I am hoping to take a short trip to New York City this year around the middle of November. I was hoping to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, but I see that they don’t light it up until Dec. 3. Anyway, I was wondering how many Christmas decorations will be up by mid-November in NYC. Would the big department stores have elaborate displays up by that time? What about street decorations?
I can’t say for sure, but I think you’ll be out of luck. Thanksgiving – this year it’s 11/27 – is the traditional cue to put up the decorations.
Of course that doesn’t mean you can’t wonder into one of the sleepier reaches of the five boroughs where some motivated daddy festooned the house with santas and reindeer back in 1994 and never managed to work up enough ambition to take them down. Every neighborhood’s got one of those.
Yeah, I thought the Christmas decoration season wouldn’t start until after American Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving here in Canada is in October, and often the Christmas stuff comes out right after Halloween or even earlier, since there is no major “decorative” holiday after Oct. 31 (Remembrance Day is of course in Nov., but it doesn’t lend itself to elaborate decorative displays).
Macy’s has Christmas stuff ridiculously early. Go down to 34th street and check it out.
(If the gaudy decorations don’t make you nauseous, the pungeant odor of Macy’s will.)
A slight hijack here but I was shopping today and the store already had Christmas items for sale. I was amazed.
Nowadays, the commercial Christmas season begins the day after Halloween (and no longer on ‘Black Friday,’ the day after Thanksgiving, which is also the highest retail sales day).
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And, of course, there is now a Halloween season that begins on October 1.
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But, if you’re a rational human being, you won’t put up Halloweeny decorations until Oct 24 and Christmas decorations until Dec 17. Of course, anytime is appropriate for seasonal decorating. Just don’t be obvious about the holiday until you’re right on top of it.
IOW, go ahead and put out a pumpkin. Just don’t carve it until Halloween week. Stuff like that.</hijack></hijack>
Peace.
I’ve already started decorating for the apocalypse.