Halloween isn't for another 2 months, and already stores are prepping for the spooky holiday.
But why now? Can't they just wait until September to release it?
Walmart has theirs online, Target too, and now Lowes?
To add on what I was saying
(https://i.imgur.com/XMMgpi1.jpeg)
Walmart has fall decor on their site in the middle of summer.
Crafts take time to make.
Also, for the Spirit Halloween stores, they need time to hire the employees and set up the store.
If it's online, as you said it was, what's the problem? It's not taking up shelf space.
Cracker Barrel has Christmas stuff out, by the way. They're about 15 days early compared to when they typically start putting it out.
TJ Maxx already has their Halloween stuff out. And most grocery stores already have Halloween candy out by late July to early August.
Last year at Walmart, I saw a display of pumpkins and thought it was way too early for Halloween, then as I walked closer, I saw all of them had in smaller print "Happy Thanksgiving".
Quote from: snowc on July 28, 2024, 10:01:31 AMHalloween isn't for another 2 months, and already stores are prepping for the spooky holiday.
But why now? Can't they just wait until September to release it?
Walmart has theirs online, Target too, and now Lowes?
It takes some time for staff to set up and rent a store site in some places. Also this stuff co-inside with stores having a back to school sale given that in some places that starts in August.
If people will buy it, they sell it.
The longer the promotion goes, the more likely they can squeeze every last dollar out of it.
A farm store in town has these farm animal skeletons already out and they can't keep 'em long enough. Especially the cow skeletons.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/VmgAAOSwQbJk-uhy/s-l960.webp)
Because people buy it. If retailers sell Halloween stuff now then they also likely sell it at retail cost (meaning maximized profits). That leaves a minimum of stock on hand which has be sold at clearance prices (that and it depreciates over time).
A) People buy it now. And if they don't buy it now, they see it and have it in mind for when they do decide to buy it.
B) What else do you put in the area of the store reserved for seasonal stuff? There isn't exactly a lot of "August/September" seasonal stuff. Back to school stuff goes elsewhere in the store.
C) We've already bought candy corn.
I'm old. When I was a kid, Halloween was a one day, actually one night, holiday for children. The modern practice of decorating one's house for weeks in advance, adults having parties, and so on, at least where I have lived, is of modern invention.
As to the question, stores putting season merchandise out too early is a theme in "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving", which was made in 1973, so there is that. I really cannot think of someone who would buy material associated with a particular holiday months in advance on the idea that they might not get back to that store again, it seems to me that stores have a designated place for the next holiday, and it gets filled as soon as the previous holiday is over, no matter the length. What happens after 4th of July depends on the store, so have "back to school" stuff or football season related tailgate items in that space, some go straight to Halloween.
There used to be a guy on 60 Minutes who had a thing that we should move all the holidays around so we got every 6th Monday off. Not a bad idea.
^^ The early placement was in It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown where they showed the department store having a Christmas sale during the Easter season.
The Peanuts comic strip also had something relating to that. People think holiday merchandise gets earlier and earlier every year, and while there may be a little truth to that, it's not that much earlier. People seem to have a mindset that stuff was out the previous year after Thanksgiving for Christmas, which hasn't beenthr case in forever.
Quote from: snowc on July 28, 2024, 10:01:31 AMHalloween isn't for another 2 months, and already stores are prepping for the spooky holiday.
But why now? Can't they just wait until September to release it?
Walmart has theirs online, Target too, and now Lowes?
Because it sells.
The stores have to make early orders on this stuff, and are running out of room in the back storage. Soon, you will see the Christmas stuff.
If you think it's too early for Halloween, fashion companies typically put out the first of their spring/summer collections in January (sometimes December of the previous year) and their fall/winter collections in July (sometimes June).
Dollar General is notorious for it as well.
Quote from: ZLoth on July 28, 2024, 04:25:12 PMThe stores have to make early orders on this stuff, and are running out of room in the back storage. Soon, you will see the Christmas stuff.
Yes the Christmas stuff is in starting late September and then Valentines Day stuff on December 26.
I hear it all the time every year when the Knights of Columbus have their Keep Christ in Christmas campaign about how secularism has changed the season and such, so I know the seasons of the shopping markets. :)
Costco had Halloween costumes out in May.
Unfortunately, most retailers are trying to get a jump on each season earlier and earlier. As a former CVS employee I can attest that if the Halloween stuff is out, the Christmas stuff is in the back. I worked on New Year's Eve (a 12-hour shift, but for triple pay, probably the only decent paycheck I got from them) and the Easter stuff was already in the back when I went to help unload a truck. The truck contained Valentine's Day items.
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 09:46:40 AMCostco had Halloween costumes out in May.
Unfortunately, most retailers are trying to get a jump on each season earlier and earlier. As a former CVS employee I can attest that if the Halloween stuff is out, the Christmas stuff is in the back. I worked on New Year's Eve (a 12-hour shift, but for triple pay, probably the only decent paycheck I got from them) and the Easter stuff was already in the back when I went to help unload a truck. The truck contained Valentine's Day items.
Why is this "unfortunate?" I truly don't understand why this bothers people so much. They wouldn't put it out there if people didn't buy it.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 29, 2024, 09:56:06 AMQuote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 09:46:40 AMCostco had Halloween costumes out in May.
