# My GOD it's not even HALLOWEEN yet! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803 "2003-10-22T00:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChocolateJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@ChocolateJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChocolateJesus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/1 "2003-10-22T00:51:08Z")
I go out to get my mail today and what do I see staring up out of my little black mailbox but a Christmas ad from the local Micheals. I stared at the ad. I look at the nice pre-lighted fake Christmas trees displayed on the front page of the ad. They also had displayed some nice ornament sets, which were on sale. Then I realized…My GOD it’s not even Halloween yet! Who on earth puts out Christmas ads at Halloween? And the grocery stores are in on it too. As I was shopping the other day for thinks like eggs, bread and milk, lo and behold in the dairy case I spotted several pints of Halloween egg nog! I thought maybe it was specially dyed orange or black or something appropriately Halloweeny, but to my surprise when I got home it was regular eggnog in a black and orange pumpkin festooned carton. I suppose next it’ll be holly and ivy and poinsettas in the mall before Thanksgiving. Oy… I think I"ll go drink some of that Halloween egg nog now and write out some of my Hallo-Thanksgivi-Christmas cards now. WHo’s with me? 😃 CJ ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/2 "2003-10-22T01:30:26Z")
They put out Halloween candy weeks ago at the Kroger by me. And I can’t resist buying it. ---
**Author:** ![WomanofScorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@WomanofScorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WomanofScorn)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/3 "2003-10-22T02:52:29Z")
we’ve had christmas decorations n things out at my job weeks ago…and this week or next week the xmas tree is going up. last year they had christmas music playing on Nov. 1st and it lasted til feb… the most wonderful time of the year…not in retail. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/4 "2003-10-22T03:11:15Z")
It could be worse, you could have my neighbors. They have left their Xmas lights up for 2 years now. They put the first 3 Xmas trees in a pile in their front yard. To spruce them up, they threw a wood pallet on top of them. At least the stores clean out the Xmas stuff once a year. Yessiree, it’s Santa’s Little Village everyday here in the (formerly) nice suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/5 "2003-10-22T05:30:40Z")
The local drug store has a couple ailses of Halloween stuff, but the beginnings of a Christmas section too. So far it’s only one aisle, so it doesn’t hold a candle to Halloween, but come Nov 1st, Christmas will be taking over. ---
**Author:** ![insomnia4AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@insomnia4AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insomnia4AM)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/6 "2003-10-22T05:41:32Z")
Oh, no! Christmas stuff, now? When I worked for CVS we didn’t put out our Christmas stuff until November 1st, and we weren’t finished until close to December 1st. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/7 "2003-10-22T06:54:51Z")
Craft shops, I think, have an excuse: If you want to make a cross-stitched stocking this year, you probably want to start in October so you won’t be staying up until 3 a.m. every night the last week before Christmas to finish it. Likewise a few rolls of Christmas wrapping paper can turn up in the card shops, for people who are mailing packages overseas; in some cases those packages have to be off ungodly early if you don’t want to take out a second mortgage to pay the airmail fees. But that’s about it. We had “Christmas marzipan” in our local stores on October 1st!! And the company had the nerve to claim they’ve _always_ shipped it this early! :mad: Now the _pepperkaker_ are on the shelves - cookies that are damn hard to resist as they sit there oozing spicy smells from their plastic wrappings. Uh-uh. Resolved: Nothing ‘Christmas’ is entering Casaflodnak until December 1st. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/8 "2003-10-22T10:14:06Z")
SOmetime this week, Borders stores are putting up Christmas stuff. I convinced my boss to let me keep the kids Hallowe’en stuff up until it’s actually over, because at the moment, they want to pull it all down. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/9 "2003-10-22T11:22:32Z")
Several stores nearby had Christmas,Thanksgiving and Halloween stuff up in AUGUST. ---
**Author:** ![ChocolateJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@ChocolateJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChocolateJesus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/10 "2003-10-22T20:27:48Z")
Ugh, **runner**. That’s horrible. I just don’t get (and probablyl never will) this obsessive need to start getting ready for the next holiday a month or two in advance. They are HOLIDAYS! They are clearly marked on calendars everywhere. You will not miss them if you don’t start collecting holiday stuff 6 weeks in advance. The holidays will STILL come, even if you are out on Christmas eve seeking a HokeyPokey Elmo doll for your toddler who is convinced Santa Claus is going to bring her one. CJ ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/11 "2003-10-23T00:23:47Z")
