An unposted email from last year has a reader who found holiday-themed cups and music at Starbucks on the 4th. He asked the barista if she thought it was weird, and was told they had just rolled out the Christmas cheer that day.
Two years ago, we posted that Starbucks was using the Christmas goods on November 8th.
That's a little earlier each year. Although they're different stores and there's no indication that the day they were spotted is the day they were rolled out, we're assuming that people who visit coffee shops probably do so pretty regularly, and would have noticed and written in earlier if they'd seen Christmas creep earlier. Starbucks is a big chain, so if we can get some more data from other years and stores, maybe we could eventually track Christmas Creep, a la the Big Mac Index. So, readers, if you have any definite dates for when you've seen Christmas creep at Starbucks from past years or this year, or if you can remind yourself to check things out at the end of next October, send in your findings.
]]>Yeah, but it's November. It's not like it's March and they're breaking out the Christmas stuff. Enough already.
]]>@mike6545: I enjoy the teddy bears... Thankfully I have a person who knows I like them and usually gets me one : )
]]>@mamalicious: Same here, only Gingerbread for me! WOO!
]]>@RandomHookup: Yeah, but a lot of the Christmas carols we sing aren't the ones you hear as often.
I had a priest when I was younger that told the congregation that we weren't Catholic if we put up our tree until Christmas Eve. He must be a barrel of laughs now, with Christmas stuff up before Halloween.
]]>@TWinter: My son works at a kitchen supply/foodie supply store. They had to work late Wednesday to put up all the holiday decorations. The owner said if she doesn't people will refuse to shop for their holiday stuff there, will go to the competition instead!
]]>@badhatharry: Yes, but I can't afford peppermint mochas year-round, and I like the cups.
]]>When I had any control over it, I kept my establishment from busting out the Christmas crap until after Thanksgiving. It's out of my hands now -- Christmas cards in August, Christmas decor by Nov 1st. Barf barf barf.
I love the 'Jesus, you're early' tag.
]]>Esquire is good. However I go to Kicking Horse Coffee Company on Robson.....Best coffee around!
]]>@chiieddy: Christmas Blend will be out sometime in the middle to late november. It's already in stores, just not on display and not for sale. (I work for the company). The red cups are actually just holday cups like each year but the idea of it being for product (red) works as well.
There's some cool gifts this year as well!
]]>Then I suppose they'll all just go running to the government for a bailout, which will, of course, oblige them. They will have learned nothing at all.
]]>It's all about corporate greed and materialism.
]]>@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: I think it would be great if people wouldn't attach buying gifts to some fucking PAGAN HOLIDAY for a change!
]]>@RandomHookup: Yes but Jesus wasn't born on Fucking December Twenty-Fifth for fucksakes already! Sheesh! They wouldn't have their flocks outside by night in the cold season! Sheesh already!
]]>@sir_eccles: Screw the Mayans. They were just numerically challenged.
]]>@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Expanded Pagan Worship.
]]>@pot_roast: Christmas creep is alive and well working on your mind. In no case should anything Xmas related should be mentioned before Veterans Day, and preferably after Thanksgiving.
It's these damn corporations perpetrating this disgusting Christmas Creep.
]]>@trujunglist: Dollywood may want to speak with you.
]]>If you saw the red cups etc before the 3rd, it's because the store ran out of the regular cups.
]]>I think its great. People start shopping earlier, and there is less of a budget crunch right before chirstmas. It almost forces people to plan when buying gifts.
]]>It will get even more Christmas-y after Thanksgiving though ;)
Are they doing this with their "Starbucks without Starbucks" cafes?
]]>...Fortunately all I have seen thus far are Wal-Mart ads.
]]>I actually liked Dolidays and thought you were referring to some Pier One special thing where they sell dolls. Awesome name, if I ever open a doll store I'm so going to have a couple of days near Xmas called Dollidays.
