It’s the first half of September, which means that it’s time to celebrate our favorite holiday. No, not Halloween or Thanksgiving: The best holiday of all is Christmas/Halloween Mashup, as the classic animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas taught us all. The demands of seasonal displays mean that Nightmares Before Christmas also appear in the real world. Sometimes it’s even done well. [More]
creep
December Is Now The Usual Time To Start Selling Easter Candy
By 12.29.16
Do you have a craving for Easter candy? Good news! You can start preparing for the holiday, which is on Apr. 16 in 2017, because Easter treats have been on store shelves for over a week now. [More]
Reminder: Hallmark’s Ornament Launch In July Is Not Christmas Creep
By 7.7.15
We take a firm stand against Holiday Creep, which is when retailers start to merchandise and decorate for a given holiday months in advance. The offending holiday is usually, but not always, Christmas. Every year around this time, we hear from exasperated shoppers who walk by a Hallmark gift shop and see their display of new Christmas ornaments, leading our readers to wonder what this world is coming to. Yet Hallmark’s Christmas displays aren’t what they seem. [More]
Marketers Think It’s Time To Prepare Your Batches Of Halloween Cards
By 8.21.14
How early is “too early” for a store Halloween display? It used to be that seeing Halloween candy and merchandise on the shelves in July shocked us, but it no longer does. Are retailers wearing us down? Will they begin to stock costumes and pumpkin spice flavored foods even earlier, pairing Fourth of July and Halloween items as Halloween and Christmas are inevitably paired now? [More]
Two Whole Aisles Of Thanksgiving Decorations Out At Dollar General
By 8.26.13
If just ceramic turkey figurines aren’t good enough for the Thanksgiving table that you’re obviously preparing three months in advance, maybe you can use some other decorations. Perhaps fall-colored oven mitts, holiday-themed dish towels, pumpkin picture frames, owl figurines, turkey window decals, or turkey figurines. [More]
Oh, For Gobble’s Sake, Thanksgiving Decorations Are Out Already
By 8.20.13
If you’re the kind of person who likes to start getting their Thanksgiving table ready several months in advance, you’re in luck. Just stop by reader Shaun’s local Stop and Shop grocery store and you can start sticking ceramic turkeys anywhere in your house that you please. [More]
Target’s Accidental Nightmare Before Christmas Looks Kind Of Cool
By 10.3.12
We would like to take a moment to salute whoever put together this display at an unknown, unnamed Target store. Even if it’s just the angle from which our tipster Ken took the photo, this display takes the “Nightmare Before Christmas” absurdity of hauling Christmas merchandise out in late summer and makes it kind of beautiful and almost make sense. [More]
Easter Creep: Now Right Next To The Tampons
By 1.23.10
At an unidentified drug store last week, reader H. found something strange next to the tampons: a display of Cadbury Creme Eggs. Whoever decided to pair these products together is some kind of marketing genius, considering the kinds of chocolate cravings that some women get during their Special Time. But there’s nothing unusual about having the Easter candy out early. Why, at some Walmarts, it’s been out for a month now. [More]
CVS Raises The Creep Bar: Easter Treats In December!
By 12.31.08
Reader Bob sent in this picture from a CVS in Indianapolis. Those are reduced price Christmas decorations in the background, and in the center: delicious Easter treats!
Christmas Is Over, Virginia.
By 12.26.08
And here’s the proof: December 26th, and Valentine’s Day is already ‘Just Around The Corner!’ At this rate, I’ll be shopping for a Halloween costume mid-April.
