Why Is Christmas Already Hitting the Stores?

W

hat are you dressing up as for Halloween? What's that? Too early to think about Halloween? Alright, well how early are you planning on waking up for Black Friday? WAY too early to think about post-Thanksgiving sales? Then you'll be dismayed to learn that some stores are already bringing out their Christmas decor—in mid-September.

It's enough to make anyone go batty, and frankly, it's a little ridiculous. It's September. In parts of the country, air conditioners are still running—and we don't mean parts like Arizona or Florida, either. So why do retailers feel the need to remind us that ol' Saint Nick will be heading down our chimneys in...three months?

Our biggest concern in September shouldn't be Christmas, it should be Halloween costumes or how to help the kids with their math homework (you know, since school just started).

The Christmas-grab is getting a little too much to handle. Setting up "Days til Christmas" countdowns are appropriate for one time and one time only: December 1st. It's perfectly normal to get excited about the biggest holiday of the year, but not in September. In September, we should be thanking Mother Nature for cooling things down a bit. Finally, we don't have to figure in "sweating" into our daily routine (unless, of course, it's planned, like when you go to the gym). Finally, we can bake something without baking ourselves in the hot kitchen air.

We shouldn't be worrying about the latest doorbuster sales, or what the hottest toy will be. We shouldn't have to plan out a Christmas Eve menu yet or think about sending out holiday cards. Our biggest concern should be how best to embarrass our dogs by making them dress up for Halloween or how to do the math homework our kids are bringing home from school (you know, since it just started?).

So here's our plea to retailers: leave Christmas to the cold months...or at least wait until SUMMER is over before you start shoving it down our throats.