I was walking through a local department store the other day, when U2's "Christmas (Baby) Please Come Home" started to jangle through the loudspeakers. I thought to myself how much I used to love this song, particularly because I would normally hear it only a few weeks each year, leading up to Christmas.

No longer. The song now plays numbing agent, much like the rest of corporate America's insistence to force Christmas down our throats the first week of November in order to secure profit margins. No Christmas until after Thanksgiving, please.

However, there are exceptions to the rule, including this weekend's annual Boston Christmas Festival at the Seaport World Trade Center. For 23 years now shoppers have been able to browse products and designs from hundreds of craft artists, with items including designer fashions, artisan jewelry, and handcrafted holiday décor. The event also features specialty foods and a gingerbread house competition.

The show continues today and tomorrow. Cost of admission is $12 (kids are free). For a $2 discount coupon, visit the Christmas Festival's web site. This year's festival is expected to draw more than 30,000 people.

Beer and barbeque for a cause? Yes, please.

Harpoon Brewery and the New England Barbeque Society team up to present the "Harpoon Helps pre-Thanksgiving Beer-B-Q," Nov. 15 at the Northern Ave. brewery. This barbeque-style Thanksgiving meal (featuring jalapeño poppers, brined turkey, and smoked pumpkin) will help raise funds for the Greater Boston Food Bank's annual food fund, which supplies Thanksgiving meals for families in and around Boston.

The $60 admission can help provide more than 124 families in need with a Thanksgiving meal. According to Harpoon, the Greater Boston Food Bank provided 38,000 turkeys, last year to families with its food fund.

Tickets are limited to only 200 seats, and can be purchased online.

Image courtesy Harpoon Brewery

The retail world may want to push you directly into holiday shopping, but November offers plenty to avoid the commercial jingles for a few more weeks. Bob Dylan, the Celtics and Bruins, and the start of the annual tradition, the Nutcracker, highlight November in Boston.

From Plimoth Plantation to Sonic Youth, here's a glance at the top November events that the city has to offer.

Photo courtesy Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

The final push in the Boston mayoral election race is underway with Tuesday's Election Day looming.

According to Fox 25 News, incumbent Thomas M. Menino still holds a 20-point lead over challenger Michael Flaherty in his bid for re-election. But while that race may be a slam-dunk win, there are plenty of other district races that may indeed come down to the wire. The Election Department also has a complete list of candidates on the ballot.

All polling areas (156 of them throughout greater Boston) in the city will open Tuesday morning at 7. Click here to find out where your polling location is. All precincts will have ballots written in English and Spanish and ballots fully translated in Chinese and Vietnamese will also be available. Interpreters will also be available in the following languages: Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects), Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, and Russian.