Reader Sam writes in to let us know he found some Christmas Creep at a Michaels craft store. He sent along some pictures he took in early August, 142 days before Christmas.
Check out the full set here (caption has a bad word).
Have you seen some Christmas Creep? Tell us about it at tips@consumerist.com.
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The Michael’s around here keeps Christmas things year round. Hobby Lobby too. Other than some paint supplies and scrapbooking things here and there, that’s practically all they do.
Not as bad, but I went to Walgreens and saw bags and bags of Halloween candy. The clerk tells me that once Halloween is over with, they’ll go straight for Christmas items.
You can kind of expect this from a craft store, since you would still have three months before December to put off whatever Christmas project you have in mind.
Christmas crafts are like crack for grandmas.
We’re having a bit of Christmas in August right now. I am purging the house of all the tacky crap and Made in China holiday garbage and giving it all to Goodwill. I’m sure some people will be delirious with joy to find the CHRISTMAS LIGHTHOUSE TEAPOT. And the fake tree. All of it.
I think they are going to name a local thrift shop in my name after the third carload this week.
We were burnt out precisely because it’s no longer special. Stores killed the goose that laid the golden egg- year round displays made us quit Christmas.
Starting it off early as well, but what they hey… This is how I feel about the Holidays anyway… Especially this early!
(Warning: Explicit Lyrics)
I’ve already started knitting for Christmas, so this is good news for artsy craftsy people.
Considering the way the economy in the tank, I would expect to see more businesses start milking Christmas as soon as they can.
I think you are all under-estimating how much time it takes to make a nativity scene out of popsicle sticks.
At this rate, in a few years they might have the technology to exceed the Speed of Christmas barrier, where they start hawking next year’s Christmas before this year’s is over.
Granny or not I don’t know who is worse-the store or the customer.If you are out on the economy year round thinking about Christmas…GET A LIFE.Get rid of the hypocricy and give gifts year round then-NOT an early Xmas gift either.
hey look, its me!
Target will be rolling out some Christmas stuff Sept 7th-14th I believe. Its truly sad.
Please… I’ve already got Christmas orders coming in! The earlier companies shop, the steeper the discounts (and the easier it is for me to stay stocked). It just makes sense to start early if you’ve got bulk gifts to buy.
@mgy, ninabi: The Eternal Christmas is upon us! Repent your sins lest you be damned!
When I was working at a fabric/craft store, I learned a legit reason for super-early Christmas creep on fabrics and craft materials. Professional crafters need to start on their wares for the fall/winter craft shows, which happen in the Christmas season. The second January 1 rolls around, you’ll see Valentine’s and Easter for the same reason.
This does not explain the crappy ceramic houses, of course.
@jurijuri: Exactly right! A craft store is where it *makes sense* to have this stuff out now, as they’re expecting buyers to then invest time into their purchases before the holidays. Drives me crazy to see Christmas or Thanksgiving stuff anywhere else, but I can support this one.
I’m pretty sure putting text on the photo counts as a derivative work.. which the license of that photo prohibits. Why does the consumerist continuously break copyright laws?
Oh dear. I was alarmed they had Halloween decorations up already last month, but…dude.
Can’t you wait AT LEAST until AFTER Halloween? Geez..
Craft stores have always been the one place it doesn’t bother me to see Christmas merchandise out early. If someone only has a few hours a week to work on a craft, or if they’re making a zillion of some item, they could have a legitimate need to get cracking in August.
That’s how my local Michaels looks year-round. . .
It’s actually fun turning on all the displays and having your own little personal christmas inside the store.
I get funny looks sometimes.
Nothing says “Christmas” like cheap crap from China!
@VeryPlainJane: Imagine how they feel. They have to make this “crap” months before we get it.
Sorry, but craft stores make sense to put stuff out early. Halloween stuff was out all summer. It takes time to do a project.
I learned about this the hard way once: I needed some Christmas fabric so I wandered into the local place in November/December and it was all gone. Employee told me they put it out by September. Once I thought about it, it made sense because of the lead time needed for crafting items in time for Christmas.
Old Time Pottery (a chain of huge warehouses full of misc Chinese junk in the South) already had Christmas trees out this weekend and they had cleared out a big area to start stocking Christmas decorations.
Here’s a odd story for you:
When I was a kid and watched cartoons, I always wondered why cartoons would run holiday/christmas shows in April-July. Obviously, they were reruns. As I got older, I began to understand why: marketing!
Get kids excited about Christmas and advertise cool toys that they want — no, NEED! — and then profit.
Just be glad they aren’t inventing a holiday like “Love Day.”
@jurijuri: Does anything at all really explain the crappy ceramic houses?
I make a lot of homemade gifts and crafts for Christmas, such as quilts, afghans, etc. If I don’t start during the summer, I don’t have time to finish. So, as other posters mentioned, it makes sense to have Christmas items at craft stories very early in the year.
*Of course, I meant STORES, not stories.
My family-in-law goes nuts over those little village figurines and buildings that go with them. Some of them scour e-bay and outlet stores all year long for them. Whatever floats their boat I guess. Bugs the crap out of them that I don’t start my christmas shopping until after the paycheck just before the holidays. As far as I am concerned, a week is plenty of time to go christmas shopping.
I think there is legislation pending in congress to rename Christmas to WalMartmas.
