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Haven't we been through this? The standard for when it is appropriate to sell seasonal merchandise is whenever people will buy it.
Its interesting that people are buying christmas stuff this early, but I don't get why Consumerist is so bothered by it.
Where's the Hanukkah sign? Damn anti-Semites...
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@ChelseaCosta: ironically, wasn't target the store that was stern on saying \"happy holidays\" instead of \"merry christmas?\"
Well, since the economy has been up and down (moreso down than up) this year, Target just wants to be \"ahead of the game\" and remind you that Christmas is still a time the kids look forward to. (Translation: Take me to your monies.)
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Because of the pinch on my budget, this year I'm baking everybody x-mas cookies from scratch. I'll buy a box of cheap christmas cards and be done with it already.
@snoop-blog: I'm with you and have basically stopped buying and giving Christmas presents.
Why? Primarily, everyone I know has too much stuff and is trying to get rid of it. I am tired of holidays being nothing more than consumption and consumerism. That photo summarizes the problem: Christmas is a shopping event with red and green decorations and a deadline.
Either I give something I make (food) or a card and a donation in their name to a charity of their choice. (Yes, I ask them.) There are plenty of people who had rather see the humane society or their university or church food pantry get a donation rather than receive another something they don't want or need.
For birthdays and other times when I need or want to give a gift, it is either a CD I know that they would like to have (yes, I ask!) or a gift certificate for the iTunes store if it is a surprise party.
If I had kids, I would restrict their gift-getting severely. I know people who have houses where almost every horizontal surface is covered with childrens' toys, games, books, clothes, etc. It makes me sick to my stomach. The children are worse for it.
I've had so many customers asking me when I'll be getting holiday CDs and DVDs that I'm tempted to start ordering them this week. And that makes me feel all kinds of dirty inside. But sales are down so why shouldn't I give the people what they want???
Who knows, maybe my store will end up on the Consumerist in a few weeks.
I am so glad that I don't work in retail. Those holiday noise makers are so annoying. I also hate when the update the music to holiday music in stores.
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I saw that Christmas Countdown thing in the Target near me in St. Louis. It wasn't turned on, though, it just said Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho on the display. This was like a week or so ago.
@sw4383: That's because there was over 100 days til Christmas and they didn't have room on the sign to keep track of that much time left.
You know you're not a kid anymore when you like Thanksgiving more than x-mas. Mmmmm Thanksgiving...
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@snoop-blog:I realized I'm anticipating Thanksgiving dinner and Black Friday deals more than Christmas right now.
I am also glad that there are only two digits for the day on that stupid sign. Hex would be funny, if only to see the confused reactions on people's faces.
Can we get a federal law passed that limits Christmas countdowns to two decimal digits that must be no greater than the industry average credit card grace period?
Damn, this reminds me I still have bottles of Christmas wine I didn't send out for Christmas '07. I also have to get on making my cards.
@snoop-blog: Then I'd have to buy a whole new wardrobe and get mini-figs that match the season. Too much work.
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Well, at least they can't put this sign up any earlier than April 14, and that's assuming it displays in hex (FF = 255 days before Christmas is April 14 by my math). So there could be 100 days WITHOUT a countdown to Christmas.
But they could use it as a counter SINCE Christmas for 100 days, or 88 if you include the 12 Days of Christmas. Then flip it over to hex and count down until the next one.
I think what offends me most about this sign is it looks so damn cheesy. It's like it was designed by a first year design school dropout.
@Antediluvian: \"But they could use it as a counter SINCE Christmas for 100 days, or 88 if you include the 12 Days of Christmas. Then flip it over to hex and count down until the next one.\"
Yeah, I can see it now. \"It's been XX days since Christmas. You failed to get your child the hot toy of season. Buy it now and salvage what little childhood innocence your child has left. While you're at it, buy gifts for next Christmas as well, if you want your child to still love you, you poor excuse of a parent. Thank you for shopping at Target.\"
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As long as I don't have to hear any goddamn Christmas music, I'm fine with this. It's the incessant overuse of the - what is it, a total of a dozen common carols - Christmas music is about 50% of what has led me to despise Christmas entirely.