Unfortunately, most retailers are trying to get a jump on each season earlier and earlier. As a former CVS employee I can attest that if the Halloween stuff is out, the Christmas stuff is in the back. I worked on New Year's Eve (a 12-hour shift, but for triple pay, probably the only decent paycheck I got from them) and the Easter stuff was already in the back when I went to help unload a truck. The truck contained Valentine's Day items.
Why is this "unfortunate?" I truly don't understand why this bothers people so much. They wouldn't put it out there if people didn't buy it.
It's unfortunate mainly because it really makes time seem to go by a lot faster than it already does.
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 09:58:52 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 29, 2024, 09:56:06 AMQuote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 09:46:40 AMCostco had Halloween costumes out in May.
Unfortunately, most retailers are trying to get a jump on each season earlier and earlier. As a former CVS employee I can attest that if the Halloween stuff is out, the Christmas stuff is in the back. I worked on New Year's Eve (a 12-hour shift, but for triple pay, probably the only decent paycheck I got from them) and the Easter stuff was already in the back when I went to help unload a truck. The truck contained Valentine's Day items.
Why is this "unfortunate?" I truly don't understand why this bothers people so much. They wouldn't put it out there if people didn't buy it.
It's unfortunate mainly because it really makes time seem to go by a lot faster than it already does.
It does? I have never thought that but OK...
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 29, 2024, 10:23:45 AMIt does? I have never thought that but OK...
I guess it's really something you don't notice unless you work in or spend a lot of time in retail. "Oh, it's Christmas, time to put the Valentine's Day stuff out. It's Valentine's Day, put the spring stuff out," etc.
It also doesn't help when you work somewhere that starts playing Christmas music 24/7 in the middle of November.
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 10:30:13 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 29, 2024, 10:23:45 AMIt does? I have never thought that but OK...
I guess it's really something you don't notice unless you work in or spend a lot of time in retail. "Oh, it's Christmas, time to put the Valentine's Day stuff out. It's Valentine's Day, put the spring stuff out," etc.
It also doesn't help when you work somewhere that starts playing Christmas music 24/7 in the middle of November.
That makes sense. And maybe its because when I go to stores, it's usually for very specific items and its a quick in and out.
Christmas music in the middle of November is too far. When played that early you are already sick of the songs by December 1.
in the early to mid 20th century, the Friday after Thanksgiving was the 'Christmas Opening' for retail storefronts (ie, downtown).
Mike
Not to mention that, if the stuff is out early, customers have to buy it early, even if they would rather wait, because if they do wait, it might not be available any more. I've found that waiting until Easter to buy Easter candy is a good way to have some things already be gone from store shelves. The stores where I am usually run out of single-serving Cadbury mini eggs about a month before, so I have to buy them before I would consider it time if I want to get any at all. And since the chocolate smell leaks out, that means I inevitably can't have them around Easter, because they'll be eaten by then.
Quote from: mgk920 on July 29, 2024, 11:20:46 AMin the early to mid 20th century, the Friday after Thanksgiving was the 'Christmas Opening' for retail storefronts (ie, downtown).
Mike
Woodbridge Center in Woodbridge, NJ had Santa Arrive on Black Friday making a Grand Entrance to mark the start of the shopping Season.
Now Santa is there in all malls before Thanksgiving.
Quote from: snowc on July 28, 2024, 10:01:31 AMHalloween isn't for another 2 months, and already stores are prepping for the spooky holiday.
But why now? Can't they just wait until September to release it?
Walmart has theirs online, Target too, and now Lowes?
Not to pile on, but Halloween is 3 months away, 94 days, to be exact, from when I write this.
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 09:58:52 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 29, 2024, 09:56:06 AMQuote from: WillWeaverRVA on July 29, 2024, 09:46:40 AMCostco had Halloween costumes out in May.
Unfortunately, most retailers are trying to get a jump on each season earlier and earlier. As a former CVS employee I can attest that if the Halloween stuff is out, the Christmas stuff is in the back. I worked on New Year's Eve (a 12-hour shift, but for triple pay, probably the only decent paycheck I got from them) and the Easter stuff was already in the back when I went to help unload a truck. The truck contained Valentine's Day items.
Why is this "unfortunate?" I truly don't understand why this bothers people so much. They wouldn't put it out there if people didn't buy it.
It's unfortunate mainly because it really makes time seem to go by a lot faster than it already does.
Also, it really waters down the experience of the holiday. If you've been seeing Christmas stuff for two months by the time the actual holiday happens, it's kind of hard to get excited about it. At that point it's worn out its welcome and doesn't feel special at all.
My wife would wholeheartedly disagree with that statement. She's been browsing all the Halloween stuff every time I take her to a major store. Part of our upcoming trip to Michigan involves going to a Christmas mega store on her birthday. Normal people tend to like things such as early holiday item shopping or seasonally themed stores.
I'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Seeing Halloween decorations now is even more absurd then seeing Valentine's Day candy at New Year's.
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 08:50:17 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
The easy answer to that is just don't go to the local big box store.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 08:50:17 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
When people put 3 months in advance, yes. When I see Halloween shit in July, yes. When I see Christmas stuff before thanksgiving and Halloween, yes.
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 11:37:32 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 08:50:17 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
When people put 3 months in advance, yes. When I see Halloween shit in July, yes. When I see Christmas stuff before thanksgiving and Halloween, yes.
I have to be honest with you, that's really odd.
