Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Rushing the Holidays

I don't know about you, but it really bothers me to see retailers stocking their shelves with Christmas decor way before Halloween.


In fact, I think I saw Christmas decorations in some stores around Labor Day!


With our Mississippi temperatures still hitting the high 80s (it's supposed to be 88 today!), it's difficult to even think about Halloween, much less Christmas! And whatever happened to Thanksgiving? It seems to me that it used to be in there sometime between Halloween and Christmas.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times, or maybe the slow economy is prompting retailers to "rush the holidays," but, to me, it takes away some of the fun and anticipation. And can you imagine how it confuses little ones who see Santa Claus showing up in stores and malls right after Halloween ...

... when we all know he is supposed to be at the North Pole helping his elves get the toys ready ...

And getting Rudolph and the guys in shape for their long Christmas Eve journey.

Am I just being a "Scrooge," or does it bother you, too?


[Photos borrowed from the Internet]

8 comments:

The Quintessential Magpie said...

It used to bother me enormously, but with this economy, anything that helps the retailers is okay by me. I also think that it's nice to hear Christmas carols being played, and it's probably the only excuse we have to hear the Lord's name used over and over without impending sanctions. The older I get, the longer I want to see Christmas last, but I would actually prefer it to run AFTER the holiday into January which is actually the twelves days of Christmas.

I do understand the concern about why Santa isn't helping his elves. Maybe he is trying to help with unemployment and has hired supervisor elves from the unions to help oversee the worker bees while he sits in the mall and makes small talk with the children. ;-)

XO,

Sheila :-)

Marlene said...

Since it will be around 88, and apparently equal humidity here in Central Fla.this week I'm feeling a bit of a Scrooge here too. I think, as a culture, we tend to rush into each event, each season, and on to the next. Few people take the time to appreciate "The Now" as you do. Thanks again for another thought-provoking entry.

Anonymous said...

Our friends Lori and Greg began doing their trees this week for the shop. She told us, she does this to keep up with the other stores who are usually way ahead of her. Plus people start asking when she is going to do Christmas, around the first of September. This dismays me also. Anyway, that is Lori's explanation of why her shop has Christmas Trees in the window, when our town celebrates pumpkin fest this weekend.:-) She still has another room devoted to Fall and Thanksgiving, until after Thanksgiving.

Jenni said...

You are so right, Janie! I know the Craft stores like Hobby Lobby start getting some things in really early because crafters must get things started early, but the other stores are just ridiculous!

And, I, too get the feeling that Thanksgiving too often gets overlooked, ignored, lost in the mad dash to get to "the next big money maker" (don't even get me started on THAT!) or, treated like a little "speed bump" along the way.

And we have so many things for which to be thankful! God is so good...

and thank you for such a thought provoking post....

Deb said...

I'm with you...poor Thanksgiving gets completely ignored by retailers...I don't want to see Christmas till Dec 1st

RachelD said...

Oh, Yes. All that rushing the season is just trampling on that joy that IS, while concentrating on the time to come.

I DID get Chris to stop telling his opinion of it to the nice folks at Cracker Barrel, but I will say that I, myself, have unplugged probably a dozen of those startling sing-when-you-pass-by "Christmas trees." Cheeky little twerps.

Carolyn said...

I am with you! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and nowdays, it seems completely lost. We seem to go from Halloween to Christmas in one fell swoop.
Carolyn
ps I loved, loved the Corkscrew Rush shadows on the water pictures.

Tonja said...

Ha! I read Rachel's comment and I do the same thing with those horrid sounding Halloween desplays that play spooky sounds when you walk by. Can't stand it! And, I feel the same way...Where is Thanksgiving? And, Christmas comes in December!But, I feel guilty, too. Just this morning I asked Don to start thinking about getting the tree out and putting it up. But, see, I know he won't get to it for at lest a good 2-3 weeks! Plus, I have a BIG party on December 3rd. Great post!