Activists Warn Stores: No Christmas Gear Until November - Or Else
Think you've had enough of Christmas Creep? Welcome to the U.K., where the Movement for the Containment of Christmas is fighting back against the ever-growing holiday retail season. While some of the group's efforts are civil, it has engaged in guerrilla tactics, including gluing the lock of a shop that had begun selling Christmas cards in August.
The group is battling an environment where, much as in the U.S., retailers are stretching out the season in hopes that cash-strapped shoppers will open their wallets. A spokesman for a chain store told the Mail, "With only three more [monthly] pay days until Christmas, many of our customers have started their festive shopping earlier than ever in a bid to spread the costs this year."
The anti-creep activists haven't taken kindly to messages like that, and have warned retailers not to sell holiday-related items until November — or else:
Last month the group glued shut the door of a shop run by Mind, the mental health charity. The manager of the shop in Leeds, who asked not to be named, said: "A man phoned and said our lock had been glued because we were selling Christmas cards far too early. He said if we pass the shop and we see you are still selling Christmas cards we will glue the lock up until the cards are removed. We have removed our current Christmas cards sales display for the moment. This is great pity as we have been selling off last year's stock and making £70 a week for charity."
As much as we sympathize with the Movement's goals, they'd be a lot more successful if they were a little less Scrooge-like. Christmas in August may be a humbug, but threatening charities — and vandalizing their stores — isn't going to win the group any friends, unless you count those three ghosts creeping up the stairs.
Half of us are Christmas shopping already [Mail Online]
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Comments:
I dislike Christmas creep just as much as anyone else but I really cannot support vandalism.
The Movement is basically nothing more than a group of vandals who resort to physical intimidation to get what they want - and what they want is pretty petty. Yes, Christmas stuff is being put out too early. Yes, it's annoying. But doing physical harm to someone's storefront goes too far, especially when that store funnels proceeds directly to charity, and when the charity's store was only trying to get rid of last year's stock.
You can protest, you can grumble loudly, you can refuse to go to any store that carries Christmas merchandise before December - but potentially damaging a store's lock and threatening to do it again and again until the store removes material that won't hurt anyone by its presence is ridiculous.
I can support vandalism but not on charities.
I was on board until the bit about the charity.
But overall, I agree with the tactic. It does no permanent harm to any property, it doesn't physically harm any people, and there's an easy way to reverse it ... just take down your stupid Christmas stuff.
I'm no fan of Christmas creep ... but vandalism to prevent it? There's just no excuse for that. This "Christmas containment" campaign appears to be nothing more than a contrivance intended to justify the vandalism.
@TCama: But why should a store cave to this? This is physical intimidation. What's next? Take down your Christmas stuff or we'll wall up your door with bricks?
Wow, it's almost time to break out the "Christmas music sucks" T-shirt I made. If anyone wants one, email me at jetsetpress@sbcglobal.net
Festive red letters on a green American Apparel T. Fight the creep!
Retailers wouldn't front load the Christmas junk if consumers would stop buying it. As vocal as the anti-Christmas-before-Labor Day crowd is, there's enough people out there to make it a worthwhile business decision.
I'd like to see somebody put out their Christmas 2010 crap in March. That'll learn 'em.
@TCama: Actually if you glue someone's lock, it generally has to be replaced. And frankly, what's next? We'll smash all your windows until we get what we want?
Come to think of it though, last year a miscrient group of college kids super glued all the locks on a shopping strip in my home-town Charleston.
How come we don't have more Halloween creep? I mean, come on, Halloween is a holiday too.
Maybe I'm crazy, but I always thought a good tactic to avoid seeing things in stores you don't want to see would be to not shop there.
I am no fan of Christmas decoration (I am a heathen atheist), but it's not like they pasted kiddie porn all over the walls or something.
How self-righteous can one be? "How DARE you sell Xmas cards in August. Have you no SHAME! You think this is a free country!?"
i agree with the cause... I'd like to say I disagree with the method, but then it'd be reasonable to ask what they should do instead. Maybe picket in front of the store, signs saying It's not Christmas yet? Try to get a local ordinance passed?
@TCama: So, are you going to pay to fix the lock? The vandals haven't offered, and this is a charity shop: they don't have a lot of spare cash, for that or anything else.
This isn't persuasion, it's blackmail: stop selling a harmless product in a legal way, or we will damage your premises and cost you money.
