Christmas in July will soon be a reality since we’re already getting Christmas in mid-October.
Stores used to wait until at least after Halloween. In the real good ole days, no self-respecting reindeer would rear its head until after Thanksgiving.
Not anymore.
Congratulations to Tucson Lowe’s for being one of the earliest Christmas pushers we’ve seen yet, jamming the holiday down our throats way before its time. Not sure when the decor went up, but we spotted it at the 4151 N. Oracle Road location Oct. 23, a full week before Halloween.
Glittery stars, bows, and angels crammed at least two major aisles in the store, covering walls, gondolas and pegboards and stretching their garish tentacles right up to the ceiling.
Two white, light-up reindeer pranced anemically in front of a forest of fabulous faux trees.
We had giant candy canes, an even bigger snow globe encasing a snowman and a huge, fat, blow-up Santa just begging to grace, and then deflate in, our yards.
Christmas in mid-October not only showcases the massive amount of retail greed that has become synonymous with the holiday, but it smacks of hypocrisy.
Some businesses no longer allow their employees to wish customers and clients a “Merry Christmas,” yet many still shamelessly tout the holiday when it comes to making a buck.
Erecting a giant Santa in the middle of October also takes away the special magic surrounding the once-unique Christmas season.
It’s tough for something to remain special and unique when it’s stretched thin over a solid 10 weeks.
While we’d much rather still be ogling skeletons, witches and vampire bats right before Halloween – or, quite frankly, any time of the year – maybe we should stop fighting the early coming of Christmas and just go with the snow flow.
Perhaps it does have a few advantages.
For starters, folks who leave their holiday lights tacked to their homes all year will now always be in season.
There is really no reason to take them down when Christmas keeps sprouting earlier and earlier. Heck, not only will it soon hit in July, but we’ll bet a stocking full of coal the holiday eventually becomes a year-round thing.
People who invest in snowflake earrings, snowman parkas and those horrific reindeer sweaters that sprout felt deer antlers can also now wear them without fear of them being passé.
But the biggest advantage may be for the parents. Creative parenting will surely reach new heights while mom and dad find new ways to quell little Jimmy who starts howling for Santa a full two months before he’s due.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good shopping spree.
[tnipoll]
–
Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who prefers Halloween over Christmas and pretty much anything over going to the dentist. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com and Rynski.Etsy.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.
BONUS ROUND – Ryn also wrote the Nov. 1 editorial, scheduled to be published in Monday’s edition of the Arizona Daily Star. The editorial will also be posted Monday on Rynski’s Blogski. Stay tuned!
What do you think?
Have you seen other stores with their Christmas stuff out already? How early?
Does it kick off the season with glee or highly annoy you? Please explain.
follow rynski:
So true! I’ve seen Lowe’s do early Christmas infiltrations, as well as some other stores around town. Halloween stuff and Christmas stuff practically right next to each other.
I guess local store management is being pushed into Christmas way early by their corporate offices. Pretty soon that Christmas in July stuff won’t need to be taken down!
hiya colt carson,
you mean lowe’s is a repeat offender? dang store. you’re right, too, on the source of the pushing prob being in corporate offices.
if christmas and halloween are already nearly next to each other, we should combine the two, like one guy in nyc did one year. he made a bloody santa claus and elves holding beheaded barbie dolls. hahahaha.
I agree Oakland, it leaves me speechless too…
…it is enough to choke ya up….
It wuz happening for quite a few years, but I really think that the past 10 years have been such a downer here in the USA that I look forward to Christmas in September. We have some neighbors here in the Kent Provence of the P.R.S. that leave decorations up all year. I cannot speak for TOP now, as I haven’t lived in Tucson for about 20 years, but I did not think that Christmas wuz displayed as much as other places I’ve live. NM is certainly elaborate, and here in the socialist NW, Christmas is beautiful. The commercialization is what bothers me than inflatable Santa Claus.
hey alan in kent wa,
yeah, commercialization can ruin everything – but i’m still no fan of inflatable santas – hahahahhaha.
tucson gets a medium for christmas decor compared to other places i’ve seen, too – esp. the elaborate streets in bay ridge, bklyn, just sizzling with lights and ornamentation. blows winterhaven to shreds.
“Yet many still shamelessly tout the holiday when it comes to making a buck.”
Exactly! The ghastly commercialization of Xmas is a national disgrace. Every year, in late October, I suddenly have the awful realization that I’m going to be forced to listen to horrible elevator-music versions of “Sant’s Jolly Reindeer Elves and Candycanes,” or some such drivel, for the next two months. You may remember that I wrote on a similar topic last year:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/lizard/2009/11/12/here-comes-the-pre-christmas-pop-pap-onslaught/
Loathe the Xmas frenzy; enjoyed your article as always.
Cheers — LL
hey LL – so cool you’re back in town and blogging along, mr meteorite man!
i do recall your terrible xmas music post – the music being terrible, not your article – and WHOLLY AGREE – ugh!
thankfully the early lowe’s stuff didn’t have any music with it…yet. sure speakers are hooked up by now. i, too, get faint with the xmas frenzy.
cheers back!
In a thousand years people will think Jesus was really Casper the Friedly Ghost. They will think we merged both holidays.
Even though it is a christian holiday and I am loathe to participate for that reason alone, it is just a relentless and unstoppable force that grabs you and sucks you down with it. At no other time is commodity fetishism and its inherent emptiness more patent than during the holiday season.
Guess I wont have to send you that present I got for you?
here, here!
Christmas = good.
Commercialism = can be good to a point, except when it shifts into overkill.
Speaking of overkill… listening to 27 different versions of “White Christmas” – per day – can be a bit much… especially in the desert!
hahhahah! tooo true on the white christmas! but at least it’s not as bad as that reindeer that ran over gma song – ha! thanks for laugh.