To be Christmas is about celebrating the religious nature of the holiday, and spending time with family as part of that celebration. What retail stores do has absolutely no bearing on that.
Seeing the occasional 'Christmas in July' sale was bad enough as a kid . . .
Mike
I mean hey, I don't like the big name stores myself. All the same, none of them is shaping my world view or altering level of enjoyment I get out a holiday.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 11:59:44 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 11:37:32 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 08:50:17 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
When people put 3 months in advance, yes. When I see Halloween shit in July, yes. When I see Christmas stuff before thanksgiving and Halloween, yes.
I have to be honest with you, that's really odd.
To be Christmas is about celebrating the religious nature of the holiday, and spending time with family as part of that celebration. What retail stores do has absolutely no bearing on that.
Can't speak for
@Plutonic Panda, but I'm non-religious, so for me the holidays are just time spent with family and the overall "festive mood", so the stores and whatnot going all-out with displays and music and the like early definitely lessens the uniqueness of the latter (that's not to say that I won't occasionally listen to Christmas music out of season, but not crooners and certainly not all the time like many radio stations do starting in November). With Halloween it's worth, since I don't have kids, don't have any parties to go to, and candy is no longer a uniquely Halloween thing for me since I can just buy it from the grocery store whenever (and whatever stash I get to mark Halloween gets smaller every year). At least most houses don't put their displays up absurdly early, but there was one house near me that had their giant skeleton up for close to six months. I do give them points for creativity by sticking a Santa hat on it to re-use for Christmas, but come January, it had worn out its welcome (and wouldn't be gone for two more months).
Exactly. All denominations and non denominations both agreed Christmas is for family and to celebrate love. However, it isn't the case as even airlines eliminated skeleton flights and crews on Christmas Day to make money over them letting their employees spend time with families. So Christmas Day now has even more flights than many other flight days despite tv sitcoms still depicting that airlines don't fly on said holiday.
Quote from: vdeane on July 30, 2024, 01:01:38 PMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 11:59:44 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 11:37:32 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 08:50:17 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
When people put 3 months in advance, yes. When I see Halloween shit in July, yes. When I see Christmas stuff before thanksgiving and Halloween, yes.
I have to be honest with you, that's really odd.
To be Christmas is about celebrating the religious nature of the holiday, and spending time with family as part of that celebration. What retail stores do has absolutely no bearing on that.
Can't speak for @Plutonic Panda, but I'm non-religious, so for me the holidays are just time spent with family and the overall "festive mood", so the stores and whatnot going all-out with displays and music and the like early definitely lessens the uniqueness of the latter (that's not to say that I won't occasionally listen to Christmas music out of season, but not crooners and certainly not all the time like many radio stations do starting in November). With Halloween it's worth, since I don't have kids, don't have any parties to go to, and candy is no longer a uniquely Halloween thing for me since I can just buy it from the grocery store whenever (and whatever stash I get to mark Halloween gets smaller every year). At least most houses don't put their displays up absurdly early, but there was one house near me that had their giant skeleton up for close to six months. I do give them points for creativity by sticking a Santa hat on it to re-use for Christmas, but come January, it had worn out its welcome (and wouldn't be gone for two more months).
Man, a lot of you spend way too much time allowing others to impact the things you value.
Quote from: vdeane on July 30, 2024, 01:01:38 PMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 11:59:44 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 11:37:32 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 08:50:17 AMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:12:55 AMI'm really sick of retail stores putting out holiday stuff so far in advance. It makes the holidays less special. What good is it celebrating Christmas if you're seeing Christmas shit for damn near half of the fucking year.
Your holiday is made less special because of a retail display?
When people put 3 months in advance, yes. When I see Halloween shit in July, yes. When I see Christmas stuff before thanksgiving and Halloween, yes.
I have to be honest with you, that's really odd.
To be Christmas is about celebrating the religious nature of the holiday, and spending time with family as part of that celebration. What retail stores do has absolutely no bearing on that.
Can't speak for @Plutonic Panda, but I'm non-religious, so for me the holidays are just time spent with family and the overall "festive mood", so the stores and whatnot going all-out with displays and music and the like early definitely lessens the uniqueness of the latter (that's not to say that I won't occasionally listen to Christmas music out of season, but not crooners and certainly not all the time like many radio stations do starting in November). With Halloween it's worth, since I don't have kids, don't have any parties to go to, and candy is no longer a uniquely Halloween thing for me since I can just buy it from the grocery store whenever (and whatever stash I get to mark Halloween gets smaller every year). At least most houses don't put their displays up absurdly early, but there was one house near me that had their giant skeleton up for close to six months. I do give them points for creativity by sticking a Santa hat on it to re-use for Christmas, but come January, it had worn out its welcome (and wouldn't be gone for two more months).
I'm not religious either. But it does kind of take the fun out of holidays when I like them to be a special time of the year and it becomes less special when you see them commercialized for months and months before they happen.
External influences only become a factor if you allow to be. It isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
I understand the sentiment that too much exposure cheapens the holiday feeling.
For a while the company I worked for did performance evaluations early in the year. They were based on what you did the prior year. The rating you got determined the raise you would receive. But the raises didn't start until late in the year, Sept or Oct. By the time they came around, you had been so used to the idea that a raise was coming - eventually - that when it actually showed up it wasn't that big of a deal any more. Because now it was almost time to write up your progress for the next evaluation.
