Three years or so ago, I was in Target right after Halloween and there was an aisle where on one side were all the Halloween trimmings on clearance and on the other were all the Christmas wreaths just coming in.

Two weeks ago I was at Target and down the aisle of parents going through racks of costumes there were already displays of the flashing christmas tree tops and animatronic Santas.

I'm wondering how long it is until some radio station declares it'll only play Christmas music, another reminder of why I can't be arsed to listen to the radio anymore...

as soon as christmas starts being sold in august im checking out.

What's "Urban Outfitters"?

Last year I recall Christmas decorations at some stores downtown the day after Halloween. Even that was weird to me... before Halloween is totally unacceptable.

I'm betting that retailers are trying to get people to do their Christmas shopping early this year, because it's going to be such a dismal year for them. I've seen ads for K-mart, I think, touting their layaway program ("shop now, we have layaway!").

Considering that most retail businesses run in the red until the big Xmas shopping, this sounds about par for the course in the year of Economic Apocalypse Now.

Oh c'mon, most retailers have been shoving the Halloween stuff onto the side aisles for several weeks now and replacing it with the X-mas stuff.

I'm not sure where they're planning to put the Thanksgiving stuff, though. Maybe they're just going to skip it entirely, seeing as so many people probably won't have much to give thanks for this year - aside from a probable Democratic election landslide, that is.

Don't forget. The owners of Urban Outfitters gave money to Rick Santorum. I'm sure they love the baby Jesus.

Consdiering that Urban Outfitters is owned by right-wing, religious nut, this doesn't surprise me.

@1:

There are channels on live365.com that play nothing BUT Christmas music, all year-round.

People will be tired of Christmas by Thanksgiving. I was tired of Christmas thirty years ago.

Well, I'm looking forwards to Thanksgiving. I'm taking nearly a week off and going home to Denver.

Then again, I am a dirty Jew and don't care about Christmas.

Christmas creeps is covered pretty well at Consumerist.com:

http://consumerist.com/search/christmas%20creep/

Don't get too worked up...it is NOT going to be a happy Xmas for the retail world with this shitty economy...they're just trying to squeeze as much money out of us that they can.

Ah, that's why Santa's burning truck was early this year.

While I definitely think this creep has gotten more and more worse over the years, I think @4 is right, this is likely meant to lengthen the "Holiday shopping season", so retailers won't suffer quite as much in the last quarter of the year. But in any case, I don't celebrate Christmas. I was raised Baptist, but over the past several years, I've become an agnostic leaning towards atheist. Last year, I decided I'd had enough with it all -- I couldn't in good conscience keep celebrating a holiday I saw as rife with such hypocrisy (a Christian holiday that grew out of a pagan one, the whole "goodwill towards men" and "peace on earth" while we wage two wars overseas, the rampant consumerism that drives people into deeper debt even as other people struggle to have basic shelter, food, and healthcare). And so I opted out. Instead, I sent folks in my family who usually buy me gifts or give me money a card, requesting they donate to one of four local charities (Seattle Young People's Project, Bikeworks, Home Alive, and I can't remember the other one) instead. And I went to go see ""Juno" with two of my Jewish friends on Christmas Day...

The Sears here in Vancouver was setting up their Christmas section in mid-October. It's a big part of the reason why I'm so over Christmas (and I used to love it so). But if you dilute the holiday out by making it last the last quarter of the year, people get spirit fatigue until the point where you just don't care anymore. And I guess it's cliche to say commercialism has ruined it as well, but celebrating the holidays has gotten so expensive and competitive that I just kind of gave up on it. My whole family has done. We only do dinner now....that's it (and even still, preparing a Christmas meal is very pricey).

Macy's has had them up inside for over a week, too. It made me throw up a little.

making a meal on christmas isn't THAT pricy for 4 people. maybe 20-30 bucks per person. And how often do you get that food? twice a year?

For me this creep has had the opposite of its intended effect. A few years back, by Thanksgiving I was so sick of Christmas and the over-the-top commercialism that I proposed to my entire family that we stop exchanging gifts. Surprisingly, not one person was opposed. Since then, none of us buy any presents, and on Christmas day we all get together and have a merry ol' celebration of family, fun, food and drink. No one is stressed over the credit cards they overcharged, nobody is pissed because they gave a more expensive gift than they received, and there are no hurt feelings because someone returned your gift. AND, none of us have to go into a store to be blitzed by Christmas, Incorporated. Christmas without the shopping has become quite blissful.

dude. it's the christmas creep. store displays went up as far back as june or july, i shit you not.

The Christmas Creep is earlier every year.
Halloween is getting pushed aside. Time to revolt! More Halloween- less Xmas!

actually, they're called "prototype" stores. they merchandise select stores in the chain first, then the rest of the store follow suit.