Oh dear.

[Martha]

Came back from a trip today and what was waiting in the mail? The first Christmas catalog of the year.

 

[epps]

Two months before Halloween, new record?

 

[Leonidas]

I haven't gotten any catalogs labeled Christmas yet, but the mailbox has been full of catalogs almost every day for the last couple of weeks. The bookstore had 9 million 2009 calendars displayed as well. Retailers trying to make the most out of the Christmas buying season.

 

[Goonie]

Two months before Halloween, new record?

We went to a presentation on Abe Lincoln on Aug. 24th, and on the way home we passed a house that was all decorated for Halloween.....the front and side yards were filled to capacity with all sort of lighted displays.......and they had it all lit up!!! Almost TEN weeks early! That's just plain sick!

 

[Milton]

People are entitled to decorate their houses as they see fit, I guess. And I suppose if someone spends a lot of time and money on an elaborate Halloween set up, it's understandable that they would wish to recoup maximum return from their investment.

That said, IMHO displaying Halloween decorations on any date other than October 31st unfairly dilutes the experience for children.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I enjoy looking at the Brookstone catalog. That and all those meat ones that come near Christmas. The various types of bacon products EXCITE ME.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'm just waiting for this #$^%# to start in around january 2nd, followed by companies suggesting you get a good solid head start on christmas of the following year.

 

[ladelfina]

Just talked to my sister w/kids in the US. She said her neighbors had already bought their kids' Halloween costumes. We kinda talked about the pros and cons of this. She feels guilty, and that the neighbor is a "more organized mom" seeing as sis runs out at the last minute.

But then there was the aspect of the kids having 2 months to play with and possibly get sick of or ruin the costumes (as these kids were doing). What happens then? You run out again at the last minute for new demands/"needs", or make the kids miserable by forcing them into the "old" costumes.. boh?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My son is still wearing the fireman costume we got him for Halloween last year every single day. Its starting to show a few minor signs of wear, but he might easily wear it again this year!

 

[ladelfina]

CFB, maybe he's at a younger and more pliable stage. The topic in our conversation wasn't important enough to get into the "ruining" aspect, but it could easily have meant the plastic crap that might come with a costume was lost or broken.

You know how kids can be, especially in certain neighborhoods/circles/social classes: if they lose THE "princess earrings" it's often impossible to fob off replacements. Kids over 5 these days may not be satisfied with a homemade sword of cardboard covered in tin-foil. Ingrates.

 

[kumquat]

Doesn't anybody make their kid's Halloween costumes anymore. No frugality here!

 

[Moemg]

Doesn't anybody make their kid's Halloween costumes anymore. No frugality here!

I did occasionally and they looked homemade .

 

[ladelfina]

kumquat.. yeh, right. Do you want your kid to be a social outcast? Traumatized for life? Embrace the capitalism, baybeee. If right-wing sis made her own costumes, then what would the Chinese do for work?

 

[Moemg]

My son is still wearing the fireman costume we got him for Halloween last year every single day. Its starting to show a few minor signs of wear, but he might easily wear it again this year!

My daughter used to do that .Sometimes she'd try to wear it to school.

 

[Goonie]

People are entitled to decorate their houses as they see fit, I guess. And I suppose if someone spends a lot of time and money on an elaborate Halloween set up, it's understandable that they would wish to recoup maximum return from their investment.

That said, IMHO displaying Halloween decorations on any date other than October 31st unfairly dilutes the experience for children.

I have NO problem at all with anyone's holiday decorations, however putting them up AND electrifying them TEN weeks ahead of time is just a bit much....IMHO. Around here, a lot of people put up their outdoor Christmas lights and some, or all, of their outdoor Christmas decorations sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving because the weather is warmer and it's usually not snowing or freezing out. But they don't turn them on until a week or 2 before Christmas Day. The people that I mentioned that have their Halloween stuff lit up already, do this every year for Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. On Nov. 1st they'll take down the Halloween cr*p, and immediately replace it with the gaudy Christmas cr*p......and have it lit up from THAT night until Jan. 1st, at which time they put up their Easter bunny cr*p.