Instead of being exasperated by holiday decor and merchandise showing up so early, just live with it and determine to celebrate when the holiday actually gets here. It can be done.
An aside: In the church calendar, Advent is the period of 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas, a time for preparation and examination. Then we have the Christmas Eve and Christmas services, and it seems like it's over. It's not supposed to be - Christmas is supposed to last to Epiphany, being the "12 Days of Christmas" (absent the wacky true love presents).
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:33:20 PMExternal influences only become a factor if you allow to be. It isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
Nobody is saying that. It's not something I loose sleep over. It would just be nice if we could keep Halloween sales until around September. Thanksgiving until after Halloween. And then Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I'm not demanding that happens. Yes, obviously people are buying shit or they wouldn't be doing this. Society is a bunch of crap. It's no different than the same people that will complain about a Walmart being built near their neighborhood and then shop there after it's built. This is a discussion forum and I'm giving my opinion. It's not just big box stores that do this shit either I've seen smaller mom and Pop shops do this as well.
It would just be nice to see Holiday themed decorations and sells put out closer to around the time the holiday is.
Quote from: vdeane on July 30, 2024, 01:01:38 PMthat's not to say that I won't occasionally listen to Christmas music out of season, but not crooners and certainly not all the time like many radio stations do starting in November
Oh, God, I just realized that since I live in the crooner capital of the world, that probably has implications on what Christmas here is like. Well,
that will be an experience.
At some point I might need to sit down and find a way to learn to like the music of all those guys we named streets after.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 30, 2024, 11:59:44 AMTo be Christmas is about celebrating the religious nature of the holiday, and spending time with family as part of that celebration. What retail stores do has absolutely no bearing on that.
And see, in my family, Thanksgiving was traditionally the big extended-family holiday. And I'm not religious. So my experience of the holiday is as more of a cultural thing...meaning external influences, like what big box stores are doing, are a big part of my experience of it.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:33:20 PMIt isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
Is that not exactly what TV and Internet advertising is?
Nobody said you have to watch TV much less pay attention to what is on it. The TV can always be turned off if it becomes too annoying.
To answer the original post's question, stores do it because people will buy that sort of crap months in advance.
Quote from: GaryV on July 30, 2024, 03:36:36 PM....
An aside: In the church calendar, Advent is the period of 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas, a time for preparation and examination. Then we have the Christmas Eve and Christmas services, and it seems like it's over. It's not supposed to be ....
It's not just Christmas. Lent is a liturgically austere season, to be followed by the 50-day "festival season" of Easter. I suppose Easter has lost its meaning even more than Christmas, though.
The American approach has become to celebrate a holiday in advance of the actual holiday and then to declare, "It's over, on to the next" as soon as the 24-hour holiday itself has ended. I know one fellow who is insistent that Christmas decorations should not remain up after January 1. Our neighborhood says January 15, but they also say that seasonal holiday decorations may remain up for 14 days after the holiday. I've always been tempted to leave outdoor Christmas decorations up past January 15 and then to say, "Orthodox Christmas is on January 7, so I have until January 21." But it's not worth bothering because I simply ignore their January 15 deadline in favor of using the three-day Martin Luther King weekend (which may or may not coincide with January 15) to take down the Christmas stuff. Our only outdoor stuff consists of lights spread over the azalea bushes and none of them are lit up after January 6 anyway.
Maybe I'm superstitious, but I don't like celebrating milestones like birthdays or anniversaries in advance of the actual day. If the actual day is not an option (say, a Wednesday night makes it hard to go somewhere), I prefer to wait until the weekend after. Why? Because nothing guarantees you're actually going to make it to the day you're celebrating. I think in terms of how my father died right about a month prior to my parents' 50th anniversary, for example. But with that said, my wife and I have gone out to dinner on the Saturday before our anniversary on occasion when the preceding Saturday worked out better, so who am I to talk. (This year it fell on Sunday—the day before yesterday—and we went out of town for a four-day weekend.)
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:38:41 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:33:20 PMExternal influences only become a factor if you allow to be. It isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
Nobody is saying that. It's not something I loose sleep over. It would just be nice if we could keep Halloween sales until around September. Thanksgiving until after Halloween. And then Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I'm not demanding that happens. Yes, obviously people are buying shit or they wouldn't be doing this. Society is a bunch of crap. It's no different than the same people that will complain about a Walmart being built near their neighborhood and then shop there after it's built. This is a discussion forum and I'm giving my opinion. It's not just big box stores that do this shit either I've seen smaller mom and Pop shops do this as well.
It would just be nice to see Holiday themed decorations and sells put out closer to around the time the holiday is.
The problem is that you are finding scapegoats to lessen your enjoyment of a holiday. If society is such a bother, tune it out.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:49:18 PMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:38:41 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:33:20 PMExternal influences only become a factor if you allow to be. It isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
Nobody is saying that. It's not something I loose sleep over. It would just be nice if we could keep Halloween sales until around September. Thanksgiving until after Halloween. And then Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I'm not demanding that happens. Yes, obviously people are buying shit or they wouldn't be doing this. Society is a bunch of crap. It's no different than the same people that will complain about a Walmart being built near their neighborhood and then shop there after it's built. This is a discussion forum and I'm giving my opinion. It's not just big box stores that do this shit either I've seen smaller mom and Pop shops do this as well.
It would just be nice to see Holiday themed decorations and sells put out closer to around the time the holiday is.
