This year, I’m thankful that this year many merchants were considerate enough to begin Christmas sales shortly after Columbus Day to avoid interfering with Halloween and Thanksgiving. I’m also thankful that: • Starbucks managed to put the snowflake designs on its paper cups, long before most of the country got any snow. • The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book — a catalog so lavish they call it a book — this year includes a $15,000 edible gingerbread playhouse. • Kids in North Attleboro, Mass., were spared the agony of waiting for Santa much beyond Halloween, as the Sun Chronicle reported, “The jolly old elf pulled up on a North Attleboro fire truck” on Nov. 5.• Major retailers had the good sense to stagger their hours the day after Thanksgiving, so we weren’t all lined up outside the same store at the same time. Macy’s opened in most states at 4 a.m., Kohl’s at 3 a.m., and Wal-Mart at midnight.