If the "activists" want to march outside the shop with signs like "No Christmas in Summer" or "Stop Christmas Creep!", fine. That's attempted persuasion.
@vladthepaler: Yes and yes. There are a great deal of ways to voice disagreement, and you don't have to resort to physical intimidation or vandalism to do it. Gluing a lock shut only makes you seem like a thug. Sure, people can't shop there - only because you've physically prevented them from being able to enter. You haven't changed their mindset at all, you've only prevented them from making the transaction.
This would never work in America. Once the Jesus-freaks get wind of "an assault on Christmas" they will organize a louder, more offensive demonstration to counter-attack.
Honestly, if I lived in Britain, I'd make of point of going to that shop and buying a card for every person on my list. Don't people have anything useful to get upset about? I work in retail. You know what's really annoying? Having 5,000 people a day complain about how early the Xmas stuff is up. I've even had one customer say that she wouldn't shop there any more because it was "disrepectful to Jesus."
@AgentTuttle: I have a T-shirt that says "Axial Tilt is the reason for the season."
Because I think some people are a little unclear on what "seasons" are.
In 1984, Orwell makes an oligarchical world at constant war. He should have added that it would always be christmas.
I sympathize with this cause greatly.
I work in retail and I agree that Christmas creep is annoying. However, we wouldn't put it out if people wouldn't buy it. here is a very simple solution. If you don't want Christmas merchandise in August...don't buy it.
I worked in a department store in college and our Christmas decorations had to be up by November 1. But since there was one poor woman that did all of that, she had to start around the beginning of October. One day as she was putting up a tree in my department, some old woman started bitching her out. She whipped around and was like "I have to install 197 different trees in this store by November by myself. When do YOU think I should start?"
It gave me a little different perspective. Of course, they could have also just hired a team to come in the weekend before or something but they would never do that.
Some people will not be happy until a few years after the asteroid ends modern civilization.
This Christmas Creep as is called just simply likes the way things used to be. Should he repair the damages, yeh probably.
If it was glued I am sure soaking the tumbler in acetone will free it up.
I miss the good ol days as much as the other 5 or 6 people on the internet. Harassing someone for following the flock thats right either.
"Flock~The people and customs of modern society"
@TCama:
why should they have to take down their "stupid Christmas stuff"? I for one have no desire to buy Christmas cards in September, but I firmly support the right of anyone who wants to to do so - and obviously someone does, or stores wouldn't waste precious floor space on stuff nobody was buying.
This week I've bought both Halloween and Christmas decorations. I got some overtime and happened across some stuff in the store and figured I could throw $30 at a nutcracker and some skeletons. I haven't put them up, just thinking ahead.
As much as Christmas Creep seems to anger everyone, all those who get angry just harsh on my holiday buzz. Fall has back-to-back family-centric holidays with goofy characters and brightly colored lights, and I love it. I look forward to spending two weeks with my family at Christmas all year long. We don't do much in the way of presents, but I will be the first one up the day after Thanksgiving to march outside with my mom and little sister to put up all the decorations. I don't see this aspect of added consumerism any different from spending extra for a nice Thanksgiving spread or Halloween costumes and candy.
Clothing stores start putting out fall and winter wear while it's still 100 degrees outside. Where are the people protesting that?
@AgentTuttle: OOhhh... due to my past employment I would actually consider wearing that.
I used to work at a school that taught private music lessons.. and due to kids trying to learn their Christmas music in time for the recital, I have a serious distaste for it. I'm hoping that it will wear off in time, since I don't work there anymore.
You don't know Christmas music torture until you've heard almost-Jingle-Bells on bassoon 1000 times.
Christmas music is bad when it lasts too long, but it's better when it's professional music and not people trying to learn to play it. : /
This is basically the dumbest thing I've ever heard. "Christmas creep" is a minor annoyance AT WORST. How exactly does it affect anybody in a meaningful or profound way? I can't imagine the type of person for whom THIS is their key issue. Of all the things going on in the world to protest or get angry about, you're upset because stores are selling Christmas cards in August? REALLY?
@donnie5:
Totally - would LOVE to see skeletons and witches bounding around during Back To School.
Of course, at my Home our Grim Reaper stays up all year- he wore bunny ears for easter.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I like that. A lot. Almost as much as my Darwin valentine which says "I Select You. Naturally."
