Is this crazy or what?

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:35 pm

Christmas! But as a compromise I would settle for it not beng mentioned until December.

claudette · Post by **claudette** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:21 am

We still don't put our presents under the tree until Christmas Eve and my children are 23, 21 and 16. It would spoil the surprise - and we put up the tree the weekend before Christmas.

The local competition around here always is:

1. How early you can put up all the outdoor decorations (haven't seen any yet!)

2. To outdo everyone else in the street by how many lights you have on your house and in your front garden

Must cost a fortune in electricity!

We have relatives in New Zealand - when their children were young I would send their presents at the beginning of September by sea-mail, otherwise postage costs would have been sky high. So I appreciated being able to buy Christmas wrapping paper & tags early.

I did do a double take yesterday when I saw all the Halloween stuff in Asda - I don't remember doing much for Halloween when I was a child - it's much more commercialised now.

I was very amused the other week when I heard one lady's comments when seeing all the Christmas biscuits, sweets, crackers etc on sale - she reckoned that give it another week or so and Father Christmas would be in his grotto for the children to come and meet! So when is the earliest that Father Christmas's grotto's appear?

Best wishes
Claudette

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:25 am

Hi Claudette

I just dread the time when Santa doesn't bother going away

Russell

Post by **Anne H** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:39 am

Yup...we have a mixture of halloween and Christmas goodies on the shelves right now...I wish they wouldn't do that

it's really irritating and doesn't entice me to start preparing any earlier anyway. I keep telling myself not to wait until the last minute, but it never works, though I do manage to get the tree up and switch the lights on just a little before midnight

Regards,
Anne H

claudette · Post by **claudette** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:25 am

I was caught out once trying to prepare too early.

I thought I'd spread the cost by buying some presents early and I hid them away up in the attic ready for Christmas - but you've guessed it, I totally forgot I'd bought all this stuff and then came across it all when I was searching up there for something else long after Christmas had been and gone.

So I won't do that again!

Claudette

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:52 pm

That's the kind of thing my mother does, she picks up bargains through out the years planks them somewhere and whenn Christmas comes she has either forgotten about them or more likely where she put them.

I remember a few years ago I was at a football match at White Heart Lane, London it was late October and I passed a house on the North Circular with external Christmas lights up and on (some people never take them down). When I see Christmas lights up early I want to chap their door and say excuse me you do know Christmas is not until 25th December.

We blame the Americans for Halloween and Christmas being so commercial but it is the nature of the capitalist world we live in, but I beter not get started on a political rant.

Post by **paddyscar** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:07 pm

There's a house down our street that has their Christmas tree in their front window, November 1 and have done since they moved into the house!

Frances

Post by **Anne H** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:06 pm

Over here you start to see the trees and outside lights go up for Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November)...except mine, of course, but then they take them down the day after Christmas. I may not get mine up before Christmas Eve but they stay up for the full 12 days of Christmas and that's the way I like it

Regards,
Anne H

StewL · Post by **StewL** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:36 am

Andrew C. wrote: We blame the Americans for Halloween and Christmas being so commercial but it is the nature of the capitalist world we live in, but I beter not get started on a political rant.

Andrew C

Ah but the Americans pinched halloween off the Scots

Yes it is much more commercial now than it ever was, but I remember as a kid in Scotland getting dressed up and chapping the neighbours doors for goodies.

Christmas commerciality! You can blame a very well known American soft drink company for the capitalist influence

mean_genie · Post by **mean_genie** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:46 pm

This topic obviously touched a collective nerve! But don't put all the blame on the shops; 30, yes 30, years ago I found myself in charge of the stationery section of a department store, and we began to get deliveries of diaries, calendars and other Christmas merchandise about this time of year. I told the staff not to put them out yet (I figured that everyone felt, as I did, that Christmas things were always put out far too early, and a grateful public would applaud me for taking a stand). I was wrong. After a few days of constant questions from customers, and trips to the stockroom to bring out selections for the perusal of shoppers who absolutely need to have their Christmas shopping out of the way by the end of September, I gave in and put the stuff on display. It was an interesting lesson in customer psychology - the customers may not always be right, but they are the ones with the money.

Audrey