# You people in the UK can stop looking down on us Americans **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460 "2005-08-10T16:28:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/1 "2005-08-10T16:28:49Z")
At least we haven’t started [Christmas yet!](http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article304892.ece) ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/2 "2005-08-10T17:12:54Z")
I was about to say something derogatory about the US for even suggesting we should stop looking down on Americans but that is just too embarrassing. Over 4 months until Christmas, jeez. I could understand maybe a few Xmas items on sale, but a Father Christmas? In August? Humbug. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/3 "2005-08-10T17:32:19Z")
> [@Tuco](#): > > I was about to say something derogatory about the US for even suggesting we should stop looking down on Americans but that is just too embarrassing. Woo hoo! We win! Well, for now anyway. I’m sure we’ll soon find an American retailer who does something even more embarrasing. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/4 "2005-08-10T18:15:57Z")
Wooooo! _ **U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!** _ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/5 "2005-08-10T18:32:24Z")
If you read the article down to the end you will see that the reason they are opening so early is so that foreign tourists want to buy the Christmas items. I imagine this would include a large proportion of Americans who always put Harrods on their “to visit” list I haven’t checked yet but I think that it is a good bet that our version QVC (which is American owned) are already selling Christmas goodies on their shopping channel. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/6 "2005-08-10T18:54:47Z")
Fuggin’ Phoney Pharaoh! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/7 "2005-08-10T19:00:37Z")
You can put the stuff on a shelf but you don’t need Father Christmas in a red and white stripped bathing suit and a live donkey. Did you read the part about the reindeer Barbie? > [@](#): > > You may think that’s a tad freaky, but it’s nothing compared to Reindeer Barbie. Harrods are offering (for only £229) a typical Barbie doll, in a frilly scarlet dress with fluffy shoulder pads, long scarlet gloves and a parting to show a pair of very shapely legs. When you look at the head, however, it’s a reindeer. It’s the sort of thing Hunter S Thompson saw on particularly heavy acid trips. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/8 "2005-08-10T19:02:49Z")
I don’t really see what’s so funny about it. I’ve seen a half-dozen year-round Christmas stores in the US and Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/9 "2005-08-10T19:06:45Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > I don’t really see what’s so funny about it. I’ve seen a half-dozen year-round Christmas stores in the US and Canada. I have also seen one in Amsterdam and the Swarovski Crystal shop in Austria. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/10 "2005-08-10T19:34:34Z")
Oh there are lots of year round Christmas stores. But the idea of Father Christmas in a swimsuit with a donkey in Harrods, which I think is supposed to a classy joint, is kind of amusing in a slow news day sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/11 "2005-08-10T19:47:21Z")
The store might be classy but the owner (who **Rod Hill** calls the Phoney Pharaoh) is certainly not. I am just waiting for the true story of this man to emerge sometime in the future. You will probably find that Robert Maxwell palls in comparison to him. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/12 "2005-08-10T20:49:17Z")
**Rayne Man** , Private Eye often has quite fragrant details of the old reprobate. Quite fond of giving the young female staff a helping hand, I understand… Grauniad article on the fugger: > **[Crossing swords with Mohamed](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1998/oct/24/hamiltonvalfayed)** > > My first thought on meeting Mohamed Fayed's security guard was to wonder where he had hidden the bug. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, so it seemed unlikely that he was carrying the device himself. Perhaps he had rigged up the east London hotel... ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/13 "2005-08-10T21:24:06Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > I don’t really see what’s so funny about it. I’ve seen a half-dozen year-round Christmas stores in the US and Canada. Exactly what my reaction was. I believe there is a town in northern Georgia that specializes in Christmas shops. There is a huge store in Fredricksburg, TX that sells Christmas items year round and just for kicks google _Christmas items_. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/14 "2005-08-10T22:42:46Z")
For the past few years, the local Walmart here in Las Vegas has set up its Christmas trees, and some decorations on or about August 30th. By mid-October, the best ornaments and decorations are sold out. So yeah, Harrod’s got us beat, by about 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/15 "2005-08-11T02:00:01Z")
A few months ago a Seattle radio station played nothing but Christmas for 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/16 "2005-08-11T02:01:04Z")
Make that Christmas music. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/17 "2005-08-11T12:47:43Z")
Can I mock the Southerners instead? Crazy Londoners. This would never happen in Yorkshire! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/18 "2005-08-11T13:35:13Z")
At first I thought the OP was being fooled by the fact that they are filming a Christmas special for the TV show Doctor Who and that is big news in the UK. Now that I see this has nothing to do with Doctor Who; that’s really sad. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/19 "2005-08-11T13:51:59Z")
> [@AngelicGemma](#): > > Can I mock the Southerners instead? Crazy Londoners. This would never happen in Yorkshire! 😉 Ah, that’s the kind of rationalization that makes me proud to be a member of the SDMB. 🙂 Oh, and if you want, you may continue to look down on me. I mean, what’re friends for? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460/20 "2005-08-11T14:46:13Z")
Just last week I heard on the local news (Memphis) that one of the chain craft stores had already set up their Christmas stuff. A spokesperson for the store said they had to start displaying stuff whenever it was received from the parent company. I visited [the Santa Claus House](http://fairbanks-alaska.com/north-pole-alaska.htm) in North Pole Alaska in February (10 months before Christmas). A co-traveler also insisted we visit the North Pole Wendy’s, which someone somewhere had declared to be “the world’s best Wendy’s”. It was just another Wendy’s, but with a bunch of Christmas decorations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-people-in-the-uk-can-stop-looking-down-on-us-americans/316460.md?page=2)