Could it be? Is Walmart as entirely sick and tired of the whole Black Friday and its inevitable creep backward as we are? Well, it’s not clear if it’s ditching Black Friday deals altogether, but it is offering a bunch of them a month ahead of time, starting tonight at midnight.

Just after the clock strikes the shopping hour at midnight Friday, shoppers will be able to purchase seven big deal items tonight as well as a slew of 300 other holiday deals on Walmart.com.

Among the biggest deals, via the Associated Press: A 42- inch JVC LED TV for $299, a savings of 36 percent, and a 10-inch XELIO tablet for $49, a 51 percent discount.

“It’s been a tough year for the average American family,” Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Wal-Mart.com, told The Associated Press. “It’s our job to be able to help our customers.”

The company made the decision to proffer the big seven products a month ago, but Walmart is staying mum on whether or not those discounts will also be offered during the Thanksgiving weekend. It could be now or never, or it could be now and later.

While on the one hand this gets the Holiday Shopping Hype Machine up and running a full month before Thanksgiving, if it lets some shoppers actually relax and have a nice turkey day without worrying about snatching up deals, it’s kind of refreshing.

Wal-Mart kicks off holiday shopping season online [Associated Press]

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