Disneyland has been advertising their “Holiday Haunted Mansion,” which pretty much entails throwing “Nightmare Before Christmas” stuff into the normal Haunted Manison ride, for a while. Haunted Mansion. Halloween. C’mon, you don’t have to be Bobby Trendy to realize that these two things go together. But no, on Halloween the Haunted Mansion will be all Xmas-y. Crikey. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/12 "2003-10-23T00:27:55Z")
You are kidding me right. I mean it is now time to start selling VALENTINE stuff. If you are not fully ready for Christmas NOW you will NEVER BE READY! Losers. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/13 "2003-10-23T12:34:22Z")
I agree…this is ridiculous! We’ve has Christmas stuff in the stores here in NE since September! Hell, by now they ought to have the Valentines Day candy out. Of course, I’m hoping that the stores will have the 4th of July stuff by January ! ’ ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/14 "2003-10-23T12:57:11Z")
I saw my first Christmas stuff in stores at the beginning of September. I will forgive places like Michael’s for it, since there are people who do seriously crafty stuff who need time prior to Thanksgiving to get it done. I do NOT forgive, say, the Rite-Aid down the street. (Actually, I don’t remember if they have any Christmas stuff out yet, but I’ll use them as an example of the unforgivable sort of store.) Pretty soon it’s just going to be out year-round. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/15 "2003-10-23T13:02:45Z")
The biggesr U.S. retailer helps the trend: Most WalMarts go into Halloween/Christmas mode in August. Ever see their garden/outdoor section aroun August 10th? If you don’t mind decorating your yard for Memorial day with plastic pumpkins and plastic xmas ornaments, you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Aries28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Aries28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aries28)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/16 "2003-10-23T13:15:44Z")
While driving into work this morning I noticed the landscape staff at the mall on my route were putting up the huge reindeer out front. I actually bought Halloween candy AND some Christmas tree decorations at Wal-mart last weekend. **Sauron** insists our tree does not go up until AFTER Thanksgiving…no matter what and I am forbidden to play Christmas music until then. I LOVE Christmas but I would like to celebrate Halloween a little bit before going into Christmas mode. ---
**Author:** ![ems](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@ems](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ems)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/17 "2003-10-23T15:28:11Z")
I love Christmas and this is my first Christmas in the USA. I have spend the last two festive seasons offshore and this one I am on call but I am determined to make it a good one even if I will be away from my family. I had to forceably stop myself from buying a Christmas tree this week by reminding myself that it wasn’t even November yet - seeing kids running around Wallmart with pumpkins also helped. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/18 "2003-10-23T15:54:57Z")
Last weekend, the local shopping district started putting white Italian lights on the outdoor trees. This morning I drove by a (private) house with a couple of Christmas figures already on the lawn. I did a double-take to make sure they weren’t ghosts or scarecrows, but no, it was a santa and a snowman. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/19 "2003-10-23T16:04:14Z")
I, too, have seen several examples of Xmas crap on the shelves in August. Me? I’m a single guy - I do what little Xmas shopping in 45 minutes on December 24th. ---
**Author:** ![nobrainer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nobrainer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nobrainer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803/20 "2003-10-23T16:30:06Z")
Back when I was a youngster, the Christmas season offically began the minute that Santa made his appearance at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Slowly, the retail world has moved up the Christmas shopping season closer and closer to LEON day. (For those that never heard of LEON day. It is June 25th, the exact halfway point to/from Christmas. [NOEL - LEON].) At first it was very easy for me to never patronize any retail outlet that forced the Christmas season upon me too early. Now, I only boycot places that are the first to bring it out since everyone seems to decorated the floor space way too early. So, if you want me to buy stuff from your store from June 25 to mid November, don’t be so quick to decorate for Christmas. My personal favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Let me celebrate that before I have to empty my bank account to pay for Christmas. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-god-its-not-even-halloween-yet/208803.md?page=2)