Christmas Is Over, Virginia.
And here's the proof: December 26th, and Valentine's Day is already 'Just Around The Corner!' At this rate, I'll be shopping for a Halloween costume mid-April.
(Thanks, Dan!)
Attention, Walmart shoppers! This ad is for you! Woo hoo!
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Comments:
virginia or vagina?
Fantastic. Now girlfriend's and wives everywhere can start forgetting about whatever they got for Christmas and start telling us to save up for Valentines.
It's not just Walmart. On Christmas Eve, My brother and I had to run out at the last minute to find a few extra gifts. (I had finished my shopping earlier in the month, but we still needed to pick up a giftcard for our father.) We went to Target, and while I was walking past the seasonal book display, I did a double take. "VALENTINES DAY IS FEBRUARY 14TH!"
...Okay, I can kind of understand Christmas Creep. It's a big holiday, very elaborate, etc. Halloween Creep is understandable as well, since some people put a lot of time into decorations and costumes.
But Valentines Day? Honestly? On Christmas Eve?
If there is one mock-holiday I abhor, it's Valentine's Day. St. Valentines Day, which is what is was called when I was a boy, was bearable. But about the time they drifted away from the St. part, I drifted away as well, due to nothing good ever happening to me on that day. I refuse to acknowledge the day as a holiday.
I WILL HOWEVER, take full advantage of the 50%-75% off sales the day afterwards to stock up on cute romantic items that don't say what day they are for on them. I believe being romantic is not doing what millions of others are doing the exact same day, b/c you're supposed to. I'd rather pick a random day of the year and spoil my SO. The only catch in my plan is it requires a SO. :|
OK, now let's look at this, can anyone really think that the chocolate that they are giving to their sweetie is going to be even close to fresh and edible? To keep chocolate like this from going bad, they have to process it and put so many preservatives in it, it turns it into a waxy block. Not to mention the lead time that the Walmarts of the world require the manufacturers to have their stuff ready by in the supply chain, these chocolates have to be about 6 months old by the time your Honey jams her thumb into the back side of a Whitman's chocolate to decide she doesn't like the coconut creme filling and throws it in the trash....
I think her name is supposed to be Virginia, not Virgina. Just sayin'.
@Wowwee, a Zeppelin! SteveDave: If you think valentine's day is made up, come to the midwest and enjoy Sweetest Day. When we moved to Chicago, I was like, "what the heck is this BS??" I'll take valentine's day anytime over this stupid sweetest day.
@hmk:
My GF bought me a Sweetest Day card this year becuase she knew I'd be aggrivated with it. I've never heard of it (I'm in Boston, I don't know if it's newer here). When I saw it, I immediately thought of "Love Day" from The Simpsons.
@hmk: I got hit with that in college in PA. It'll hit the East Coast soon enough. Sweetest day reminded me of "Love Day" on the Simpsons. [en.wikipedia.org]
Our local Lowes tore down Christmas three weeks ago.
@Wowwee, a Zeppelin! SteveDave:
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that!
By the way SteveDave, is your picture there Ben Garant from The State?
The most I ever get for Valentine's Day is a card from my husband. He prefers to surprise me at times I don't expect it, and that's much better in my opinion.
Signed, a woman who knows that those chocolates are terrible for her anyway.
I bought my daughter Valentine socks for her Xmas stocking on 12/23 at Target(only because she likes hearts & sparkles). I didn't realize they were "holiday" until we got home.
And I thought it was bad when I saw employee's at the Wal-Mart by my school compressing the Halloween aisles into one (which, by the way, is still at said Wal-Mart) and putting out all their Christmas stuff on Halloween...
...Actually, I used to work retail and I'm very used to Valentine's Day garbage going out the day after Christmas. My first day as a manager at a now defunct craft store was the day after Christmas and the first task was to compress all the Christmas to the clearance aisle and put out the Valentine's Day crap.
@Sanspants: Sadly, it is not the famous actor Ben Garant, but the completely un-famous me. I go to great lengths to promote my website, [gitemstevedave.com] , my avatar being one of the greatest. I will add Ben's name to the list of people I have been confused for, though. Facial wise I have gotten Matt Dillon, and my avatar has been guessed as E. Honda from Street Fighter.
@FourMat: What else do you expect?
Hallowe'en candy is stocked far too early so people fall to temptation and eat it, having to buy more. No doubt the same thinking is practiced by these companies too.
eeew wouldn't those chocolates be stale by february???
