Christmas Creepy

It was a routine visit to Walmart. Needed a few things–sour cream, crab flavored chips, thought I would browse over the Halloween decorations and costumes. Upon turning an isle, I found myself drawn to a faint tinkling melody that I thought I recognized. Naturally, I was interested in this familiar but foreign noise, and I investigated.

The owner of the sound, the music rather, was an inflatable…snowman. I could barely fathom its presence. Yes. There were snowmen, Santas, reindeer, Christmas trees, and anything Yule flooding the Lawn and Garden portion of the super market. It was mid-October.

Losing my grip on my potato chips and sour cream, I staggered backwards in awe. Did it start this early last year??? Had I completely missed the early sales, had it always been this way? As far as I could remember, everything kicked off at least after Halloween–giving time for fright night preparation at least.

Apparently this early Christmas bombardment is an actual marketing tactic that has been rising since the eighties called a “Christmas Creep.”

According to Consumerist.com, the Christmas creeping has been slowly rising since the early 2000’s, and this year reached another all time early with Hobby Lobby putting their Christmas decorations out in May. Apparently, this is an all-time early for any mainstream Christmas sales.

They also noted that this year following along with the creeping is CVS, who put their Hallmark ornaments out around September.

Many retail businesses are taking advantage of the preparatory present purchaser. The increased need to be prepared for what’s to come is consuming the minds of our nation, as many other countries don’t really experience this creep.

In the past I have been pleased with the early sale of Christmas. As a matter of fact, I am a Christmastime fanatic. I partake in countdowns, countdowns to countdowns, early holiday candy planning, and even–the most extreme here for me–pre-Thanksgiving Christmas decorating. Nothing satisfies me more than the security of the knowledge that my Christmastime will be less spent in a department store, and more spent with my family. However, this mid-October business rubs my Holly Jolly the wrong way.

I see where businesses are coming from, the longer that something is made available the larger the sales, start the hype soon and ride it beyond the D-day. Many businesses (i.e. giants like Walmart) make killing off of this tactic.

But the point here, the thing that contaminates the eggnog, is the fact that now Christmas is not only consuming Thanksgiving, but Halloween as well. Despite the fact that Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays, it is a holiday nonetheless and I feel like it deserves its set time and spotlight–Thanksgiving too..

This early marketing demystifies Christmas and takes the anticipation away to me. It doesn’t get me into the Christmas spirit, it gets me out of it. The sight of Saint Nick resting next to Jack Skellington on a store shelf causes me to shudder and makes me anxious that I could be conditioned to shudder upon every sight of Father Christmas knowing of his plot to assassinate every holiday rather than his own for the well being of his red sack filled with Christmas consumer’s money

And apparently, there’s people beyond supporting this early leap on Defendchristmas.com.

I think the real question here is whether or not there should be sites dedicated to the defense of Halloween and Thanksgiving.

So everyone, protect your Jack O’Lanterns and your Horn o’ Plenties because Santa’s coming to town three months early as a marketing shark. Tuck your kiddies into this one.