The problem is that you are finding scapegoats to lessen your enjoyment of a holiday. If society is such a bother, tune it out.
I'm not finding scapegoats to less than my enjoyment of holidays. If I didn't like holidays, I would just come out and say I don't like them. What makes you think you know me so well? I've always thought this way in generally have loved holidays.
Now granted, I will admit I am growing a little bit colder as I get older and I'm enjoying holidays less than I used to mainly because of work and stuff like that. I've heard the term that Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas anymore and the older I get the more I feel like that. Tribute to me saying Christmas stuff out way before Christmas, but I don't think that's the only reason I'm feeling that way.
I'm just saying it would be nice if stores wouldn't put out Christmas trees in fucking August. It would be nice not to see Halloween shit three months before Halloween. This thread is about that. And yes, it does bother me a bit but more so with Halloween than anything because that's my favorite tradition(not technically a holiday) But I'll just say it's a holiday and it's my favorite one of the year.
Once again, this isn't something I lose sleep over. I don't hate holidays. In generally when I walk into a store and I see Holiday stuff for sale well before holidays, it does bug me and when I get in the car, I may mumble to myself or whoever is with me a little bit about it and then 10 minutes later, I forget about it.
Quote from: roadman65 on July 29, 2024, 11:13:30 AMChristmas music in the middle of November is too far.
Unfortunately, much of the retail world has the exact opposite interpretation of this sentence. For them, the middle of November is too
late to start playing holiday music. They're already late to the party by that point.
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:55:23 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:49:18 PMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:38:41 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:33:20 PMExternal influences only become a factor if you allow to be. It isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
Nobody is saying that. It's not something I loose sleep over. It would just be nice if we could keep Halloween sales until around September. Thanksgiving until after Halloween. And then Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I'm not demanding that happens. Yes, obviously people are buying shit or they wouldn't be doing this. Society is a bunch of crap. It's no different than the same people that will complain about a Walmart being built near their neighborhood and then shop there after it's built. This is a discussion forum and I'm giving my opinion. It's not just big box stores that do this shit either I've seen smaller mom and Pop shops do this as well.
It would just be nice to see Holiday themed decorations and sells put out closer to around the time the holiday is.
The problem is that you are finding scapegoats to lessen your enjoyment of a holiday. If society is such a bother, tune it out.
I'm not finding scapegoats to less than my enjoyment of holidays. If I didn't like holidays, I would just come out and say I don't like them. What makes you think you know me so well? I've always thought this way in generally have loved holidays.
Now granted, I will admit I am growing a little bit colder as I get older and I'm enjoying holidays less than I used to mainly because of work and stuff like that. I've heard the term that Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas anymore and the older I get the more I feel like that. Tribute to me saying Christmas stuff out way before Christmas, but I don't think that's the only reason I'm feeling that way.
I'm just saying it would be nice if stores wouldn't put out Christmas trees in fucking August. It would be nice not to see Halloween shit three months before Halloween. This thread is about that. And yes, it does bother me a bit but more so with Halloween than anything because that's my favorite tradition(not technically a holiday) But I'll just say it's a holiday and it's my favorite one of the year.
Once again, this isn't something I lose sleep over. I don't hate holidays. In generally when I walk into a store and I see Holiday stuff for sale well before holidays, it does bug me and when I get in the car, I may mumble to myself or whoever is with me a little bit about it and then 10 minutes later, I forget about it.
Can you really blame a retail store for pushing high margin items that sell? Stores will go exploit what ads net profit to the bottom line. Clearly there is a market for early holiday wares given how prolific they are.
Quote from: webny99 on July 30, 2024, 07:57:08 PMQuote from: roadman65 on July 29, 2024, 11:13:30 AMChristmas music in the middle of November is too far.
Unfortunately, much of the retail world has the exact opposite interpretation of this sentence. For them, the middle of November is too late to start playing holiday music. They're already late to the party by that point.
There is a whole theory amongst retailer merchandisers about store music. Apparently it tends to induce sensory deprivation and make people lose their sense of time. The holiday music is supposed to enhance that further by making things seem festive.
Similarly there are retail merchandising practices about not placing visible clocks or having a view of the outside. The idea about shifting of plan-o-grams is to force customers to search/shop the store. The hope is that they might pick up additional items they didn't plan to buy.
Basically, none of these practices are probably aimed at people replying to this thread. My wife or a lot of normal people are no doubt the target demographic. What a lot of you aren't getting is that there is an actual strategy to retail merchandising.
^ I for one totally get why it's done, and I know for myself that music tends to cause one to lose sense of time. I just don't think it's necessary but it makes sense from a retail marketing and ambience perspective.
It's weird that Walmart was always this bad for Christmas stuff when I worked there 25 years ago. Christmas stuff was already arriving for the stockroom area by late August, but they were good at holding it back to mid-October or so. They staged Halloween near Stationary and Christmas in Lawn & Garden so they could stage both simultaneously. Usually they clearanced out/hid in the back the lawn and garden stuff starting before Columbus Day.
I don't even know what they do now because I go so little I've lost track of the timing. Whatever charm it had is long gone, especially with the stale supercenter I have that usurped the regular one I worked in.
I don't know if anyone agrees with me here, but the magic of retail there used to be is quite dead and gone now. I actually enjoyed my time in retail but I know I would loathe it now.
There was magic to retail? For me it has always been a transactional experience.
