It’s the middle of October, and we’ve officially begun Christmas Shopping. While we’re usually prepared, this is an unusually early start for us, lured by good deals and free layaway. Unlike a bunch of grumps that I often see floating around online, I have no problem with stores that start decking the halls before the Fall even starts. Heck, as long as Halloween still gets a proper department of it’s own, I’m cool with it.
Having worked in retail myself some years ago, I’ve dealt first-hand with customers that come into a store with a scowl on their faces and start verbally assaulting the first employee they happen to see, demanding answers as to why the Christmas merchandise is out so early. This is not a new thing.
In fact, I think a few of the bigger “news” sites have a stock article that they just repost every September with a headline similar to “Have the Holidays Started Earlier This Year?” Regardless, every year there’s a bunch of people that act absolutely shocked and appauled at the sight of their first piece of Christmas/Holiday merchandise or decor. Once again, this is not a new thing. The U.S. Postal Service issued the Christmas “Forever” stamps yesterday (pictured, right).
Funny thing about the Holiday Season is that while I love Christmas, I’m a notoriously non-religious man who can easily “take the ‘Christ’ out of Christmas” since I don’t worship the sandled-one. It’s just that saying “X-mas” seems a little hollow, because for me – Christmas is all about my two daughters, and making it a magical season filled with Santa Claus, Reindeer, Candy Canes, and the like. That also means some great presents, but without going overboard. Hence, this is the first year that we’ve really started keeping an eye out for the extreme deals, and when an email from Toys “R” Us hit my inbox this morning with a one-day special on Barbie items at 50% Off, that was enough to get us over to Geoffrey’s house for a bit. That Barbie aisle was ravaged by the time we got there.
Speaking of the Holiday Season, I’ll be posting The Rock Father’s Holiday Gift Guide this November.
Are any of you off to an early start this year?
