Santa - Are Christmas decorations coming out EVEN earlier?

Are Christmas decorations coming out EVEN earlier?

When I was a kid (70's-80's) it was Thanksgiving before the stores started to carry Christman stuff. My mom liked to put our tree up ON turkey day and had to use leftovers bought after the holidays each year. I was at the mall tonight and the Christmas stuff is already out and carols were playing. It's 80 degrees outside and Halloween isn't even over. If I had to buy a costume tonight, I'd have to go as Santa Claus. What's the deal? To answer y'all's questions: I live in Austin, Texas. It's patently silly to sell ANYTHING having to do with winter until December. And my mom's tree was fake...still is.

Public Comments

i think it's very very sad. what's even worse is that on 12.26 - all signs of Christmas are gone - trees are already down and out. fortunately we celebrate and enjoy the love of the season through the Feast of the Three kings. In the old days they waited until Candlemas and they still do in Poland - it's like the first week of February!
heehee-seems like it gets here commercially right in time for halloween, like we're gonna 'forget' any holidays!
I've been seeing them since September in some places. Pathetic.
yes they are out right now and halloween have not come yet.
Have you heard the term Christmas in July? Don't laugh but I have and after they sell all the summer clothes before our Summer begins ( I live in PA) and they sell the summer stuff before the 4th of July and I am not kidding you, the very next day there is Winter clothes in our stores. I was at Sams club today and they had POINTSETTIAS- please tell me how they are suppose to survive two months before you need them? I guess since the Christmas clubs are dispersed earlier and earlier each year (now the beginning of Oct.), they want to GET YOUR $$$$ before you spend it on something practical for the time of the year it is, like a RAKE or leaf blower. Your mom takes the cake though, never heard of putting up a tree on thanksgiving-you win on that one--tell me, were there any needles left on the tree by Christmas?
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You people who complain about Christmas things being out too early apparently don't have to do anything to prepare for Christmas except be there. You can't just go out in one day and buy all the stuff you need for Christmas...you'd go on shopping overload. Some people like to prepare and budget their money and time to get ready for the holidays...so just shut up and shop online...that way you only have to see and hear what you want to.
retailers reminding us to spend our money. It seems the decorations now come out right after halloween.
It totally feels that way, next year i'll be buying fireworks and my christmas tree at the same time
Apparently you went blind for the past 10+ years. This has been happening since I can't even remember when, and they do it for every single "big" commercial holiday (Easter, Halloween, Christmas/New Years) and well as bringing school supplies out a month or two before school's even ready to begin (along with the stores' handy "supply list" which usually contains a large majority of things neither the school nor the student require). It helps to get rid the possibility of stores being stuck with boxes and boxes of useless holiday things, I believe, and then they can stop the risk of losing profits to sales. As for it being 80, speak for yourself. My city's heading toward snow. It practically *is* Christmas here.
I saw a picture in today's newspaper showing the Christmas decorations going up inside Ikea in Mission Valley (San Diego), what have we done to ourselves? We should not spend 1 cent for Christmas until 1 week after Thanks giving, maybe then stores would change.
I work in a retail enviroment. And yes for sure as we all know stuff is out long before Halloween anymore. I find alot of my customers already have most of their shopping done by about the middle of November. Heck, by then I'm just starting to think about it!
yes
Hobby Lobby had a lot of their decorations out in July. It is called making more money. Hobby Lobby was pushing their summer items out of the way to make room for their Christmas stuff. They started selling the summer stuff at half price. If people come in to get this summer stuff on sale, they see the Christmas stuff and they buy both. It's funny that Hobby Lobby was started by a guy was is a devout Christian. I have nothing against him for his beliefs, but why should his company bring Christmas out that early?
We live in a small town. About 5 yrs ago I went to close by city in JULY and they already had their Christmas stuff out. i couldnt believe it. I live in NE Iowa and it is October now. The local super walmart is almost done selling their winter apparrel. If we didnt buy our boots and coats a month ago good luck finding anything. Everything is being so pushed holidays..education for kids. There is no spend time in the moment. Cause you have to hurry and get the next thing done. cell phones are a really big problem. i have one but dont want it. Have to for business.......if didnt have one would lose business. We all need to slow down and smell the time we are in. Everything is rush rush have to hurry up to get to next thing. We are not allowed to enjoy the day. Sorry I ranted.
i think its sad. even yet christmas used to be about CHRISTs birth and now days its about who gets the most expensive bigger gift. and who can out do who in the neighborhood. its very sad.
yes i think they are coming out earlier, in my local Kroger store they have the big bubble with the snow and snowman in it already out for sale. We should start seeing Christmas things a week before thanksgiving.
Its called supply and demand. Capitalism in the name of Jesus Christ. If customers did not purchase christmas crap in July, the stores would not sell christmas crap is July. Blame the lonely grannies who spend their retirement money to buy this sentimental crap to somehow fill the empty hole in their hearts since their old lifeless husbands can no longer pleasure them like they used to.
In a partial response to the complaint about Hobby Lobby setting Christmas items out in July...If someone is making decorations or altering storebought items to give as presents, it makes sense. That way the crafter has time to complete the projects before the holidays without rushing at the last minute. Also, about putting up the tree at Thanksgiving....it's been a tradition in my extended family to put the tree up on Thanksgiving weekend, whether it's fake or real. A fresh-cut tree properly taken care of will last through Christmas with very little needle loss.
When I worked at Joann's 10 yrs ago, we were under strict orders to not put a single Christmas item out until November 1. However just a couple yrs ago, I was in a recently built Joann's store browsing around in the middle of June and they had all of their Halloween and Christmas stuff put out already. No other place does that, that I have ever seen, until at least early September. I know that Walmart and alot of fabric stores put out their Christmas fabrics in mid-September so that people have time to sew their projects before December rolls around, and not everyone anymore is a housewife with tons of time on their hands, so that doesn't seem weird to me. Honestly, it doesn't bother me at all. No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to purchase anything early.
We have a few things out in stores already especially the big lawn ornaments that cost an arm and a leg. I'm in Michigan though and we've had some snow already.
Retailers get the stuff shipped to them by homeoffice, They need to make room also for regular stock and it needs to hit the sales floor to make room for the other trucks to come in. Plus it takes time to get it out. Not everyone wants to work in retail and you have to get it asap to take care of other task. It may seem cheesy to see it early but it beats seeing empty shelfs and if they did this after halloween or Thanksgiving it could take a while before it fully put up. Plus their is so much more stuff now then their was in the 70's n' 80's. Some trucks ship stuff 3 or 4 days a week, and that fills up a stockroom fast. Now if the mall has decorated and playing Christmas carols that is pretty freaking whacked. I am weird but not that weird.
Hohoho :) Yes, it's earlier year after year. Not only buying decorations but putting them on. Read this article for a few tips: http://www.christmasgifts.net/Christmasblog/2006/10/13/how-to-stylishly-adorn-your-house-with-christmas-lights/
I saw a Christmas tree decorated with Halloween ornaments. It was displayed in a store window. Instead of people recognizing the true meaning of Christmas, society has turned this blessed event into a money-making machine based on greed. Unfortunately that is why so many people have found Christmas more distressful than joyful. Still, individuals can choose not to follow the crowd by always remembering "Jesus is STILL the reason for the season".