I’m speechless; I am without speech. We went to a local mall today and stopped in at Penney’s to look at something, and there it all was – on October 1st – Christmas crap stacked to the ceiling and wall-to-wall. Fake trees, cheap plastic crap from wherever cheap plastic crap is made, angels, balls, dolls, towels, bedspreads, lamps, lights. IT’S FUCKING OCTOBER FUCKING FIRST, YOU GREEDY CORPORATE FUCKS! I am inordiately pissed off about this and told my wife that I will not purchase another fucking item from these assholes. On top of which, I’ve written a letter to let them know how disgusted I am.
Some stores around here have had Christmas stuff out for about two weeks now. I will only forgive the craft stores for this. Otherwise it’s fucking ridiculous.
There were Christmas trees out in a store near here before the end of fucking AUGUST.
Uh… You guys know there are some Christmas stores that stay open all year, right? I hate the commerciality of Christmas as much as the next guy, but to say you’re pissed that they’re starting only two months before the holiday?
IMO, not worthy of the vitriol, and certainly not worthy of writing a letter to them.
About a month ago I came across a fully decorated christmas tree.
At the side of the road, in a forest on the Canadian shield in the middle of nowhere, on an hour long stretch between any habitation.
Two months? Try nearly three months. Last I looked, the holiday falls on the 25th. Fuck Penney’s and fuck Christmas in October, I sez. I would expect Christmas stores to carry, you know, Christmas shit year 'round, even though I don’t see the point.
The point is that you’re upset that someone is selling Christmas merchandise a couple of months before the holiday, but there are other places that sell it year-round. So I just think your anger is misplaced… It seems like you’re mad at the fact that people try to capitalize on the commerciality of Christmas, not at Penney’s specifically, because as I see it they could do a lot worse than starting to sell that stuff in October.
One of the major department stores in one of the malls near me has had a “Trim-A-Home” display up since before Labor Day. I like to pretend that the store is just “dressed up for Halloween.” Two months early.
Uhhh, Christmas is a huge commerical holiday that is practically defined by shopping for crap at shopping malls. Now, plenty of people disagree with how things have turned out, but chances are that disagreement loses to junior’s need for an X-Box. In any case, the crap is there because people buy it.
Would you prefer that the shops do this a little more discreetly, or something? Do you realize the futility of that?
They could wait until November to haul out the decorations. I seem to remember they used to, and I’m not all that old.
Christmas stores are a whole different animal. These are regular stores. I am not going to be buying anything directly Christmas-related (unless I find some kick-ass present for somebody in July or something) until after (American) Thanksgiving.
Resistance is futile.
Simulfuck!
I think the point is that if merchandisers wish to capitalize on the holidays, they should do it in sequence.
First: Halloween – Should not begin until October
Second: Thanksgiving – Should not begin until November
Third: Christmas – Should not begin until December
Fourth: New Year’s Day – Should not begin until after Christmas (January seems kinda late here)
Fifth: Valentine’s Day – Should not begin until Februrary
I don’t have an issue with that strategy. But if they’re going to SKIP Halloween and Thanksgiving to get right to the Christmas rush, they are going too far.
Have some restraint, for Og’s sake. Have some sense of propriety.
First, I’m not calling anyone out here. If it sounds like I’m talking about you, well maybe it’s because the posts I’ve seen have led me to this thinking here.
I loathe the commercialization of one of the biggest days in Christianity. It’s…wait. First I want to again state I’m not railing against secularism trying to take over or any idea of anti-Christianity.
From a lot of what I’ve seen on these boards, Christians are mind-numbed drones brainwashed in a magical being that preaches hate of so many sects of people. Those posters, of course, being the enlightened ones bent on forcing through our thick skulls that they are right in this and know the real truth. [Carl Spackler] So we got that goin’ for us[/Carl Spackler]
And every year the evil coporations (again, year round evilness, not saying anything of the OP’s feelings about the time frame) try to make a buck off the holiday. Expected and encouraged. Capitalism, baby. Just because I’m not happy with it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen.
And year in, year out the stores are cleaning up. But why? We’re told so often that this isn’t a Christian country. Why is this still happening?
End of mini-rant. Carry on. Sorry for the interuption.
It may not be a Christian country, but it is a country inhabited by Christians. Is that distinction graspable?
Personally, I’ve accepted it as a secular holiday. I buy Christmas presents (in December!), I don’t go to church. Works for me.
Can we all agree on bringing the St. Patrick’s Day decorations out right now?
My lot is cast with the OP. Prior to black Friday, Jingle Belling, Ho-Ho-Ho-ing, and trotting out all of your holiday dreck should be against the law. If you’re a year round purveyor of holiday shite, that’s your thing, but Mall-Wart and other mainstream stores need to be constrained from unseasonal greed run amok. 
Home Depot. Christmas stuff. Last week Friday. Here in Mexico!
I’ve always been of the opinion that the stores should deal with the next holiday in line. Next is Halloween, so don’t put anything up for Thanksgiving or Christmas until that’s passed. Same for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
On the other hand, this means stores’ll be selling candy canes soon. Woohoo. 
One of the sure signs of mid-July is the appearance of Christmas Crap at our local mall’s Hallmark store.
And The Daughters wonder why I don’t like to go to that place…