There are reasonable exception too. Like the families who put up their holiday decorations and light them up because they have a family member who's in the military and they're getting shipped out so they won't be home for Christmas. I have friends whose families have done this for them...whether it was Christmas or Thanksgiving, or Easter, or whatever....they got to celebrate and enjoy the festivities before they left for duty overseas. I think that's super!!!
---------------------------------------
Dang.....I forgot about the OP's original thought....Sorry Martha! We haven't got any Christmas catalogs yet.....and if it's like most years.....we won't get any either! I guess we're just not good 'consumers', as we get dropped from almost everyone's catalog mailing list. Darn! (NOT!)

 

[kumquat]

I did occasionally and they looked homemade .

Yeah, so, what's your point?

My kids liked the improvised costumes; ghost, pirate, clown, politician.

 

[Leonidas]

My kids liked the improvised costumes; ghost, pirate, clown, politician.

So, you recycled and just used parts from the pirate and clown costumes to come up with the politician, right?

 

[youbet]

Doesn't anybody make their kid's Halloween costumes anymore. No frugality here!

DW made our son's Halloween costume when he was 4 or 5 yo and he won first place at our community halloween party. Last year she dug the costume out of storage and popped our grandson into it and ....yes.... he won first place at our community halloween party!

 

[ladypatriot]

I made our kids' Halloween costumes; but I sew, and it's easy to find sewing patterns, from simple (made in 1-2 hours) to elaborate (weekend project). Yeah, they looked homemade because they didn't have pieces falling off or splits down the seams.

When our kids were younger, they made our Halloween decorations using construction paper, felt, yarn, paint, crayons, etc. Now that it's just a teenage son at home, I make the Halloween decorations. Check out current and back (September) issues of Martha Stewart's Living magazine. Some really great ideas there.

Maybe I really am just cheap instead of frugal, but there is no way I would pay money for the crappy decorations I see in stores. And the neighborhood kids don't care; we get well over a hundred kids ringing our doorbell each Halloween. Now, the quality of candy is another discussion and a separate thread.

 

[Walt34]

kumquat.. yeh, right. Do you want your kid to be a social outcast? Traumatized for life? Embrace the capitalism, baybeee. If right-wing sis made her own costumes, then what would the Chinese do for work?

We never got store-bought costumes for Halloween, and it took years of therapy to recover from the stigma, anguish, and feelings of inadequacy.

The kids we see coming to collect candy now seem to be about a half and half mix of home made and store bought costumes. Anything very elaborate is rare though.

 

[Moemg]

Yeah, so, what's your point?

My kids liked the improvised costumes; ghost, pirate, clown, politician.

My kids also liked the homemade costumes but I really lacked in the sewing department so sometimes they were pitiful but I guess to my kids they were great . One time I made a wizard costume and when we went to a hawoleen parade the costumes made by the other mother's were fabulous .One family had all their kids in Star Wars costumes that rivaled the real costumes .

 

[HFWR]

I'm eagerly awaiting my Christmas catalog from Victoria's Secret...

 

[Milton]

Doesn't anybody make their kid's Halloween costumes anymore. No frugality here!

My sister and I always made our own costumes when we were kids. They weren't fancy but they did the job and we were happy with them.

I don't know why anyone sees the need to purchase the plastic junk they sell in stores. It doesn't take a lot of time or effort to come up with, say, a farmer's outfit or a soldier's or policeman's uniform.

 

[happy2bretired]

My kids also liked the homemade costumes but I really lacked in the sewing department so sometimes they were pitiful but I guess to my kids they were great . One time I made a wizard costume and when we went to a hawoleen parade the costumes made by the other mother's were fabulous .One family had all their kids in Star Wars costumes that rivaled the real costumes .

I made my daughter's costumes...which usually amounted to just a big rectangle of fabric, tied with a fabric at the waist. Very simple when you just add a purchased hat and a little make up to complete the outfit.

I think it's a competition for the mothers not the kids, when it comes to elaborate costumes. We women CAN be pretty competitive and petty when it comes to who can outdo the other. Same competition when it comes to cooking and baking too....trying to out do each other.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I'm eagerly awaiting my Christmas catalog from Victoria's Secret...

Nah I wont do it.