At first, it all started with the UBER chain stores. The holiday decorations popping up before Thanksgiving. The flyers showing up in my mailbox in time to make our Black Friday strategy a week or so in advance.
Now, I've never been one to shop too far in advance. Black Friday has always been my green light. I'd collect online discount codes, maybe pick up a rain check or two. Nothing too serious.
I was alright with the hoopla starting in early November even. But this year takes the absolute cake. I had found some really fabulous deals for back to school shopping so I made my way into a BIG chain store. I snagged what I needed and made my way to the gardening section only to find that it had already been taken over with several sizes of pre-lit Christmas trees, blue and silver dreidel decor, ornaments, and a Christmas village that would blow your mind. My bulbs and mums were smooshed into some random corner. All before school had even started.
Last week, I was again lured to the BIG store. They accept our insurance for Busy Bee's inhalers, so not really lured there so much as forced by my wallet. To make a long story short, they had started removing the Halloween stuff. Yup, you guessed it, for the Holiday stuff.
Don't get me wrong. The Holidays are my favorite time of year. My house looks like a miniature North Pole. Our tree is up the weekend following Thanksgiving. But, do we really need to extend the Holidays all the way back into August?
Am I going to have to pick out our tree in July next year, just to keep up?
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5 comments:
It is insane, isn't it? This summer, I saw Halloween candy up in July! Who buys Halloween candy in July and still has anything left by October?
On the flip side, I hate how quickly store unload everything---every try to buy a winter coat in February b/c your kid had a growth spurt? Sorry, winter coats are gone, Easter outfits and spring are in.
I know, it's a little crazy to be Christmas shopping in New England while wearing shorts and sandals. Even if we're having an abnormally warm fall, it's still too soon!
Jane, Pinks & Blues
Being Jewish, we can't understand why it takes Christians 4+ months to prepare for a 1 day holiday when we have an 8 day holiday around the same time, and it takes us all of 10 minutes to decorate. Pull the hanukiot out of the china cabinet, stuff in the candles, and voila! Done.
I HATE Christmas. It's such an unwelcome intrusion on my life. I don't get why I'm subjected to so many months of holiday junque in the stores and all over the place. I get grumpier after T'giving, which is when I stop going to stores until Mid-January.
Like FOM - I was the one desperately trying to fins a winter coat and snow pants last January when daughter had a growth spurt.
I hate how commercialized the Holidays have become and the need to get things out 4 months in advance.
It also makes it harder when I tell daughter she's still got a few months until her birthday (her's is Dec. 25th) when she sees all the decorations up.
And ditto on the Halloween Candy.
But if you don't shop when things go up, when you want something, they'll be gone.
Ughhh!
One tradition we had when our kids were young was to get our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We drove to a tree farm, rode a little train out to the "forest" and picked out our special tree.
As the years progressed, we noticed more and more little tags on the trees, indicating that those particular trees were saved, reserved... "tagged."
One year, when the untagged trees were less than plentiful, I inquired about the tagging process. I was told that most people tagged their trees in the early Fall.
OK. Too much for me. I thought I was early at Thanksgiving!
Sharon - Pinks & Blues Girls
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