]]>It's *TWO* months away, and it's only for literally a day (or two, if you count Xmas Eve). Imagine how people would feel about you if you constantly talked about your upcoming birthday for 2 months straight, hung up signs and shit.. man, you'd be the most annoying holiday ever!
]]>I think Jesus was early for the 1st Christmas, too. Otherwise, M&J wouldn't have been traveling so close to the due date.
]]>@dohtem: Thus why no one ever seems in the mood to celebrate the real 12 days of Christmas -- the days until the Epiphany. Those poor Catholics are stuck singing their Xmas carols when everyone else is dog tired of them.
]]>"Jesus, you're early...but salvation will not wait..."
Next!
]]>Having read The Consumerist for a while now, I'm not really shocked at this christmas creep.
What I'm more shocked at is some of my neighbors who have put up their christmas lights already....and had them on the past 5 nights.
]]>*makes mad dash for the door*
]]>@GrantGannon: My fave coffee drink ever! I look forward to Nov. 1 every year so I can make excessive, self-indulgent Starbucks trips for the glorious eggnog latte.
]]>And this is why you need to move Thanksgiving to October, like in Canada. That way Christmas can start right after Thanksgiving (or Halloween, preferably) and there are still two full months to brace for it. Agreed, best tag ever. Even better than "Chinese Poisson Train" for tainted fish.
]]>@JulesNoctambule: My dog loves his candy cane rawhide! He knows it is extra special because it is shaped differently. He is super smart ; )
]]>I don't mind it at all if everything shows up after November 1st. My family puts up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, so this gives us enough time to buy anything we need for the season. And the way things are right now, we could use all the cheer we can get.
]]>They started busting out the Christmas stuff three freakin' weeks ago here in Fort Wayne at Glenbrook Square. Two weeks ago, they added the Letters to Santa box. And now this week, they're playing Christmas music and selling Macy's-exclusive sailor Mickey Mouse plush, "the official holiday ambassador to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". (Can't complain about them choosing Mickey for the parade, as I'm a Disney fan.)
I couldn't take pictures in the mall or store, but it was weird seeing Christmas at my local Macy's even earlier than last year... Miracle on 34th Street it ain't.
]]>I am currently celebrating Xmas 2011 and shopping for Easter 2012. I am in two minds as to whether to start my prep for Xmas 2012 as the Mayans keep telling me not to bother.
]]>I noticed the christmas-themed ads the first of November, and this past weekend in Target I saw a display of Hanukkah items. . .for pets. Because it just won't be the same if the dogs don't have their own menorah.
]]>Best tag ever.
]]>@ARP: holiday. Strange, it changed the letter.
]]>@ninabi: Well as long as people buy their Doliday crap and shop their Doliday sales that early, they will make it earlier and earlier until it becomes less profitable. In this case, it's up to us.
]]>But there's something about hearing Baby, It's Cold Outside and paying attention to the creepy lyrics that says "Welcome to the end of the year."
]]>Starbucks releases the cups and holiday drinks early to go along with it's Thanksgiving Blend release. The real Christmas stuff doesn't begin untill later.
]]>When I read that I thought it was a typo. Laughing to myself that it was not yet November but still October. WTF? Was I abducted by aliens for a few weeks?
]]>It's the places that have Christmas stuff out several days before Halloween that irk me.
]]>I fled. Can't these stores figure it out? Making Christmas into a 3-4 month season isn't going to make three to four times the money. Shame on all of them for making holidays everydays.
]]>Most of the stores like Target and Walgreens are a bizarre mish-mash of Halloween and Christmas. Skulls mixed in next to Santa and trees.
]]>Funny this should pop up, because I just remembered hearing Christmas music on radio station while I was driving yesterday.
And we didn't even get past Thanksgiving yet.
]]>However just for the record, Esquire coffee (Coffee Company out of BC.) just released their Xmas coffee cups and pastries. I'm going to make a Hanukkah cup just so I can fit in.
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