I feel conflicted. On the one hand, the gradual creep of the beginning of “fall” means that we get Pumpkin Spice Lattes before Labor Day, and…well, that’s pretty much the only advantage I can think of, but I like lattes. Stores have to fill shelves with something now that back-to-school season is over in most of the country, but it’s still August. That is far too early to be thinking about Thanksgiving decorations. [More]
holiday creep
Christmas Tree-Shaped Ice Cream Is Here In Time For, Um, Summer
By 8.11.14
What better way to celebrate “Christmas in July” than breaking out Reese’s peanut butter cups shaped like pine trees? Yeah, we didn’t think that it was such a good idea, either, especially since it’s no longer July. However, the freezer case at Walmart disagrees. [More]
Start Decorating For Halloween In Early August Thanks To Dollar Tree
By 8.5.14
It’s the beginning of August, but maybe you like to plan ahead. You’ve already started to stock up on pumpkin spice snacks, and you even picked out your kid’s costume at Costco back in July. The logical next step? It’s time to start shopping for orange decorative lights, streamers, and pumpkin-shaped flashlights for trick-or-treating. At least, that’s what Dollar Tree thinks. [More]
Canada Discovers Christmas Creep At Costco, Blames America
By 8.1.14
The United States isn’t responsible for everything that’s wrong with the world, but we certainly can accept the blame for one global menace: Holiday Creep. Specifically, Christmas Creep. Now the CBC is using the emergence of Christmas décor in July as evidence that Americans are nothing but soulless mall-romping monsters. [More]
Halloween Creep Strikes Costco With July Costume Displays
By 7.28.14
If you already finished all of your back-to-school shopping back in June when Staples started up its sale campaigns, maybe it’s time to get started on other ridiculously early holiday tasks. For example, it’s almost August: do you have your kids’ Halloween costumes ready? [More]
Staples Launches Back-To-School Campaign Just As School Gets Out
By 6.24.14
Staples, the big-box office and school-supplies superstore, isn’t messing around. Sure, the school year hasn’t even ended for the summer in all places in the company’s home state of Massachusetts, but that doesn’t matter. Nope. Staples wants your back-to-school business, and will price-match anyone, even Amazon, to get it. [More]
Sears Reminds Customers: Only 199 Shopping Days Until Christmas
By 6.9.14
Reader Andy sent us this e-mail he received from Sears as an example of Christmas Creep. He was confused that the retailer has already started its holiday marketing. A look through the Consumerist archives leads to a different perspective. It indicates that maybe Sears has figured out when the major gift-giving holidays actually are. [More]
Hobby Lobby Breaks New Christmas Creep Ground, Puts Out Decorations In May
By 6.2.14
The last time we noted the first display of Christmas decorations at Hobby Lobby was in 2010, when they first put out the decorative items in mid-June. That’s only about six months before the holiday, though: clearly they’ve been missing out on some sales. That’s why this year, the Christmas decorations are out before the end of May. [More]
Big Lots Celebrates Lots Of Holidays, All At Once
By 1.23.14
If you were wondering, Easter is April 20 this year. Christmas, of course, was December 25. At Big Lots, the period of mid-to-late January is a time of peaceful coexistence of holidays. It is a time when we celebrate both the birth and resurrection of Jesus. It is a time when the Easter stuff hits the shelves, even though the Christmas stuff hasn’t all sold yet. [More]
Easter Creep Spreads To CVS, Looks Delicious
By 1.7.14
Since shortly after Christmas Day, we’ve been tracking the spread of Easter Creep across the country. That’s when chocolate eggs and plastic bunnies hit store shelves before all of the unsold Christmas decorations are off the clearance shelf.
Up And At ‘Em, Easter Bunny: Chocolate Eggs Hit Shelves
By 12.30.13
This isn’t the earliest that we’ve ever seen it on the shelves, but we want to let our loyal readers know that Easter candy is now available at selected grocery stores nationwide. How do we know this? Our loyal readers have spotted the displays and reported back. [More]
Forget Christmas: Time To Buy Valentine’s Day Crap
By 12.23.13
This weekend, two readers sent us very similar “holiday creep” photos from two different kinds of retailers. Secret Consumerist synchronicity? Maybe. Or maybe the week before Christmas is now the universal time to put Valentine’s Day stuff out. [More]
Easter Creep Brings Us Creepy Bunnies In Mid-December
By 12.19.13
We thought it was bad (well, okay, we thought it was awesome) when a reader sent us photos of special Easter candies on display at Kroger in early December back in 2011. While the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg and Cadbury Creme Egg are magical and should be available year-round, we can’t say the same for these terrifying bunnies. [More]
Even We Grudgingly Admire This Christmas/Halloween Mashup Wreath
By 10.23.13
Yes, we spend much of the fall whining about Christmas creep, Halloween creep, and retailers’ methods of mashing up the holidays so that one could, in theory, hand out candy canes to trick-or-treaters. We admire eye-catching displays when we see them, though, and this one from a small local pet store is just so wonderful. [More]
Harris Teeter Prepares Christmas Wonderland In Early October
By 10.7.13
“90 degrees out. Harris Teeter fully decorated for Christmas. Attached is just a small sampling of what I saw today there,” read reader Robert’s hysterical dispatch from the grocery store. “Santa hats and Christmas stockings at every register! Too soon!!!” [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]
Here’s One Reason Why You Can Buy Plastic Skeletons In July
By 8.14.13
Reader Caiyyd wants to point something out regarding the Halloween Creep phenomenon that might make you feel better when you see plastic skeletons in July. Those decorations aren’t really for civilians: they’re for professional or semi-pro creators of haunted attractions. [More]
Halloween Started Creeping Up On Us In July
By 8.13.13
“Halloween Creep,” observes reader Jay. “It almost sounds like a dance some ghouls might do after the Monster Mash.” That’s not what the Halloween Creep is, though. It would be so much better if it were. Instead, it’s what happens when Consumerist readers are out enjoying their summer and stop in their tracks when they see Halloween merch out on store shelves. [More]
