I'm sure retailers want to fast forward to 2010, hoping next year will be better for them

I hate that stores start to roll out Christmas things in August. I do Christmas shopping throughout the year (when I get really good deals), but in no way do I ever put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving! This surely is not the first sign of Christmas Creep 2009, is it? I thought someone else had committed this grave error first. Target, perhaps? They love rolling out their holiday stuff early.

Hobby Lobby here in Davenport, IA already has all of their Christmas Decor up and for sale as well. At least they did 2 weeks ago when I was there.

Paranormal + Christmas == Paramus.

@osiris73: Then they very well might be onto Valentines day by now.

@osiris73: I've never minded the Hobby Lobby crafty sorts of stores doing it. It makes sense to me, mostly because I have sweet little old folks as neighbors that start picking up the Christmas stuff to make ornaments and the like well in advance of the holiday.

By the time they're ready to get it all up, it's usually after Thanksgiving.

@pecan 3.14159265: Yep. I'm already half-done with Xmas shopping for my husband, and I strenuously object to Xmas decorations in retail going up before Turkey Day.

And I think it was Hobby Lobby already indicted for this crime -- and not in the craft section, which would be normal, but in the home decor section, which is too early.

Maybe the holiday in question is Labor Day, and the retail sector is just trying to invent yet another gift-giving event?

Now there's a holiday I could get behind. But how would we celebrate it?

When I lived in the Philippines, pretty much every store started putting up Christmas decorations and playing Christmas music in September. (They said that if the month name ended in -Brrrr it must be cold somewhere)

But August? This should be illegal.

@larrymac: It would make my day if someone created a Paramus mascot.

Anyone have any advice on buying an artificial Christmas tree? We had to give ours away after we moved and realized it was too big. I think we have to look for something around 6 ft. high and not too wide. I'm a fan of the "classic" tree look (the cone) so none of that modernist skinny tree look will do. But it's got to be thin enough that I can walk around it or put a train set under it. And gifts must be able to fit under as well. I have no idea what price range I should be looking at. I do know that I want one that is put together the way my old one was put together (in rows, the pieces placed according to their alphabetical letter)

@Pink Puppet: It's one thing to put out the craft stuff that early, but Hobby Lobby has been putting out the Christmas DECOR & housewares and they've actually got almost nothing Xmassy in the craft section yet!

@pecan 3.14159265: Menard's, right after Christmas. Tons of trees to choose from, reasonable prices.

Frankly the prices aren't bad before Christmas, but they're on sale after.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I don't have a Menard's! I wish I did if the prices are that good. Maybe my best luck is Target or Home Depot.

Well, the weather outside is frightful,
So hot, I sweat despite all,
the fans are set on high,
So hot, going freakin' dieeeeee.
No it's not time for Santa Claus,
Go away with your cheer and your nog,
If you sing just one more xmas song,
I might punch you right in your dong hong hong hongggggg
ToysRUs is an evil empire,
that makes kids turn into evil vampires,
set on sucking their parents dry...iiiiiiii,
Let it go, let it go, let.it.goooooooooooooooooooo
yeah.

I suspect that with the ailing sales, stores are trying to invent Second Christmas. It's just like regular Christmas, but it comes when store profits are slimming down rather than at a predetermined date.

I know Khol's will be setting up soon for Xmas. But is any one else noticing Thanks Giving stuff, at least at kohls, just says Happy Fall or Happy Harvest not one mention of thanks giving.

have some cottage cheese it'll settle your stomach.

@pecan 3.14159265: Sometimes you can find a good deal on Amazon, although timing is a big factor. (I bought our fancy-schmancy tree about ten days before Christmas, spent around $100, and am still gloating insufferably about it.)

It's reasons like this that I don't ask for anything for Christmas and avoid giving anything major either. It means so little to me.

@pecan 3.14159265: A few years ago we bought an artificial Christmas tree during a Thanksgiving sale ... the day before Thanksgiving, that is, not on Black Friday. It was 60% off, almost a steal. Eight years later that tree is doing fine.

(No, we didn't put the tree up before Thanksgiving! We inspected it to be sure we had all the parts and to be sure nothing was broken, so we could return it if needed, but put it away and didn't set it up till the middle of December.)

Given that stores are going to press for business this year, I'd keep an eye on the store ads during the lead-up to the Christmas season.

@JRam: Did someone get offended by thanksgiving? Maybe on behalf of another group that could care less about it? I missed it.

@pecan 3.14159265: I recommend yard sales.

@osiris73: I heard Walgreens has all of their Christmas stuff in as well.

@pecan 3.14159265: Funny thing is, I meet most of those requirements. Except for the "classic" look. No way in Hell am I going to dress up like a 70s hippy.

I have to be on-call for my work over Christmas and I told my boss that if someone calls on Christmas Eve and scares away Santa that there was going to be issues. I didn't get a response, just a confused glare, so I think she thought I was serious.

