The Fourth of July is over, and barbecue and pool supplies have sold out, so that leaves a large gap in the seasonal sections of all kinds of stores. Naturally, that means it’s time to haul out the Halloween decorations and merchandise, since there’s nothing better than a rack of skeletons and a shelf of pumpkin spice candles to remind you that summer will be over soon.

Reader Anthony took these pictures in an At Home store, and they were actually taken a week ago, on July 12. “I guess it’s never too soon to start planning, right?” he writes.

Well, that’s true: some readers have written in to tell us that people planning elaborate haunted houses are already shopping for their Halloween decorations, and that could be why stores do this. Maybe, but the need to fill space on the shelves is a more likely explanation.

We usually exempt craft stores from Holiday Creep posts, since people need the supplies to make holiday items long before that holiday happens. However, are holiday-themed scented candles really craft supplies?

Back at At Home, the next display was boxed and on shelves, ready to go. The items are probably out on the shelves now. It is, of course, the traditional Holiday Hoedown.

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