Bah humbug !!!!

[nickydwuk]

Has Christmas been brought forward this year? I only ask as I saw a house with their Christmas decorations up this week - 1st November

I may be a miserable b****r but I don't think Xmas decorations should go up until December. What do others think?

[Taffy]

This was being discussed on the radio a few days back and apparently, although I can't verify this or figure out how they came to this conclusion, 1st November is the official 'put up decorations' date! I think it's a bit early too, but deccys are appearing in all the shops now so I guess some people are just getting in the mood!

[Glenda]

I think all the poor souls in the UK should do whatever they need to cheer up all those cold grey days and chilly nights of winter.

There is no doubt that Christmas decorations scream out "Be Merry" - stock up on the mince pies, choccies, turkey, port and cranberry sauce, and more port (snowballs too, whilst we are touching that subject).

The retailers are on the ball (though I am surprised they do not bring the Christmas decorations out earlier to prolong the 'festive' season, guess Halloween stops that). Their decorations remind all to get the credit card out ... spend and be happy!!! ... and make a whole lot of other people happy too!!!

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Glenda

I think all the poor souls in the UK should do whatever they need to cheer up all those cold grey days and chilly nights of winter.

Must admit, when I was in the UK, I was renowned for being one of the first with the deccies up. I was also known as the Queen of Fairylights because I always had at least half a dozen sets up. Colleagues from work used to visit my house in parties just to view them (and probably discuss afterwards what a sad person I was ).

I don't feel bad about my fixation with decorations and lights because it gave me (and visitors) such a boost when I switched on the lights and saw what a huge difference it made to my home and my spirits.

I would agree that it's a bit daft to put them up too early as the novelty soon wears off once they start to droop and fall off the walls - I used to restrict myself to putting mine up at the end of November and, latterly, even managed to hold off until the beginning of December.

[KiwiHopeful]

That's funny, because in the US, November 1st is traditionally when all the X-Mas stuff comes out in the stores. That's because all of the Halloween stuff gets taken down the night before.

(In case you don't know, Halloween is the 2nd largest holiday for retail sales in the US.)

We had a tradition of buying our tree Thanksgiving weekend (at the end of November). The past few years, it seemed that by then most of the good trees were already gone.

FTW, because I'm sure it will come up, the X-Mas decorations always came down on or about New Year's Day. It's a good thing to do while watching the college football bowl games.

[nolasmom]

Oh, I just HAVE to chime in about this one. I owned a home furnishings store for 7 years back the States. I would go to market mid-January to order Xmas decor for that year (yes, nearly 11 months ahead!). It would begin arriving in store in June, and a few customers would start asking to see the goodies in July (you read that right). I would put a small display up in the back of the store in late September or early October and the stuff always sold. And people always grumbled.

The Christmas season can account for 40-70% of a retailer's yearly gross, so one can understand the "push."

The punchline to all this is that I'm Jewish and always regarded the season with bemusement. So much tsuris over the birth of a little mensch from Bethlehem.

[selchie]

I see Christmas decorations in the stores in September, though they really break out as the Halloween stuff clears out.

Some friends mentioned that in early October, they saw a house already done up in it's Christmas finery. Way too soon for me. I usually wait until December to get a tree and put up the tinsel. I do keep string lights up in many rooms year round. They make for a nice soft light when brighter ones aren't needed.

[MotherBear]

I must add that I've gone from being an early bird with my decorations to not having any up at all since we've been in the Middle East. There was a little flurry while we were in Syria because there are quite a lot of Christians there and I did make the effort one Christmas in Qatar but, generally, Christmas is very low-key here and I can't say it bothers me at all. That's probably down to not having family nearby to celebrate with and make the effort for. Christmas Day is just like a normal working day, so it's very hard to work up any Christmas spirit. We have a Christmas buffet lunch in a local hotel and a walk on the beach and that's Christmas done for us.

It's good, at our age, not to have the stress and fuss of all the preparations, but I'll bet I'll be dragging everything out again once we get to NZ.

[selchie]

Our Christmas day isn't very special either, though Karin does like to make a dinner. But I love the lights and decorations of the season. They brighten up the long dark nights. By the time things come down on Twelfth Night, the sun is well on its way back.