Also,if you want Christmas creep, this store was busy in the spring when I was dragged to it: [www.bronners.com] Yes, it really is as big as they say and is busy all year long.
The sad part is that Michaels wasn’t putting the craft items out this early, it was the premade houses and the like.
Ours had this all out in early August too.
@mantari: I went into a Walgreens on Saturday morning and they already had Xmas stuff out. It wasn’t tagged yet and it was on the higher shelves, but it was ready to pounce.
Nothing says “Christmas” like cheap crap from China!
So true! I don’t care too much if my lawn chair is made in China. But for chrissake, corporate America, source your cheap Christmas crap from the US, Germany, or hell, Slovenia where Christmas traditions exist. It’s about as souring as finding a U.S. flag that’s made in China — it doesn’t exactly make me want to fly it.
@marsneedsrabbits: I’ve also started knitting for the winter holidays. It’ll take me that long to finish (assuming I do finish).
I guess the companies figure since the have to put out the holiday craft supplies they might as well put out all of the holiday stuff.
Sadly, here at Costco, we rolled out our “seasonal” items [toys and games] last week and began making room last night for outdoor decorations and Christmas trees for this morning. I’ve gotten used to seeing Christmas the last week of August, but damn…it really kills the holiday spirit for me come October.
When it comes to Christmas Creep, craft stores don’t count. America needs its army of dedicated knitters to keep the citizens clothed and warm every year.
Garden Ridge (another large crafts store) across the street from our Michael’s started their Christmas crap back in June. Just a few shelves, but it was the start of ramp up.
looks like somebody forgot to check [www.isitchristmas.com]
will Consumerist do a story about my future Mother in Law’s Christmas Creep? She has already asked me for a list, because she likes to get all of her shopping done by August. I have kind of a hard time coming up with things I will need 6 months from now…
The Costco that I shop at is full of Halloween stuff already.
Boo!! I hate, hate, hate Christmas creep (I also don’t like Halloween creep either). By the time Christmas rolls around I’m worn out by the Christmas creep and not in the holiday spirit. I actually spend less due to Christmas creep so maybe in the long run its a good thing for me.
I can deal with it at craft stores. At other places it should be criminal. They are taking all the “special” out of Christmas.
I hope Consumerist will post about the corporate free Christmas movement when the time rolls around. Each year our family strives to purchase less and less during the Christmas season. We regift stuff from our homes, hand make items, spend more family time etc… All in an effort to give the finger to the man and once again experience the “special” that mass merchants have stolen over the years. That’s our Christmas Magic, dammit! Give it back!
Walgreens got their trees and lights in last week. Look for it to go on the floor right after Halloween or sooner.
@timmus: Christmas creep is due to the need to ship most of the crap from China. I guess in years past ye olde downtown retailer (woolworths,?) would put all his decorations in storage till the next year plus anything which hadn’t sold. Now there are no warehousing so everything is blown out cheap at the end of the season and reshipped from China in July.
Years back I remember a particular story about Chinese workers making Disney Toys for McDs. A worker asked the writer about what the dog (Goofy) symbolized as the ever reaching media blight had not hit China yet and the man had no frame of reference for the pop culture of the USA…
JN2: “My family-in-law goes nuts over those little village figurines and buildings that go with them.” You have to get a thrift store Godzilla toy to put in the display. Or try to find some figurines which could be altered for better effect and sneakily placed into the diorama- I am thinking a flasher in a trench coat, mugger with ski mask and gun, homeless bag lady with shopping cart, drunk wino with paper bag hidden wine bottle, streetwalking hooker, etc. Nothing better than that type of “Unrest Cure” (saki or hh munro) for the collector family. Similar to when my family put multiple, very-realistic and evil-looking plastic bugs in the flowers/garden of the garden nuts who lived next door to us. The hilarity continues if you can keep a straight face as everyone possible is interorgated as who the guilty party is…
As we’ve said a billion times before, craft stores are exempt from “christmas creep” whining because people need months to work on their xmas crafts.
Michael’s has always put out their Christmas crap this early. However, it used to be mostly materials for projects that people could make. This all made sense. Now, 90% of the stuff Michael’s sells for Christmas is cheap decorations pre-made in China. It seems we Americans are too lazy to even make crafts if it can be made for us by sweat-shop labor.
This one almost makes sense to me. This looks like Department 56 stuff, which is innately winter/Christmas in design. Everything about it is Middle England winter. There are entire stores devoted to this stuff. I can see this being legit. I’m with u1itn0w2day, though; give up the year-round general Christmas fixation, or any holiday for that matter.
I’m voting to end Christmas presents. Santa Claus and his santanic minions (aka elves) spread nothing but greed and self entitlement to the well to do while putting the poor in debt because he doesn’t go to their houses.
Seriously, the sooner we get rid of this stupid lie we tell kids, the better.
The real Christmas celebrations I love. Just take Satan Claus out of it.
@hellinmyeyes: Michael’s carries Lemax. A MUCH cheaper brand, only slightly down the quality scale and about 1/4 the price of Dept. 56. Both are made in China by the same wage slaves. Gawd I hate the giftware industry. My favorite find was an identical tree ornament at Marshal Fields for $125 and again at Target for $25. There were literally the exact same ornament both made in China.