christmas-creep

The place: Walmart. The date: December 23, 2009. The endcap display at Bob's local store: Easter candy. 

Hug your loved ones close, my dears, for the apocalypse is nigh.   More »

When I was growing up we always put up our Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving. Nordstrom agrees. Once again, they are taking a stand against Christmas Creep.
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Forget Christmas creep. How about Black Friday creep? Sears went ahead and declared last weekend, October 30 and 31st, the beginning of Black Friday, and told their mailing list so.  More »

After we proposed tracking Starbucks's roll out of Christmas products as a metric to gauge yearly Christmas Creep, we got a fair amount of comments saying they saw no problem with Christmas stuff coming out once Halloween was over. So, inside, a poll: at what point does Christmas Creep become acceptable holiday display?  More »

A reader wrote in on November 3rd to let us know that Starbucks has busted out the holiday-themed coffee paraphernalia. This gives us an idea.  More »

Are you decorating your house for Christmas Creep, and your Halloween tree just isn't enough? Williams-Sonoma has combined Christmas and Halloween traditions, and is selling a kit to make your very own haunted gingerbread house. Haunted gingerbread house?  More »

Hallmark's Shoebox Greetings has a blog. This week, the blog published a delightful cartoon on the subject of Christmas creep.  More »

Because retailers plan their Christmas offerings so far in advance, most were too far along with trendy or ostentatious Christmas merchandise to change course last year, reports the Associated Press. This year they're prepared to pursue the fiscally conservative consumer, which means everyone is selling the holiday decor equivalent of comfort food.  More »

Hobby Lobby, with its devout Christian ownership, isn't the first store we'd think of to honor the Great Pumpkin. Yet reader James spotted this festive tree back in mid-September.  More »

Ah yes, the end of September. When the leaves are barely turning colors and the brand new college students are lazing in the thick green grass — you know Christmas is right around the corner. Reader Jake says Kroger has started playing Christmas music and has a Christmas "gift center."  More »

Attention Shoppers: We're interested in your opinions about the upcoming holiday shopping season. What drives you up the chimney? Is it the music? Black Friday? Rebates? Christmas Creep? Let us know!  More »

Reader Emily snapped this photo at the Duane Reade at 58th and 8th in Manhattan.  More »

On September 27, 2009, there were 89 days until Christmas. But not at the Target in Peoria, Arizona. Reader Chris noticed that the twin phenomena of Christmas Creep and Target's creeping insanity converged on one glorious, confusing, Santa-filled point where there were suddenly only 53 days until Christmas.  More »

The Christmas trees are in full effect and the decorations are crowding out the Halloween stuff at the Lowe's in Alexandria, VA.  More »

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.  More »

One good thing about the bad economy: There are plenty of empty storefronts in malls across the country, and the owners are more than happy to rent them to short-term tenants during peak seasons. And, this year, you can add Toys R Us to the usual gang of Halloween and Christmas stores that pop up suddenly in your local Simon, and disappear in the night a few weeks later. Jeffrey and his posse are expected to open 80 temporary stores next month, along with new toy sections in 260 Babies R Us shops.  More »