[- - e r i k - -]

The local mall had them up on Friday. My fiance thinks this is awesome and normal. I think it's diluting Christmas. Yay or nay?

[dreamryche]

Completely ridiculous. It seems that people and businesses put up their stuff earlier every year. Come on...it's still two months away.

[voodoo]

Christmas decorations long before Christmas are only put up by stores or commercial enterprises and I don't like them one bit.

Their intentional purpose is to get people to start spending money, but when put up so early they de-sensistize everyone from Christmas months before the actual thing happens!

I don't like going to stores that start putting up decorations in october.

OTOH the Christmast theme stores that sell nothing but Christmas related items all year are fine. They are weird, but fine. In fact they suffice.

I don't need to get any Cristmas decorations from IKEA.

V

[talisker]

I always thought that in the US shops didn't tend to go all out Christmassy until after Thanksgiving, unlike the UK where it starts appearing from late September onwards. Looks like that may no longer be true.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by talisker 

I always thought that in the US shops didn't tend to go all out Christmassy until after Thanksgiving, unlike the UK where it starts appearing from late September onwards. Looks like that may no longer be true.

I'm afraid so. I've seen one or two stores recently that started putting up Christmas stuff just after Labor Day (first Monday in September).

[mac128k-1984]

While I probably won't put up any decorations until December, I've seen Christmas decorations in some store since the middle/beginning of September. I'm waiting to see Christmas stuff in August. Stores keep pushing the envelope trying to increase stores but I don't know anyone who has purchased Christmas stuff in september.

[Oisín]

Nay! It’s annoying, and it dilutes the whole Christmas spirit thing if you have to look at the damn things for three months before Christmas actually gets there. Christmas decorations should be put up for 1 December, no sooner.

Thankfully, though, I haven’t actually seen any Christmas decorations here, yet. I don’t know why, since usually, they’re up there from mid-October—but apparently not this year.

[Y3a]

Putting the Christmas Deco behind the Halloween costumes is just to scare you!

[Shaddim]

IMO, they shouldn't put Xmas decorations up until the day after Thanksgiving.

[G Barnett]

What? No poll option that simply says, "Ugh??"

BAH!

[Salty]

I can't stand the retail Christmas thing. It always feels so damned cheap.

[andi*pandi]

Day after Thanksgiving first acceptable time to see decorations anywhere except full-time christmas stores. (which you wouldn't go to unless you wanted that sort of thing.)

I went looking for halloween stuff at Target first week of October... the halloween section was decimated, but the Christmas stuff was already out and sparkling and WRONG.

[reader50]

Another vote for Dec 1.

[Zeeb]

After Halloween there isn't a whole lot of time to go shopping. I don't like racking up debt on my credit cards within a month. I'm not one of those people that spends the whole year paying off Xmas only to charge it up again. It's better to spread it out over more time--thus early Xmas decorations help me to remember that fact. Why not shop for Xmas stuff in October or even September? Prevents over-spending.

Besides, I believe the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" pretty much married Halloween and Christmas in my mind.

[Oisín]

It’s not about spending for Christmas—it’s about the Christmas ‘feel’ that comes (or is supposed to come) from all the hearts and spruce branches and elves and Santas and (fake) snow and other red and green Christmasy hung up in shop windows and on the streets. If you leave all those things all over the place for three months, there’s nothing Christmasy left in them once you actually reach the end of December; it’s just noise.

[Rumor]

I don't decorate for Christmas. Hell, I don't even celebrate Christmas.

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

It’s not about spending for Christmas—it’s about the Christmas ‘feel’ that comes (or is supposed to come) from all the hearts and spruce branches and elves and Santas and (fake) snow and other red and green Christmasy hung up in shop windows and on the streets. If you leave all those things all over the place for three months, there’s nothing Christmasy left in them once you actually reach the end of December; it’s just noise.

If I'm buying christmas presents in September, I want to feel like I'm ahead of the game, dammit.

[Zeeb]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

It’s not about spending for Christmas—it’s about the Christmas ‘feel’ that comes (or is supposed to come) from all the hearts and spruce branches and elves and Santas and (fake) snow and other red and green Christmasy hung up in shop windows and on the streets. If you leave all those things all over the place for three months, there’s nothing Christmasy left in them once you actually reach the end of December; it’s just noise.

In truth though don't the Xmas decorations build up over time? The closer we get to Christmas the more decorations there are. For instance, the Christmas lights have been put up by the city already on my block, but they aren't lit yet at night.

I don't put a tree up until after Thanksgiving but I'm not burnt out on it till January 1st when I drag the tree down to the sidewalk. For me I don't get hung up on what is supposed to be the "true" meaning of Xmas -- so therefore retailers have nothing to spoil in it for me. I wish people would just admit that Xmas is all about presents, reindeer, food, presents, family, freinds, and presents. Who is this Jesus guy and why does he have to depress my holiday with poverty in manger? There are plenty of things to be depressed about.

[Oisín]

For me I don't get hung up on what is supposed to be the "true" meaning of Xmas -- so therefore retailers have nothing to spoil in it for me.

For me, it’s mostly the colours: dark red, dark green, and snow white. And some shapes, too, of course: hearts, spruce branches [if you can call that a shape], and cones. These things go together to create an atmosphere that is unerringly Christmas, for me.

I wish people would just admit that Xmas is all about presents, reindeer, food, presents, family, freinds, and presents.

It’s never been about anything else to me (and most other people around here). Though with less emphasis on the presents for those over 10

[MOTHERWELL]

I like the xmas spirit, but I think decorations should be put up after halloween. I say November 10 is a good day to put the lights up. A tree can go up after Thanksgiving.

[Kenneth]

I also love the whole Christmas decoration thing. I don't mind they put it up before Halloween.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by voodoo 

OTOH the Christmast theme stores that sell nothing but Christmas related items all year are fine. They are weird, but fine. In fact they suffice.

About 1/2 hour from my house:
http://www.bronners.com/

[Dakar²]

Anyone who puts it up before Black Friday needs to be put to death.

[Oneota]

Ever since I stopped buying into the whole Jeebus thing, I've found Christmas to be an annoying time of year, in general.

I like the warm fuzzies the holidays brings, but the commercial orgy that goes with it just pisses me off.

[Apfhex]

Xmas decorations should go up after Thanksgiving. One holiday at a time people.

[Brien]

They've been up at Wally World and Target for about three weeks now. Lame.

[Kevin]

I say they stop it altogether. We can make our own decorations.

*gets out the dried macaroni and popcorn"