christmas

New security rules have proven too complex for Alaska's post offices to bear, so they're ending their participation in Operation Santa, the 50-year-old program where letters addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole" are answered by volunteers. The program will continue elsewhere, reports the Associated Press, but when I called the USPS to find out where letters should be addressed I was told parents should contact their local post offices for information.  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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From now until January 15th, 2010, Google will offer free WiFi access at 47 airports around the country. As part of the promotion, they'll be collecting donations through Google Checkout for three non-profit organizations and will provide matching funds up to $250,000. But whether you donate or not, there's a much better chance now that you'll be able to go online while waiting for your flight. Imagine all the airline tips you can send to us!   More »

As a whimsical follow-up to AT&T's lawsuit concerning their "There's a map for that" ads, Verizon Wireless released their Christmas-themed set of AT&T/iPhone bashing ads today. They're harsh, but also pretty funny.  More »

If you're planning on spending the next 6-8 weeks pouring cash into Mammon's gaping maw—and really, who isn't? it's how we love each other—then here are the shipping deadlines for over 100 online retailers, courtesy of CouponSherpa. In today's UPS/FedEx world you can frequently wait right up until Christmas week, but you might want to double-check the list if there's a retailer you absolutely have to shop from.  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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

This sign spotted outside of a pawn shop in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, raises all kinds of questions. Such as: now what for Christmas? Now hiring for Christmas? Now buying artificial conifers for Christmas? Now cleaning out our warehouses for Christmas? We need more clarification, EZ Pawn.  More »

Yes, it's the second half of the year — which can only mean one thing: as the sweltering waves of sticky heat give way to hurricanes and the little tykes sharpen their pencils for the first day of school — Santa is on his way. Get out your @#$%#$ mistletoe and holly and all that.  More »

Last year we had to wait until August before Hobby Lobby busted out the Christmas cheer. Not this year! They've got things rolling in July, baby. And no, this isn't a "Christmas in July" sale.  More »

You know "Christmas in July?" Kmart does. They sent a mailing out to customers today about their new site, Christmas Lane. It promises "the best deals for Christmas, 5 months early." To us, that's more of a threat than a promise.  More »

Emailing a company about a product problem via their front-facing email address usually has about as much effect as wishing your way out of debt (just don't tell the producers of The Secret). But Steve emailed Panasonic and instead of getting nothing or a generic response back, he actually ended up sending a series of emails back and forth with a product engineer who solved his consumer conundrum. Amazing! Here's his story.  More »

EBay today announced that their net earnings fell 31% last quarter. You'd think in this economy, shoppers would be drawn to the potentially lower prices of eBay—after all, Amazon apparently did just fine. Are the headaches of dealing with eBay/PayPal outweighing the potential savings? [WSJ]  More »