Has anyone else noticed the Christmas creep? That’s right, it’s here! I’ve already seen displays for Christmas decorations. Come on, people, it’s a little early to be thinking about Christmas.
Or is it?
On some level, it might be a great time to be thinking about Christmas. I do a lot of yarn work (knitting and crochet), and one of the stores I often buy from has been sending out advertising e-mails about getting ready for Christmas gifting. This makes sense to me – if I want to make gifts for people, it would be good to start now (or have already started, given my pace).
Also, if you like to buy gifts for friends and family, it’s not a bad idea to start setting aside a little bit of money each month so that you do have holiday money to spend. Same thing if you travel for the holidays. Start planning now, and you’ll be ready by the time Christmas comes.
That said, it’s probably a little early to be buying ornaments and yard decorations. I can’t imagine that the stores are discounting them that much, no matter what they say.
I love Christmas. But July is just a little early to start seeing little red and green elves in the store.
I read somewhere that retailers are pushing Christmas right now because of the economy. Since Christmas is one of the few things that Americans are ALWAYS willing to spend money on and everyone is looking to save money right now, they’re offering early bird “Christmas sales” to convince shoppers that if they buy now, they’ll get a better deal (thus increasing sales for struggling retailers). It’s an interesting idea, but I agree with you. I just don’t think people are ready to think about it. Why not focus on back to school? People are usually willing to spend on that stuff, too.
I totally agree with you (from someone who has spent the afternoon writing their Christmas list and started to source pressies! 🙂
I agree that it’s much too early to be seeing elves in stores! On the other hand, I started working on Christmas gifts mid January. Of course, that might be due to the insane idea to knit a double sided scarf on size 3 needles. I must be insane, but I AM about half done. 🙂