Twinkling lights have been hung on boughs of evergreen with care, sparkling ornaments are shining merrily in their Christmas trees and Santa’s sleigh waits, gleaming and ready, behind a velvet rope. All before the first official day of fall, at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City.

Friend of Consumerist Steve spotted the preparations for the holiday season in full swing at Macy’s flagship store on Tuesday, up on the ninth floor, where he was exchanging some dishes in the home goods and fine China area.

Though it wasn’t exactly a scene that screamed “open for business,” as workers were going in and out of the area, apparently involved in setting it up, there wasn’t anything keeping shoppers away while the decorating was in progress.

“No signs or anything, and it wasn’t like you could just go in there and hang out, but it was there, in all its glory,” Steve notes.

Though September might seem awfully early to get the holiday ball rolling — heck, we haven’t even hit peak Halloween season, much less Thanksgiving — this isn’t the first time Macy’s “Holiday Lane” has taken up residence on the ninth floor months ahead of Christmas: last year Gothamist spoke to a Macy’s rep who explained that the early set-up was “consistent due with set up in previous years due to the extensive product assortment (ornaments, trees, lights, cards, among other items) the department features.”

And a big part of that decision to start setting up early comes from the size of Macy’s holiday displays, as the company needs a lot time for its “visual and stock teams work to create the holiday experience.”

We did reach out to Macy’s about this year’s early setup, but have yet to hear back.

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