If the thoughts of stuffing your belly to its maximum capacity on Thanksgiving had you feeling jollier than Old St. Nick and ready to bust out the Christmas decorations, you’re already behind in the game.
Once Halloween was over, retailers were practically bypassing Thanksgiving and prematurely decking the halls, blasting Christmas music, and starting Black Friday sales. Traditionally, the unofficial kick-off to the Christmas season was the Friday after Thanksgiving (Black Friday); however, it seems like the holiday season is beginning earlier each year. This phenomenon has been coined the “Christmas creep.”
While the rest of us are wanting to take the time to enjoy each holiday one-at-a-time, retailers are more interested in finishing off the year with solid profits by setting up Christmas displays as soon as possible and starting Black Friday sales before it’s even Black Friday, leaving consumers feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
According to Daniel Arkin’s NBC News article, “Target it Taking on ‘Christmas Creep,’ Just in Time for Thanksgiving,” Target made the decision this year to refrain from Christmas signs and displays until after Thanksgiving.
“They want us to pause, and be really intentional and recognize Thanksgiving,” Rick Gomez, the retailer’s chief marketing officer, told the Associated Press about the store’s customers. “What they don’t want us to do is go right into Christmas. So, we are going to respect that.”
I think many people are in agreement that starting the holiday season before Thanksgiving is too early. We want one thing at a time, we want to be able to enjoy each holiday; not jump right into Christmas before finishing our leftover Halloween candy.
