Earlier holiday season means less holiday cheer

As the holiday season seems to come earlier every year
than it did the year before, it gets harder to be more excited
about Christmas.

Some stores start displaying their Christmas merchandise
earlier than others. In fact, Costco started selling Christmas
yard decorations as early as August.

How many people actually start buying Christmas decoration
in wholesale?

And when is it too early to start playing Christmas music?
I have some friends who keep Christmas music on their iPods
all year round. I don’t listen to the radio as much as I used
to, but I remember hearing Christmas songs immediately the
day after Thanksgiving.

Some radio stations start playing Christmas music on
Nov. 1, which seems strange after hearing Halloween tunes
the day before.

Don’t forget about the holiday box office, either. This year,
“Fred Claus” was released on Nov. 9 – a good two weeks
before Thanksgiving.

Last but certainly not least, Santa Claus has been at Regency
Square for photographs since Nov. 2.

For some people, the holiday season spans all the way
from Thanksgiving to Super Bowl Sunday. For December
graduates, Christmas starts whenever senioritis sets in. But
for serious shoppers, Christmas begins the minute they head
to the mall on Black Friday.

Black Friday is always a big deal. The local news can’t
resist airing clips of holiday shoppers who frantically push
people out of their way to get good deals on electronics and
clothing goods.

Those of you who work in retail might already know the
exact percentage of revenue that stores make on Black Friday.
You also might know the truth as to whether Black Friday is
the biggest shopping day of the year. Recent news reports say
that although it wasn’t last year, sales were strong enough.

Holiday shopping isn’t really my style, especially on Black
Friday. No matter how tempting it might be to save half the
standard retail price – which is $59.99 for Season Two of
“The Wire” – it doesn’t seem worth it to get out of bed at 3
a.m. to line up in front of Best Buy.

According to an MSNBC news story, online auction Web
site eBay.com was the No. 1 Internet retailer this year, with
the most web traffic at 7.5 million visitors. These visitors
mostly look for electronic goods and Elmo toys.

So, if, like me, you don’t feel like dealing with the crowds,
you can sit in front of your computer next year with your
shopping list in hand as chestnuts roast on an open fire and
your Led Zeppelin mix plays in the background.