Thanks-istmas

I used to be an electronics buyer for a retailer back in Brooklyn, NY, who was one of the first to run 'Christmas in July' sales many years ago in an effort to increase sales during our traditionally slow summer season.  It was a weird but effective sales strategy and it was kind of fun to help design Christmas ads and decorate the stores while wondering whether or not it was going to be a good weekend to head to the beach.  It was a moment in time, but the real fun happened post-Thanksgiving with the 'official' start of the Christmas season being Black Friday.  My mom and I could not wait to head to the malls the day after we had stuffed ourselves into a food coma to start our holiday shopping.  The anticipation was heightened only by our knowing that this was when we would be able to take advantage of the best sales and feel the excitement of season from the moment we caught sight of the decor adorning the malls and the individual store windows.  I loved that time of year.

Flash forward to the present when the reality is that we actually do start seeing Christmas decor in the stores in July.  Okay, so perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but it is not unusual to see Christmas in the stores come September alongside Halloween and Thanksgiving and for me it begs the question as to why?  What is the rush? Why have the seasons now become more like #summerfallwinter as opposed to what they used to be, true, distinct seasons when we could enjoy the harvest and the beautiful foliage without having to look past Christmas lights in the process.  I know that given where we live, an argument could be made for installing outdoor lights and decor sooner rather than later so as to capitalize on the slightly warmer weather.  Trust me, as a person who has attempted to drive stakes into already frozen earth to secure our ever-popular Christmas lawn ornaments, I get it, but seeing the lights burning brightly in all there green and red splendor before Veteran's Day saddens me on some level.

The retailers are the biggest culprits in the race to Christmas.  I have already received a mailer and an email plus seen more than one reference on my Instagram feed to the amazing sale next week at a major retailer in which the entire store will be 50% off.  It is called something like the 'Pre-Black Friday Sale.' But, I thought Black Friday was supposed to be the start of the big sales, not some random day a week prior to Thanksgiving.  What the heck?  Where is the sense of anticipation?  Again, it saddens me on some level.

Please don't even get me started on the fact that the stores are now opening on Thanksgiving to start the Black Friday rush even earlier. While I am not a person opposed to shopping on Thanksgiving...I think that once the meal is eaten, the dishes are done and the husband is snoozing in from of the TV, I am all in for a round of shopping...I miss the sense of excitement and wonderment that the building of anticipation about the season made all the sweeter.

This is, of course, merely one woman's opinion, but I hate the thought that the last two weeks before Christmas are going to be filled with post-Christmas/pre-New Year's/Valentine's Day sales. Happy Thanks-istmas everyone!