I saw Christmas Crap in Cracker Barrel in July.

I propose business regulation for all retailers: You are not allowed to advertise for a major holiday until the preceding major holiday has passed. A list of which holidays qualify as "major" for their location will be provided.

@osiris73: The Hobby Lobby my wife frequents never got rid of their Christmas section. They had Christmas trees and decorations up in February when I went with her last, and my sis tells me that they've now started expanding the section to include the housewares and crafts. So it would seem that they have been getting ready for this year's Christmas since December 26th, 2008.

@calquist: Not at ours. They have a few Halloween things out and candy but that is about it.

@thelushie: Ah well, I have a friend who is a manager at one. She said she hurt her back unloading all of the Christmas junk, so maybe it is just still in the back... any day now ;)

@osiris73: As a former Hobby Lobby grunt, I know very well the reason for putting out Xmas merch starting in June -- there's so much of it, so little help, and only 6 days in a week they're open. They were forced to start that early to get it all out by the time Xmas came around. Plus, a *lot* of locals were professional decorators, and bought plenty of it to get a jump in prep for their holiday decor plans. It's not over-immersion of Xmas capitalism, it's just reasonable planning for people in the biz.

@metsarethe...: Perhaps, but I see nothing to indicate "holiday" in the photo refers to the Xmas season. It could merely be an branch that focuses on holiday-related merch, like 4th of July, etc.

@pecan 3.14159265: I just don't give presents on Christmas anymore. My wife is fine with this because I give her presents when I'm motivated and think of something that she would like throughout the year - rather than giving her something because I "have" to or because our stupid culture tells me to.

We do celebrate Christmas, but to us it's not about spending money, the economy, or presents.

That TRU in Paramus has always seemed a bit...off to me anyway, so this doesn't surprise me.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Half-done with Xmas shopping for your husband?!? What's your secret?

My wife tries to do it a mere few weeks ahead of time. Yet, there's been several occasions when I was on the verge of buying something only to have her desperately ask me not to because... erm... because... "*mumble mumble*"... Well, because she (or another family member) bought it for me already. It seems to me the problem would be compounded if she bought gifts months ahead.

Show your contempt by picketing the store. Toys-R-Us corporate headquarters is only minutes from Paramus, maybe they will get the message.

@JRam: I've seen some of that at Joann's Fabrics. It struck me as odd. You don't say Happy Winter if you don't want to say Thanksgiving.

@pecan 3.14159265: Freecycle. People have loads of these in their garages and storage areas. Folks would rather give them away than put them in the landfill. Good luck.

The store folks in San Jose, CA just told me that "the summer season is over" at Toys'R'Us. My daughter would have to wait till next summer to replace her broken sandbox spade :(

@lemur: I will be instituting a moratorium on my husband this year from November until mid-January (his birthday is in January.)

Last year, while we were shopping for our niece, he bought himself the very same stocking-stuffer-like item that I had just purchased for him the DAY BEFORE.

I told him, "You can't buy that! We're here to shop for other people, not you!"
He said, "You know I've been wanting this for MONTHS now. I'm GETTING it!" So he did.

He buys what he wants when he wants it and I just can't compete with that.

@GuinevereRucker: Meh. I love it when people say, "well I love my spouse because I give gifts throughout the year," with the underlying jab that if you do give Christmas gifts, you obviously must not love your spouse nearly as much as the nonconformist, because you're totally buying into the commercialist side of society, and following what culture deems is the correct time for gift giving.

Well guess what? We give gifts during Christmas. It's fun. To hell with noncomformity. We like shopping during Christmas. We put up a tree and do all the Christmasy things like have candy canes and peppermint and we decorate with red and green. Just because you give gifts during Christmas doesn't mean you're a slave to society's whims, or that Christmas is entirely about spending money. Geesh.

@chiggers: I wish Freecycle would move away from Yahoo. I've forgotten at least four of my Yahoo accounts used for Freecycle, and I'm on there once a year, maybe. There's just never anything free I want because I refuse to obtain used appliances.

Guys, take a close look. That is a temporary store in a mall, not a freestanding TRU. Hence the "holiday express" labling. They are probably setting up these up in tons of malls since KB went out of business.

2 years ago, they opened one of these up in Manhattan in a former Tower Records.

Just came back from Costco, and saw that they have a small selection of decorations. I know it'll grow soon enough.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I would support gift giving on Labor Day. But who would ride through town and give us our presents? Upton Sinclair? Norma Rae? This deserves further thought.

@WraithSama: "I don't think they know about Second Christmas, Pip."

@pecan 3.14159265: Keep an eye on Lowe's, if you have one. I got my skinny tree insanely cheap BEFORE Christmas, but they had some cone-shaped ones too. It's a really good tree and goes together kind of like you said. Watch the flyers. Closer to the holiday is the best bet.

I'll wait until after Christmas this year to get a bag for it. I'm sick of trying to cram it back into the box.