Bah Humbug - The Holiday Season Already

[easysurfer]

I got a holiday card already from my friendly insurance agent.

The holidays are starting sooner and sooner

 

[Chuckanut]

I can't help but notice that Costco among many other big stores will be closed on Thanksgiving. Nordstroms (where I almost never shop due to LBYM) has a sign out that says they will put up Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving. Maybe there is some hope.

 

[JoeWras]

JC Penney and Macy's are in full on turn over of their stores this week. Bah Humbug indeed.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

We were in Target on Nov. 1st, and they had tons of Christmas decorations up, and we're playing Christmas songs on the intercom. No wonder I'm ready for the holidays to be over by Dec. 1st.

 

[Walt34]

The only store I've been in recently is the grocery, and they had a subtle Christmas tree up. "Subtle" in that it had no lights, and a few red ornaments shaped like some vegetable. Still, it is early.

 

[Chuckanut]

Costco will close on Thanksgiving and open very late for Black Friday - 9:30 AM.

Nordstrom's has a sign that they will not put up any Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. Not that I can afford to buy much there.

There is some hope.

 

[Life_is_Good]

My local mall already has a Santa for pictures with the kiddies.

It's like they totally forgot about Thanksgiving!

 

[Nodak]

The city of Mandan has started putting up Christmas decorations. I'm not ready for that yet.

 

[scrabbler1]

I thought I heard that Toys R Us announced their Black Friday will begin well before 12:01 AM Friday morning, starting on Thursday evening instead (Black Thursday?).

And I hear Christmas songs in some TV ads already, too! Egads!

 

[MBAustin]

Went into Kohl's on Monday morning and they were in full-out tinsel mode. Gag.

 

[braumeister]

I've always been mystified at how people can work in retail for week after week with that music repeating over and over. I guess they learn to tune it out, but I'm not sure I could.

 

[Totoro]

Imagine working at Disneyland.

It's a small world after all ..

 

[growing_older]

Some stores here had Christmas displays next to Halloween stuff in October.

 

[Goonie]

One person's holiday is simply another day to me. I don't celebrate governmental, religious, or otherwise. Most all 'holidays' are just over-hyped commercial endeavors, to feed the greed, and reflect very little of what they were originally intended for. What others do is fine, as long as they don't try to rope me into the fray.

 

[Calico]

Some stores here had Christmas displays next to Halloween stuff in October.

That was true here as well. I don't remember seeing them out that early until this year.

 

[gardenfun]

One person's holiday is simply another day to me. I don't celebrate governmental, religious, or otherwise. Most all 'holidays' are just over-hyped commercial endeavors, to feed the greed, and reflect very little of what they were originally intended for. What others do is fine, as long as they don't try to rope me into the fray.

+1000 Goonie!

 

[JoeWras]

+1000 Goonie!

I mean, Bah Humbug and all at 2 full months of Christmas. But gardenfun and goonie, remind me not to invite you to any parties. Sheesh. No disrespect intended, but no celebrations of any kind at all? Wow.

 

[MichaelB]

I saw the holiday supplies aisle fully stocked at Lowes 2 or 3 weeks ago. On the drive up to Orlando yesterday one radio station we usually tune in was already in their Christmas music 24/7 mode. We went for coffee at S* and heard nothing but Christmas songs there. Not that I mind, but there are only so many times I can listen to Bing Crosby sing Mele Kalikimaka before my head explodes.

I write it all off as the need to "do something" coincides with "no new ideas" in the retail world. The good news, at least for me, is that means the Thanksgiving holiday is still not yet commercialized.

 

[Ronstar]

Our local Walmart has had their Christmas stuff out for a couple of weeks. SIL is giving me ideas to decorate the outside of my workshop this year for the first time - starting with an inflatable Santa, maybe a sleigh on the roof. So far all ideas have been vetoed by DW.

 

[athena53]

DH and I celebrate Christmas (not "the holidays") the old-fashioned way.

I send out about 20 cards to close friends and family with hand-written letters. We'll drive to the Carolinas to visit family and stay in the oceanfront Best Western where we always do, near my parents' place, for about $50/night. Our "gift-giving" to each other will consist of a trip to the Tanger Outlets where we'll stock up on jeans and underwear. And we'll go to church on Christmas morning and have Christmas dinner with my parents.

I have been reminded that the Christians "borrowed" a pagan feast and turned it into Christmas, but I feel like the rest of the world wrested it away from us and turned it into a major retail extravaganza as soon as they noticed Christians giving gifts to each other.

 

[Kimo]

One person's holiday is simply another day to me. I don't celebrate governmental, religious, or otherwise. Most all 'holidays' are just over-hyped commercial endeavors, to feed the greed, and reflect very little of what they were originally intended for. What others do is fine, as long as they don't try to rope me into the fray.

My wife and I decided many years ago we really didn't need all the hoopla Christmas and other Holidays brings to the many people who do enjoy them. We think whomever wants to celebrate any Holiday is strictly up to them. We don't have children so we decided long ago it just wasn't something we wanted to do. We understand it is a big thing to others and there is nothing wrong with that, to each his own.....Aloha!

 

[eytonxav]

Before we moved last year, we had a wacky neighbor that kept a Christmas tree up all year in her house's entry way. Things have certainly changed since I was a child and it gets earlier each year with the Christmas decorations, so it seems. I can remember as a kid, we would not put our tree up until Christmas eve, and it was removed by New Years day.

 

[VaCollector]

Due to Thanksgiving's late arrival this year, the Christmas spending window for retailers is shorter this year and so they will try to grab your attention earlier to remind you to spend your $$$ with THEM....

It seems that I am once again from the other end of the spectrum here as I actually love Christmas (the commercialization not so much)...I'm actually already watching the Christmas "feel good" movies on the Hallmark channel and really enjoying them...for me it is the Spirit of Christmas that brings a smile to my face and tugs at my heart...watching people do for others when I know that they can barely do for themselves...enjoying the smiles and hellos from a stranger rather than them rushing by...seeing friends and family who will finally have and make the time to slow down and enjoy each other...and maybe reflect on what is really important!

 

[gardenfun]

I mean, Bah Humbug and all at 2 full months of Christmas. But gardenfun and goonie, remind me not to invite you to any parties. Sheesh. No disrespect intended, but no celebrations of any kind at all? Wow.

I like a celebration just as much as the next person. But the ones I really enjoy are those that have nothing to do with a holiday. Spontaneous ones throughout the year where the only purpose is to get together with family and friends and have a good time. No obligations for particular types of dress, decoration or perish the thought, a gift exchange: having to give each other stuff that none of us needs.

I don't even get Christmas gifts for my kids (they're in their 20's) anymore. I do surprise them with things at odd times during the year. I dunno, to me it's more meaningful than when you're obligated to do it because of the marketing machine behind Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, etc etc.

I do have a favorite holiday, though: the Winter Solstice! It means the days are getting longer and spring is coming. I don't like the dark days of December. I used to love the first week of January because that was when all the new seed catalogs arrived.

 

[pjm-7]

While we are on the subject of holiday excesses, this was in today's Denver Post.

Stuffing turkey and ourselves: Holiday consumption and philanthropy - The Denver Post

This covers some very sad (in my opinion) facts about the money that we can waste. For example:
-Just this year. U.S. shoppers spend $350 million on Halloween costumes for their pets.

-We spend $2.5 billion on wrapping paper, consuming tens of millions of trees and generating millions of tons of trash.

- In the U.S., 40 of food is wasted - the equivalent of $165 billion each year.

The article has other examples.

Personally, have moved away from this consumerism, LBYM.