@Wendy Sloan: Does anything with that high a wax content ever really go stale? You can always stick a wick into 'em and burn them as candles.
@pattm1966: My dad (as a joke) bought me and my 2 sisters furry thongs for Valentines Day.
How freaking creepy is THAT lol!
@Wowwee, a Zeppelin! SteveDave:
Sorry about the confusion. From the very small avatar, it looks like Ben from a promo picture of their book State By State with The State in which they're all naked except for a state covering them.
E. Honda huh? I can't see that at all.
@FourMat: Thats wh yyou go to your local chocolatier to get it. I have one across the street from where i work. much better then the processed fake crud.
I am surpised any body buys chocolate from walmart.
@Sanspants: I've lived in Boston my whole life and never heard of sweetest day so it must be a newer trend. Hopefully it won't catch on. If new holidays are that easy to start I'm gonna start whacking day.... take that anyway you like.
@Hooray4Zoidberg: Hey, I'm all for Whacking Day over Love Day, as long as Suffolk County can get the day off of work (thank you Evacuation Day).
@thefastest: Save yourself some money; your wife/girlfriend really only wants two things from you.
1) Learn how to give oral sex decently.
2) Do some fucking housework.
Think of all the money you'll save that you would have resentfully spent on crappy chocolates!
I can get behind extending the season for Cadbury's eggs. Every other holiday-related sweet is unimportant in comparison.
@JulesNoctambule: The boxes displaying Cadbury "Ornament Creme Eggs" in our Rite Aid this year specifically said, "made in England." If they do the same for the Easter version, this would be an extra reason to get excited.
I like to buy the extra large conversation hearts, scratch the existing message, and write my own.
And really, if you have wives and girlfriends telling you to "save up" for Valentines, I feel sorry for you. I don't really celebrate it, but sometimes it involves a home-cooked fancy-pants meal and a nice bottle of wine, followed by some entertaining pornography.
I also love electronics and loathe diamonds. Yes, girls like me do exist!
@Juliekins: Sadly thetre are a lot of women who think we are doing it wrong if we don't buy them gifts for every holiday etc. All of them? No. But many have been conditioned to think this way.
@Wowwee, a Zeppelin! SteveDave:
I take advantage of the 75% off after-vday sales to buy deeply discounted chocolate to drown out the sorrow of having spent yet another valentine's day alone.
I refuse to celebrate St. Valentine's Day. One year a girlfriend tried to hint about it and I said, "I'm not Catholic so no need to celebrate a Saint's day."
Didn't go over too well but ah well.
This entire topic is firmly in the consumer's court. They would not put this stuff out if we didn't buy it as early as we do. It might take a few seasons for them to get the hint, but they would, and it would roll back to a more reasonable date.
@madanthony: Done it two years in a row now. Which is ironic, b/c after she dumped me, I lost ~80lbs, and she put on weight. HA!
AUGH! HOLIDAY CREEP! AUGH!
But seriously... really? Retailers are that desperate? Really? Well, I guess it's something people can spend gift cards on.... Probably also keeps their holiday aisle stocked. =/
@zimmi88: Yeah, apparently they are. But if Christmas couldn't save them, I don't see how Valentine's Day will. That's like Superman getting killed and then sending in Booster Gold to replace him. What retailers need is a holiday version of Batman.
Maybe 2009 will be the first time for me to take a year-long holiday strike. I'll gladly take the vacation time, but won't spend the holidays celebrating and spending money.
I don't get why people are so surprised that retailers set up early.
1. People actually buy this crap
2. They have Seasonal areas. If the Christmas crap sells out, do you expect them to leave the shelved empty or put up stuff for the next holiday?
@majortom1029:
We're the chocolatiers
you can be one, too
'cause selling good chocolate is the thing to do
Get them off the shelves
is not the way
Hear what majortom1029 has to say:
"Thats why you go to your local chocolatier to get it."
:D
Oh please, there was Valentine's Day stuff in the dollar aisle at Target on December 23rd. Wal-mart=Amateurs. ;)
Okay. *breathe* Christmas is a holiday I can justify stores promoting seven weeks before the actual holiday.
Valentine's day is not entitled to the same promotional period. It's a day to justify the sales of overpriced candy and heart shaped things. The orange sign in the background of the picture and the article tag indicates that this was taken in a Walmart, so I'm not really surprised, but I am a little disgusted. I wasn't prepared to see all that red and pink so early in the morning, or for the rest of the year, either.