Wednesday, November 7, 2012

It's not the Christmas season just yet!

How's this for a conundrum?  I work in retail, in fact, I manage a retail establishment.  That said- "greater retail" makes me CRAZY!  I am not a "shopper" unless you want to drop me in the middle of Whole Foods/ Trader Joe's/Fresh Market or a book store (natch!) and then I can make a day of it.  I only buy clothes when I absolutely must.  I only buy household items when I can justify it.  I have a little craft "thing" that has been tamped down because I am out of designated room until I finish some projects.  I pop in and out of Target or Kohl's, Penny's (they have SEPHORA now!) or Macy's as fast as I can pick up what I need and get out.  I avoid Walmart like the plague and only go when it's the only place I can get whatever it is that I am looking for.

Here is what is currently making me nuts.  Halloween was a mere week ago.  I prepped for Halloween for weeks before that- favorite holiday and all.  In September, just after Labor Day, I went out to start looking for in expensive candy to do one of those "how much candy is in the jar" things in my store for Halloween.  I walked into the Dollar Tree and there, right next to the Halloween stuff, to my horror the drive aisles were set up for CHRISTMAS already!  Did I say horrified?  I was appalled!

That was just the beginning.  Halloween was last Wednesday.  The weekend before I had to do the Walmart thing and they too were pulling down Halloween and setting up Christmas.  Two weeks ago Target (oh- how can you betray me?) started running their first Christmas ads on television!  This is madness!  

Maybe I am old fashioned.  Maybe it's many, many years of working in both the hospitality and retail industries where we spend every waking hour heading into the holiday season inundated with Christmas music.  Maybe I have become a Grinch but I just feel that it's too much too soon.  I am of the camp that believes that the Christmas "stuff" doesn't start until after Thanksgiving.  And don't even get me started on Black Friday and the ads that are already popping up for that.

I am mildly agitated about this because last Thursday my assistant manager ( love her dearly) who is our general merchandise buyer was ready to dismantle everything Halloween and set up Christmas.  I balked.  Actually, I flat out said NO.  No tree, no music, no display.  Everyone know's that the season is coming.  The date doesn't change.  If people want to come shopping, great! We have the product and are prepared.  I just don't feel that we need to completely roll over Thanksgiving and wrap it up in one big ball and make it into 8 (or more) weeks of holiday madness.   Instead, we will be easing into the holiday.  I have 10 boxes of "Christmas" (both themed and gift worthy) books that have been in my back room for about 2 weeks.  This weekend we will start putting them out.  The week of Thanksgiving (when I am on vacation) they can go nuts and set up the tree and the decorations.  The Monday after Thanksgiving, the music can go on.

 Until then, I would rather we all concentrate on all of the wonderful things that we have to be thankful for this year.  It won't hurt anyone to take a deep breath and give thanks, if only for that deep breath.  It won't hurt anyone if we wait a few more weeks before we dive into Christmas.  

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