst — Christmas movie opened last weekend, as Vince Vaughn portrays Santa’s black-sheep brother in “Fred Claus.” It debuted at No. 3, behind two movies in their second weeks, possibly because it’s too early to capture the holiday spirit, or possibly because it was critically panned.
Meanwhile, the weather has some wondering, ” ’tis what season?” Among them is Salvation Army bell ringer Janice Martin, who pushed up her long sleeves and tried to stand in the bit of shadow cast by her A-frame donation stand Wednesday afternoon, as the temperature hit about 77 degrees. “I just forgot it was getting so warm,” she said, standing outside Toys “R” Us at Columbus Park Crossing.