Lately, I've seen this done earlier and earlier in advance, because they want to give shoppers a jump on the season. In addition to the ones already mentioned, I've also seen Fourth of July stuff coming out in May, and Back-to-School stuff in June, shortly after the previous school year has ended.
I don't think it's gotten any earlier. I remember stores like Macy's beginning in early September my entire life.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 09:31:28 PMThere was magic to retail? For me it has always been a transactional experience.
I think any magic is seen through the eyes of childhood nostalgia a la The Christmas Story. I doubt it every really existed for adults.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 31, 2024, 11:21:43 AMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 09:31:28 PMThere was magic to retail? For me it has always been a transactional experience.
I think any magic is seen through the eyes of childhood nostalgia a la The Christmas Story. I doubt it every really existed for adults.
Perhaps, I never found stores to be anything special growing up.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 09:02:14 PMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:55:23 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:49:18 PMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:38:41 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 03:33:20 PMExternal influences only become a factor if you allow to be. It isn't as though Sam Walton is kicking down your door to advertise Christmas decor.
Nobody is saying that. It's not something I loose sleep over. It would just be nice if we could keep Halloween sales until around September. Thanksgiving until after Halloween. And then Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I'm not demanding that happens. Yes, obviously people are buying shit or they wouldn't be doing this. Society is a bunch of crap. It's no different than the same people that will complain about a Walmart being built near their neighborhood and then shop there after it's built. This is a discussion forum and I'm giving my opinion. It's not just big box stores that do this shit either I've seen smaller mom and Pop shops do this as well.
It would just be nice to see Holiday themed decorations and sells put out closer to around the time the holiday is.
The problem is that you are finding scapegoats to lessen your enjoyment of a holiday. If society is such a bother, tune it out.
I'm not finding scapegoats to less than my enjoyment of holidays. If I didn't like holidays, I would just come out and say I don't like them. What makes you think you know me so well? I've always thought this way in generally have loved holidays.
Now granted, I will admit I am growing a little bit colder as I get older and I'm enjoying holidays less than I used to mainly because of work and stuff like that. I've heard the term that Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas anymore and the older I get the more I feel like that. Tribute to me saying Christmas stuff out way before Christmas, but I don't think that's the only reason I'm feeling that way.
I'm just saying it would be nice if stores wouldn't put out Christmas trees in fucking August. It would be nice not to see Halloween shit three months before Halloween. This thread is about that. And yes, it does bother me a bit but more so with Halloween than anything because that's my favorite tradition(not technically a holiday) But I'll just say it's a holiday and it's my favorite one of the year.
Once again, this isn't something I lose sleep over. I don't hate holidays. In generally when I walk into a store and I see Holiday stuff for sale well before holidays, it does bug me and when I get in the car, I may mumble to myself or whoever is with me a little bit about it and then 10 minutes later, I forget about it.
Can you really blame a retail store for pushing high margin items that sell? Stores will go exploit what ads net profit to the bottom line. Clearly there is a market for early holiday wares given how prolific they are.
We can argue about—what were we arguing in the other thread but I can't argue with you on this. I'm kind of a hypocrite because if I owned a store, I'll probably be doing the same thing.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 09:13:44 PMThere is a whole theory amongst retailer merchandisers about store music. Apparently it tends to induce sensory deprivation and make people lose their sense of time.
See, this is interesting to me because I already have a poor sense of time, but music actually makes me
more aware of it. A song is normally somewhere between two and five minutes long, so that helps me segment the time.
Of course it's even easier if it's a song you're familiar with. I played the first
Splatoon enough that I could pretty reliably tell how much time was left on the clock just based on the music.
The other thing is, you're kinda forced to shop early which again ruins the special feel of "that time of the year" if you want to get anything good. If you wait until closer to whatever holiday it is you're shopping for most of the good stuff is gone.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2024, 05:24:30 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 09:13:44 PMThere is a whole theory amongst retailer merchandisers about store music. Apparently it tends to induce sensory deprivation and make people lose their sense of time.
See, this is interesting to me because I already have a poor sense of time, but music actually makes me more aware of it. A song is normally somewhere between two and five minutes long, so that helps me segment the time.
Of course it's even easier if it's a song you're familiar with. I played the first Splatoon enough that I could pretty reliably tell how much time was left on the clock just based on the music.
Me personally, I always preferred the sound of silence at Target. Listening to all these merchandisers/buyers talk about their theories and strategies as an outside observer was fascinating.
Probably to try to sell as much as they can. I just noticed a Spirit Halloween store in Saginaw today.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 31, 2024, 08:19:40 PMProbably to try to sell as much as they can. I just noticed a Spirit Halloween store in Saginaw today.
I saw a Spirit Halloween sign today as well in LA on what look like to be an old marquee from a movie theater.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2024, 06:49:27 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2024, 05:24:30 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2024, 09:13:44 PMThere is a whole theory amongst retailer merchandisers about store music. Apparently it tends to induce sensory deprivation and make people lose their sense of time.
See, this is interesting to me because I already have a poor sense of time, but music actually makes me more aware of it. A song is normally somewhere between two and five minutes long, so that helps me segment the time.
Of course it's even easier if it's a song you're familiar with. I played the first Splatoon enough that I could pretty reliably tell how much time was left on the clock just based on the music.
Me personally, I always preferred the sound of silence at Target. Listening to all these merchandisers/buyers talk about their theories and strategies as an outside observer was fascinating.
