Besides, it seems betraying a season that ought to be sacred when Christmas decorations jump out during your back to school shopping. If it were Christmas all year 'round, (like those neighbors who leave Christmas lights up all year,) the seasonal merriment would be moot. And what about the other autumn holidays whose celebrations become dwarfed by tannenbaums bedecked with boughs of holly and city sidewalks dressed in holiday cheer?
Yet Christmas seems to be coming earlier every year. According to the National Retail Federation, what we're seeing in October is not necessarily a prescription to buy gifts, but there is definitely a push to sell holiday decorations early. "There are some people who like to start decorating as soon as Thanksgiving is over, so retailers want to have home-deco items in front of you in early October," says Pamela Rucker, NRF's Vice President of Public Relations.
Web Commerce
These days, it's en vogue to blame the Web for everything from the failing eyesight of the nation's screen-obsessed to the decline of face-to face interaction. Apparently, the early onslaught of Christmas is no exception as e-tailers begin to unabashedly bust out their Christmas promotions. But when you get down to the business of holiday web commerce, you can't blame them. As consumers, it may even behoove us to follow suit. With a projected $6.1 billion in online holiday sales, this year web retailers are preparing for twice as much business as the Christmas season of 1998, which encountered widespread under stocking and limited distribution channels. That means a substantial increase in fulfillment resources to ensure that customers experience timely delivery of this year's purchases. From a consumer's perspective, shopping early means you can choose less expensive delivery options and insures that the gifts you select are still in stock.
The influence of inventory
Have you ever resorted to giving sub-par gifts because your last minute shopping efforts were hampered by picked-over shelves? As intelligent beings, we should probably learn from that lesson and make a concerted effort to shop earlier next year, at least that is what behavioral scientists and retail professionals would advise. "The Jingle Bell Rock Dancing Santas have been out since August because they're big collectors' items," explains Rena Neiman, Macy's Press Relations Director. According to the law of supply and demand as evidenced by the Cabbage Patch Kids and Elmos of years past, those collectible dancing Santa's won't be around for the last minute shopper. It's taken me many years of picking through practically empty shelves to recognize the bitter truth -- many retailers are downright unsympathetic to the plight of the procrastinating purchaser, and frankly who could blame them? They're in the business of moving products, and they're much better off selling all of their Christmas stock (even at the expense of procrastinators) than having to mark it down for the post-Christmas sales.
Planning ahead
If consumers see a smattering of Christmas trees up in October, imagine how early in the year Christmas had to come for the retailers planning behind the scenes? Most retailers are ordering Christmas inventory while the fireworks and air conditioners of summer days are in full force. Controversy brims as the buyers and sellers compare notes on the appropriate time to begin the Christmas celebration, "Sometimes we're forced to order items as early as January, so in our world, Christmas is year-round," tells Christina Altoft, President of Bergerons Flowers and Gifts. "Customers get mad because we put up Christmas early. But whether people admit it at Christmas parties or not, quite a few of them are actually buying long before Christmas."
As history would have it
Traditionally, the Christmas season has celebrated its kickoff on the day after Thanksgiving. That Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and marks the end of the scoffing at those Christmas die-hards who insist upon decorating as early as possible. We should therefore be doubly thankful for Thanksgiving since it operates as a stable bookend to corral the Christmas season into a celebration of manageable length. However, turning back the clock 60 years gives us a different perspective. In 1939, the Depression years had deflated Christmas sales and President Franklin Roosevelt received an appeal from the head of Federated Department Stores: move Thanksgiving earlier in order to provide one more shopping week for Christmas. The appeal was heeded by the President and was reaffirmed in 1941 when Congress set the annual date of Thanksgiving for the fourth Thursday in November, locking in a four week period for Christmas shopping. Apparently, even Thanksgiving -- a veritable pillar of stability on the American calendar -- is immutable against a superpower like Christmas.
Maybe they've got a point
To the extent that it is possible to break down the Christmas season into "business" and "pleasure," imagine what a great season it would be if you, (and I can't believe I'm suggesting this) actually had all of the "business" taken care of before December comes around. If you do your shopping now and get your Christmas cards out, you'll have the entire month of December to sip cocoa, attend Christmas parties, go caroling, spend time with those you love, and enjoy the absolute truths of Christmas. Somehow, it seems as though God intends the season to be one with plenty of time for reflection, not chaos, so we can be reminded of the importance of the greatest gift ever.
Now, about that Jingle Bell Rock Dancing Santa. . .
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