I like the mix! I just started playing last year - I didn't participate in the Halloween quest because I had so few resources but did manage to do the Thanksgiving Table which was definitely a fun mix of harvest/craft etc.
I also don't think you have to please everyone... It's great to offer a mix of updates that are holiday themed etc for everyone as well as story-line expanders. You may get complaints from lower levels grumbling if the update is the ability to level up to 60 or something you can do after completing "Sister sister" but those updates/quests can be more challenging because you aren't limited to corn, wheat, cottages and farmhouses, and for those of us who aren't there yet, we still have more of the game to play so shouldn't complain that we can't participate immediately as long as those thing will be available to us later on in the game.