Hello darkness my old friend...
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 31, 2024, 08:59:06 PMQuote from: Flint1979 on July 31, 2024, 08:19:40 PMProbably to try to sell as much as they can. I just noticed a Spirit Halloween store in Saginaw today.
I saw a Spirit Halloween sign today as well in LA on what look like to be an old marquee from a movie theater.
The location I saw it at was a former Bed, Bath & Beyond and originally a BEST if anyone remembers that store. You can even see the label scar from BEST on the building in this GSV, https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4714395,-83.9733285,3a,75y,96.43h,95.02t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPePDsSxD5wXuFwa5iMMeXQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DPePDsSxD5wXuFwa5iMMeXQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D96.42981661680366%26pitch%3D-5.017623129505438%26thumbfov%3D90!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?coh=205410&entry=ttu
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 31, 2024, 10:55:51 PMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 31, 2024, 08:59:06 PMQuote from: Flint1979 on July 31, 2024, 08:19:40 PMProbably to try to sell as much as they can. I just noticed a Spirit Halloween store in Saginaw today.
I saw a Spirit Halloween sign today as well in LA on what look like to be an old marquee from a movie theater.
The location I saw it at was a former Bed, Bath & Beyond and originally a BEST if anyone remembers that store. You can even see the label scar from BEST on the building in this GSV, https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4714395,-83.9733285,3a,75y,96.43h,95.02t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPePDsSxD5wXuFwa5iMMeXQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DPePDsSxD5wXuFwa5iMMeXQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D96.42981661680366%26pitch%3D-5.017623129505438%26thumbfov%3D90!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?coh=205410&entry=ttu
I'll have to go back and remember where I saw this one at. I was pretty surprised because it was in a pretty historic building. Usually spirit Halloween stores are in these old Bed Bath and beyond type stores that have gone out of business. I'm wanting to say this one was on Wilshire, but I'm not sure I'll go back and retrace my steps later tonight
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 31, 2024, 11:40:48 PMQuote from: Flint1979 on July 31, 2024, 10:55:51 PMQuote from: Plutonic Panda on July 31, 2024, 08:59:06 PMQuote from: Flint1979 on July 31, 2024, 08:19:40 PMProbably to try to sell as much as they can. I just noticed a Spirit Halloween store in Saginaw today.
I saw a Spirit Halloween sign today as well in LA on what look like to be an old marquee from a movie theater.
The location I saw it at was a former Bed, Bath & Beyond and originally a BEST if anyone remembers that store. You can even see the label scar from BEST on the building in this GSV, https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4714395,-83.9733285,3a,75y,96.43h,95.02t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPePDsSxD5wXuFwa5iMMeXQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DPePDsSxD5wXuFwa5iMMeXQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D96.42981661680366%26pitch%3D-5.017623129505438%26thumbfov%3D90!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?coh=205410&entry=ttu
I'll have to go back and remember where I saw this one at. I was pretty surprised because it was in a pretty historic building. Usually spirit Halloween stores are in these old Bed Bath and beyond type stores that have gone out of business. I'm wanting to say this one was on Wilshire, but I'm not sure I'll go back and retrace my steps later tonight
Yeah they probably just get any spot where the lease is cheap enough.
There are a lot of people for whom Halloween is their favorite holiday, and are willing to spend the money. Also, the property lease is likely for a quarter (Aug-Sept-Oct), so why not make that as revenue generating as possible?
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 30, 2024, 03:55:23 PMNow granted, I will admit I am growing a little bit colder as I get older and I'm enjoying holidays less than I used to mainly because of work and stuff like that. I've heard the term that Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas anymore and the older I get the more I feel like that. Tribute to me saying Christmas stuff out way before Christmas, but I don't think that's the only reason I'm feeling that way.
I'm just saying it would be nice if stores wouldn't put out Christmas trees in fucking August. It would be nice not to see Halloween shit three months before Halloween. This thread is about that. And yes, it does bother me a bit but more so with Halloween than anything because that's my favorite tradition(not technically a holiday) But I'll just say it's a holiday and it's my favorite one of the year.
It's completely normal to care less about the holidays as you get older. When you're little, Santa bringing you stuff is magical. After you find out he doesn't exist (spoiler alert), then it's still getting presents because you can't buy them yourself. Once you have a job/career and you can buy the things you want yourself, it's basically just nostalgia, and, at least for me, that loses some luster as you get older too.
Same thing with Halloween. When you're little, you get to play dress up AND you get candy. When you're a little older, it's a good, drunken party with scantily clad ladies. After those days, it's pretty much just an opportunity to have leftover candy that you otherwise wouldn't have bought for yourself and see some smiling kids.
I
will say that having a toddler right now is bringing a little bit more of the joy to my holiday experiences. I hadn't cared about fireworks on the 4th in decades, but seeing my son's face and hearing him scream "oh, man!" every time there was a big one was very fun.
I don't think any of the "holidays losing its luster" comes from retail stores' decisions on when to market their goods.
Pfft. I like handing out candy on Halloween, especially the traditional trick-or-treaters.
When another, younger generation recognizes that you can do both trick-or-treat and be carted off by parents for "trunk-or-treating," that will be the generation that will save our country.
Amusingly had much of the same discussion with a subordinate today regarding the Fall and Halloween store signage. Keyed into my earlier thread talking points about high margin items.
I wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
Quote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 04:05:25 PMI wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
Calendars should be available now. Maybe they're somewhat basic, but Staples has them in stock. I would imagine Walmart & Target and other places have them available by this point as well.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 08, 2024, 05:58:21 PMQuote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 04:05:25 PMI wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
Calendars should be available now. Maybe they're somewhat basic, but Staples has them in stock. I would imagine Walmart & Target and other places have them available by this point as well.
Target isn't far. I'll try them.
Quote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 04:05:25 PMI wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
I use my phone for all of that as well.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on August 09, 2024, 09:17:28 AMQuote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 04:05:25 PMI wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
I use my phone for all of that as well.
I use my phone calendar, but my wife and I also have a wall calendar attached to the kitchen refrigerator with magnets. The main reasons: (1) she's more comfortable with it; (2) redundancy; (3) serves as a backup in case of user error. #3 is especially important. We have a shared "family calendar" on our phones and on more than one occasion, she's deleted an item from that calendar that then caused it to disappear on my phone as well even though we still had the event scheduled. Plus she doesn't quite seem to be certain how to add things to the "family calendar"—several times the cat's vet appointments haven't shown up, for example, so having them listed on the calendar in the kitchen is helpful.
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 09, 2024, 09:21:45 AMQuote from: SEWIGuy on August 09, 2024, 09:17:28 AMQuote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 04:05:25 PMI wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
I use my phone for all of that as well.
I use my phone calendar, but my wife and I also have a wall calendar attached to the kitchen refrigerator with magnets. The main reasons: (1) she's more comfortable with it; (2) redundancy; (3) serves as a backup in case of user error. #3 is especially important. We have a shared "family calendar" on our phones and on more than one occasion, she's deleted an item from that calendar that then caused it to disappear on my phone as well even though we still had the event scheduled. Plus she doesn't quite seem to be certain how to add things to the "family calendar"—several times the cat's vet appointments haven't shown up, for example, so having them listed on the calendar in the kitchen is helpful.
Yeah, now that I think of it, my wife does the same thing. It shows you how much I look at it!
I wonder if there is a way to throw the Google calendar onto a dedicated display that can update dynamically.
I generally prefer having paper calendars because I'm more likely to look at them than the one on my phone. My most frequent use case for calendars is figuring out for work things like "what is the date two Fridays from now", which I can do with a glance on a paper calendar without having to unlock it, close out of whatever I was doing, root around for the button...
The downside of paper calendars is I usually forget to change the month.
Christmas stuff on September first.
Quote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 11:39:11 PMQuote from: jeffandnicole on August 08, 2024, 05:58:21 PMQuote from: kkt on August 08, 2024, 04:05:25 PMI wish wall calendars were available for the next year in about June.
Many medical and dental appointments are made six months ahead. Many long vacations are planned a year early. Many theatres and musical venues announce their whole season of shows in May that covers 3 to 12 months ahead. I want to be able to write them down so I can plan other things around them, but no wall calendars until September or so.
Calendars should be available now. Maybe they're somewhat basic, but Staples has them in stock. I would imagine Walmart & Target and other places have them available by this point as well.
Target isn't far. I'll try them.
Update from Target:
They did not have 2025 January-December wall calendars. However they did have July 2024-June 2025 wall calendars. Not exactly what I wanted, but I decided to call it good.
Mid-September is when we will set our center court for our Christmas toy gondolas, and also change our seasonal section from lawn and garden to heating. Mind you, we will still likely be in the 90s for highs by then.
People down south are crazy though. They'll be clamoring for faucet covers the minute the low drops below 50. I've lived here for 20+ years and got a full dose of that minus-2 in 2021, and never had an issue with outdoor spigots once.
I did see some Halloween crap while grocery shopping today. It's too early.
Quote from: Rothman on August 12, 2024, 11:07:13 PMI did see some Halloween crap while grocery shopping today. It's too early.
Perfect time to remind everyone Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer is available.
I saw cans of pumpkin spice flavor whipped topping in the dairy case yesterday.
No purchase was made.
Quote from: Road Hog on August 12, 2024, 10:45:44 PMPeople down south are crazy though. They'll be clamoring for faucet covers the minute the low drops below 50. I've lived here for 20+ years and got a full dose of that minus-2 in 2021, and never had an issue with outdoor spigots once.
I remember February, 2021. My pool was constantly running for ten days to avoid equipment damage. Good think I live so close to a medical center, I'm on the same electric circuit.
When I moved into my home in 2019, I did notice one of my outdoor faucets dropping. So I replaced all three with outdoor hydrants that went from fully closed to fully open in a half-turn, but, more importantly, the valve portion was at the threaded end six inches inside the home instead of at the valve. I do still use the faucet covers when it is expected to drop below freezing... it's a check to ensure that no hoses are hooked up.
I saw some mixed alternately yellow and dark green dyed popped popcorn in a local grocery deli case when I was there a few days ago. Yep, that time of the year again here in NE Wisconsin! :nod:
Mike
Last night out for the evening riding around I saw lots of orange and purple lights on already, meaning some people already have the festive Halloween spirit 10+ weeks before it.
I saw an inflatable turkey wearing a pilgrim hat at WinCo today. (Since it's Las Vegas, I should probably clarify I'm describing a store display and not a fellow customer.) First time I've seen a Thanksgiving display this early.