Christmas stuff is out already!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

She'd flip if she set foot in Hobby Lobby. I've heard they've had Christmas stuff out since June.

.

I think Hobby Lobby keeps some Christmas stuff out year round.

[HawaiianShirts]

I think a lot of customers see employees as representatives of the company and, therefore, direct their comments about the company at its representatives. They see a single-minded hive instead of a colony of individuals. I admit that I thought the same way until I got my first job. After about two weeks, I changed from using "you" when shopping (unless referring specifically to the employee) to "your company," and any suggestions changed from "you should" to "perhaps you could suggest."

Just the thought of setting the ornament displays makes me in sheer terror.

Wow. Makes me glad I work in an electronics-only store instead of a general department store.

And, while I understand that there's a great deal of prep work that goes into retail holiday stuff, I too get rather annoyed that it has to start so soon. My complaints come from an employee perspective, though. As a customer, I can ignore the aisles that have the holiday stuff until I'm good and ready to buy it. What bothers me is having to be holiday-oriented for my customers when they're ready for it or when Corporate says they're ready for it. As far as Christmas is concerned, I end up getting into is far too early, so the fun of gift shopping is over for me before Thanksgiving. By the time Christmas Day rolls around, I've had my fill of it, and, last year, I was even surprised at how excited my family was for the holiday and wondered aloud, "How can they possibly not be sick of this stuff already?"

I do think a lot of companies should at least try to find ways to rein back their holiday prep stuff just a little bit.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

No, what's really [smurf]ed up is the one time I heard someone complaining about the Christmas stuff being out in June...

...in a store called "The Christmas Tree Shops"

If you're offended by such things, then why in the name of Zeus's asshole are you in the store in the first damn place?

M

[Estil]

Not only did we too get a Christmas catelog already on the checklane stand last week, but we just put up our Halloween candy as well. And I for one will not be jumping on that early Christmas bandwagon; as per tradition, our Christmas decor does not go up in our home until the day baseball playoffs start (Oct 1st this year), and not a second earlier!

[RetailWorkhorse]

Also... come November/December I'll be the guy who's gotten sick of christmas music already and will be walking around with headphones on. So maybe I'm just a grinch anyway

*Blinks* If you've done that every year, then I think I've seen you before. Or at least a fellow Sick-of-Christmas-Music-In-November guy.
...BROTHER!

They see a single-minded hive instead of a colony of individuals.

And that's what's going to mak4e me walk around the store today telling everyone I'm Borg and that they will be Assimilated.

[simplyanother]

We've had Christmas stuff out since mid-July.

When we were putting out the Christmas Ribbon, some customers were actually GIDDY about it FINALLY being out.

I had a few WTF moments that day. lol

We have an excuse, like Hobby Lobby, it's a craft store...crafty people do stuff early. That said, come the actually holiday, certain things WILL be sold out--and will have been sold out for weeks.

Holiday flags? No chance in hell you're going to find a Halloween flag on October 29th...and no way you're going to find a Santa flag December 20th.

And...have any of you noticed the dearth of Thanksgiving themed crap? We have.....uh, an end cap... and other random "fall" crap, but hardly anything that is directly related to Thanksgiving.

The holidays are fun. It's when they play "ooooh where can we move this to best confuse the customers AND the associates..." with certain seasonal merchandise.

We don't start with the Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. And I'd go batshit crazy if we had it any sooner.

That said, didn't put out any decorations at home until just before Christmas, it probably is related to the glitz and glitter of the crap at work.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

A craft store or a "Christmas shop" I will cut slack for. It's appropriate to have it out in June.

Anyone else? That's reason number #545708 that I do a huge amount of shopping online.

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

She'd flip if she set foot in Hobby Lobby. I've heard they've had Christmas stuff out since June.

Garden Ridge, too.

http://consumerist.com/5040970/this-...ely-unseasonal

[Music Mo-Gal]

So we've finally had our enquiry form sorted and we've got the Christmas broachers in.

What are broachers?

[Chromatix]

I'm of the firm opinion that Christmas decorations should not be going up until late November - that is, in time for Advent to begin. The carols should certainly not begin until Advent.

I would not put up decorations in my own home until Advent had already started - except for an Advent calendar, which has to be up ready on the 1st of December.

On the flip side, *selling* decorations is fine at any time of year. I would keep the shelf space used to a minimum before, say, mid-October, unless I had a really good reason. (Crafts would be such a reason.)

As for presents, I do realise that in some circumstances they have to be sent off ridiculously far in advance - for example to Forces. But wrapping paper is available all year round anyway (for birthdays), and cards are a relatively inoffensive item to put out early. Like decorations, I have no problem with themed wrapping paper being put out at any time - as long as it isn't shoved in my face.

Christmas is special because it only happens once a year. Making it cover a whole quarter of the year is just stupid and greedy, and spoils it for everyone.

And I'm not even religious.

[HawaiianShirts]

What are broachers?

I would guess a misspelling of "brochures," but I could easily be wrong.

[AdminAssistant]

I very recently realized that I have finally recovered from the time I spent in retail. Why? Because I'm really looking forward to Christmas again.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Yeah, if you work in retail you're sick of Christmas when it finally arrives because you've been looking at Christmas shit for at least 3 months and listening to Christmas muzak for at least a month.

However, corporate shoving it down our throats at this time of year is one of those things I've come to accept after 10 years in the retail trenches. As long as there are people who get excited about seeing the stuff out so early and buy it, corporate will continue to push it.

There is one good thing about Christmas this year: we most likely will not be working overnight this year, except for probably Thanksgiving night and Christmas night. Us going overnight would result in some people losing hours and complaining because they won't be able to help us on trucks to get their hours, and we work at our best when we're working during the mornings, which really don't get busy until we're off the floor with our freight.

So at least I will be able to stay in a normal schedule and not have to schedule my Christmas shopping expeditions around when I'm not too tired to drive anyplace.

At least I haven't heard we're going to third shift. It was about this time last year that we were told we were going on overnights.

[Department stores *sigh*]

We have a whole aisle for it already. When people complain I just tell them "tis the season" and walk away humming xmas carols.

But i can be a bit of a dick :P

[rts]

At Sam's Club, we had Christmas stuff for sale at the beginning of August!! I was doing a trash run & when I saw that I was stunned!

Yepper, we had it out then as well when I worked at Sam's!!!! I still wretch recalling the dancing Santa display!