Business & Tech

Poll: Does the Christmas Season Start Too Early?

With holiday decorations and even Santa on display by mid-November, is Christmas crowding out Thanksgiving? Take our poll.

Santa arrived at SunValley Shopping Center on Nov. 10 this year. is pouring Christmas coffee, with carols wafting in the background. Pier 1 urged customers to "get an early start on Christmas" in an email promotion way back in July.

And yes, Christmas decorations have already been spotted at some Clayton businesses.

It's a phenomenon called Christmas creep, when holiday sales, shopping and decorations show up earlier and earlier each year. This year, it's more evident than ever, as retailers ramp up their merchandising well before Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), the traditional start of the holiday shopping spree.

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While some shoppers welcome early sales, not everyone is happy with a Christmas season that begins while most of the Halloween candy is still uneaten.

The Consumerist, an offshoot of Consumer Reports, created its own Christmas "creep," a not-too-scary little critter that readers can print out at the Consumist website and photograph next to premature holiday displays. 

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There are holdouts. Nordstrom is adhering to its long-standing policy of no holiday decorations until Black Friday, although festive "party season" fashions have crept into the window decor at some stores. won't be selling Christmas trees until the day after Thanksgiving.


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