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By the time Christmas actually arrives, I'm done with the holiday. It starts in September with the stores and ends in March when people finally take their damn lights down (or at least turn them off). I do not need 7 months of a holiday (unless it's Thanksgiving). ;)
I saw in Target last night and saw the Christmas Crap right underneath the Halloween banners of Domo-Kun.
Also, what's the deal with using Domo-Kun for Halloween? Especially without pictures of kittens? I think I'll add pictures of kittens to their in-store signs the next time I'm in there.
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christmas is for suckers. what's it about again, who gets the bestest present?
Where's the cat pic?
Christmas is over for me. All my business for this year starts in May and ends in July. At one point I used to have all kinds of holiday stuff till my ex-XXnt took it all. Now I just give my kid money and let her buy what she wants.
Doesn't surprise me...I bought something from Sears 2 days ago (yes, Sears, but thats another story) and the bag says \"Merry Christmas\" on it. I don't know if they're using old stock or what, but it didn't seem lke it.
@mbz32190: Isn't it fair to expect that Sears has only sold enough over the past year that they've had to use the Merry Christmas bags for the past 9 months?
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What's the problem here? Christmas is awesome, and the stuff is probably really cheap at the moment.
Last Saturday I walked into Macys and the crew was in the process of doing holiday decorating. Not surprising, but nothing to get upset about. As an atheist I don't care if its one day or 360 days til you worship things that are not real like santa claus and a guy who walked on water, had a mother who was a virgin, and died, but came back to life three days later. I outgrew believing in that stuff at 6.
@johnnya2: omg! you're an atheist! i totally get it! you're soooooo clever i wish i knew you in person.
it's atheists that have turned it into the materialistic season it is today. i've worked many retail jobs during the season and i can PROMISE you that the adults throwing temper tantrums over petty things were not Christians. (i.e. my son wants this color...my daughter wants this particular bratz doll)
i'm almost positive that a Christian was not responsible for the hanging/authorizing of that sign.
@no.no.notorious: Christians spend far more of their times worrying about what other people do in their bedrooms and starting wars to worry about that, but like I said, I don't care how a store decides to decorate itself. Christmas is a marketing ploy the same as Valentines Day, Halloween, New Years, Easter, Sweetest Day, Fourth of July, etc etc
Head down to Kohl's they have everything set up for x-mas in their seasonal area(Corpus Christi,Texas currently 86 degrees out). Trees, ornaments, and those little ceramic house that play music. Crazy but if people did not buy it they would not set it out.
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I've already started buying Christmas gifts. With a large family to shop for, its easier on the wallet to do it now than the last 2 weeks of the year when there is nothing on the shelves.
Besides, Christmas \"sales\" are just a ploy. I've worked retail before (Best Buy, Sears), and the so called \"Christmas Specials\" were the same price during the sale as they were before the sale. I could remember thinking,\"These 30 dollar dvd players have been around for months, why are people just all of a sudden jumping on them now?\" Occassionally, you'll have a great sale that will come along, but given the circumstances, after Christmas those items will stay the same price.
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The retail center my brother works at in suburban Phoenix AZ has already installed outdoor Xmas decor and lights. I've asked him to take some evening photos of the place lit up in the 100-degree heat.
Just leave it up year 'round, and reset it the day after Christmas.
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Quite simply we all need to stop giving gifts purchased at stores for Christmas. That will stop the nonsense.
A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund.
Money for people.
A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund.Have a very humanitarian holiday and a solipsistic new year.
Money for people.
Our local $ store started putting xmas stuff on the shelves in July, then walmart & rite aid in Aug. Then it stays out until Feb on clearance. Who says xmas only comes once a year, xmas is here for 8 months a year with out even looking hard.
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Bah... I can certainly do without trying to pick out a snowman and a doe for my lawn while wearing shorts and a tank top. I totally bought that snowman though. Sure, I'm disgusted because (a) I bought lawn decoration and (b) it's still warm out.
That was at Lowe's, btw. I have seen Christmas decorations everywhere else though--it comes earlier and earlier every year! Next year, the Christmas stuff will be out in June.
Come on, don't blame the atheists. I've seen so called \"Christians\" doing horrible things. YOU are the one that makes it a materialistic holiday for yourself. Do YOU have enough self control to resist? Then resist buying anything for the holiday, and let everyone else worry about their own lives.
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This surprises any of us?