Being jerks and vandals is a really poor way of making your point, and is a million times worse than offending someone's subjective sense of when Christmas-related items should be offered.
@TCama: Why should you get to dictate their business decisions to them? I don't understand AT ALL this mindset. Don't shop there, for crying out loud, and move on with your life.
I make personal gifts for Christmas and I usually start around September which is when I can start buying Christmas material at the Hobby shop's here in San Antonio Texas. It's a benefit to me. but to see stores like Target and Wal-mart clearing shelves for Christmas merchandise is a little weird when the temp for the day is expected to be in the 90's and Christmas is over three months away......
@donnie5: People at the store I work at were complaining because the Halloween stuff was put out at the beginning of September, but you don't see them complaining when Christmas is out. Halloween is too "pagan". Let's celebrate Jesus by buying bags of tinsel.
@tinyhands: Well, I am one of your so-called "Jesus-freaks" and while I don't agree with vandalizing a store because they sell their Christmas cards too early, I do think it's annoying how early some stores start selling Christmas stuff. I'm not going to go crazy and demand that they take it all down until after Thanksgiving, but I am going to ignore it until then.
What really irritates me is when stores start playing Christmas music BEFORE Thanksgiving. The local K-mart was playing Christmas music last year at the beginning of November and didn't stop until December 26th and it's much harder to ignore the music when you can hear it throughout the entire store. I like some Christmas music, but please...not until after Thanksgiving!
@remington870_20ga: I was about to bring that up. It was on Black Friday, so I guess it wasn't in retaliation for starting too early. Unless they think November is too early for Christmas?
@me and the sysop: It's never 100 degrees outside everywhere. If I'm traveling abroad and the forecast is for chilly weather where I'm going, I need warm clothes regardless of the local environment.
Your analogy only works if it's always Christmas somewhere. There are specialty stores that people can go to for Christmas swag year round, and I'm pretty sure you can buy lights, tinsel, and nativity getups on Amazon 365 days out of the year.
Christmas Creep angers many *because* of the family-centricity. Not everyone's memories of home are idyllic, and there's a reason that suicide rates spike during the holiday season. It's tough enough for a lot of people to stomach the "cheer" from November through January. Bump the reminders back a couple months, and it's no wonder people get irked.
@me and the sysop: I almost thought you were going to say you got up the day after Thanksgiving to march to the stores for their early bird sales. I'm so glad you don't do that. It' eerily like watching a herd of frightened cattle when those doors open and they stampede to the electronics.
@remington870_20ga: I can imagine it's even more offensive if you don't celebrate Xmas or believe it's a pagan holiday like Halloween....
@TCama: Maybe you'll give everyone your name and address. Then, if someone finds something you do to be annoying, they can vandalize your house until you stop.
Seeing as how you support this kind of thing and all...
@donnie5: Lucky you if you don't have it. Down here, the Halloween crap has been on display for a couple of weeks already. Granted, not as severe as typical Christmas creep, but it's still annoying.
@JesBelle: "disrepectful to Jesus."
How did you maintain a straight face until she departed? I mean, as if she believes all the pseudo-religious junk like inflatable lawn creches are okay as long as it's for sale in December....
@AgentTuttle: Couldn't the shirt itself be considered a Christmas product and thus by selling it now you're contributing to the creep? While Christmas music does generally suck, it's only really relevant at Christmas time.
The "Christmas creep" is a necessity for both the consumers and suppliers.
With seasonal shopping being a be part of the American consumer culture, the manufactures of the goods usually can't meet the demands for the last quarter of the year unless they produce their goods early to anticipate the large influx of the seasonal demand. And it's just not Christmas, there's Kwanzaa, Hanuka, and the Luna new year.
Consumers can be their own worst enemy. Not very body gets the gifts on time, and it's the same problem every year. The Christmas crowd fill up the stores capacity to run it effectively and people get so disgruntle over the wait and the competitive parking. It becomes a logistic nightmare of a challenge for the businesses. So of course they want to remind everyone to get their stuff in time so that it won't be such a problem.
I used to run a retail store and we didnt start putting up christmas crap until the day after thanksgiving. The customers seemed to appreciate it more. They would always come in and comment something on the lines of "Thank god you havent bombed the store with xmas crap yet". I think at the same time we did it that way to maintain our sanity as we worked there all day. Xmas music is fun for about a week then you just want to jab a pencial in your eardrums.