Apparently Christmas shopping starts in September now, at least that is what all the shops around here are insinuating. Ever since the start of September I have been seeing more and more shops hanging up the Christmas decorations and setting up Christmas trees. I don’t know about you, but to me it seems WAY too early for this, I mean Christmas is still months away (like 15 or 16 weeks).
Last year I wrote a post that got a lot of attention called Has Christmas Become too Commercial?. That post asks the question of whether or not Christmas has lost its true meaning and if it is now more about making profit through sales than it is about spending time with your family and appreciating the religious significance of the day.
To me, the fact that shops are starting to rollout the Christmas caper so early is a sure sign that times are tough and that they need a bumper Christmas season this year. It really seems desperate / tacky to me to be doing this so early in the year and I wonder how many years it will be before Christmas starts moving into late August…
So it got me thinking – how early in the year do you start to do your Christmas shopping? Does seeing all the Christmas decorations around the stores kick you into the Christmas shopping mode or are you like me and do you avoid the stores that are overly exuberant when it comes to getting the Christmas gear out early?
I am also wondering how many people actually do their Christmas shopping in physical stores anymore and how many people do the bulk of their shopping online and get it delivered straight to your doorstep? I know that my wife and I tend to try and do as much of our shopping online as we can as we both hate crowds and we enjoy some of the bargains that we find when shopping online for gifts.
I am not big on Christmas so I don’t shop early or anything, my gift list is just a few close people who will probably get something from Amazon the week before Christmas. No shopping, no queues, the internet is awesome.
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I bought my first Christmas gifts last month, but only for the amazing money savings I came across. 🙂 I agree, Glen – it’s way too commercialized now and at least for the stores, it’s all about making cash. I miss the old days when stores would be closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the focus was on being together and reflecting. When I was a kid, even the gas stations were closed on Christmas and on Sundays too. There’s a song that I like that talks about the olden days that says “Sunday was the day of rest, now it’s one more day for progress.” It seems like Christmas, in a lot of respects, has fallen prey to the same “progress”.
I usually don’t start until November at the earliest, and for the most part do Christmas shopping in December. I don’t necessarily think it’s a sign that times are tough so much as stores are trying to leapfrog each other for the coveted Christmas shopping purchases.
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We’ll probably do our Christmas shopping on October, or whenever there is a sale online. If we could find good deals, then we would certainly purchase it if possible.
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I haven’t done any shopping yet. Luckily we don’t have too many presents to buy.
I don’t buy early, especially for my kids because I know I’ll cave in and give them their gifts ahead of time. I have noticed Christmas decorations already being put up in the stores around here too. I do the majority of my shopping online but will pick last minute items at a physical store.
I hate Christmas. Totally hate it (OK fine I like pretty lights and Christmas-y smelling candles). I think it even has less meaning to me because I have such a small (broken) family and no kids (which I think would make me change the way I feel about it). Yes, I’m a scrooge. 🙂 But I just hate to see how commercial it all is and how yucky it makes me feel. I MUCH prefer Thanksgiving, which is STILL about people getting together for a day and eating good food, but without all the gifts and commercialism that Christmas has.
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Wow, that’s crazy. I know stores around here start early, but I haven’t seen any Christmas stuff yet this year. Even seeing Halloween decorations is scaring me a bit because that seems so far away.
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I used to start in November. However due to moving 14 hours away from my family and knowing I won’t be able to make the trip home this Christmas I’m also aware I need to leave extra time for shipping gifts this year. Last year I started as normal and several of my gifts for people did not make it to the intended recipients until after the new year. This year I started ordering gifts this past weekend (Sept 21st). It also leaves a little wiggle room for budgeting and not everything is paid for in November December. I have a bit more time.
Yes Christmas has become way to commercialized. That being said, I always keep my eye out for that perfect present for my wife throughout the year.
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I used to shop frantically in the last couple of weeks before Christmas. Now I plan to limit to one thoughtful gift per immediate family member and children of close friends. I’ll probably shop online but will research in plenty of time this year so that I don’t spend money in a panic. Not just yet though! I don’t think Christmas should be all about gifts (it does seem to be quite commercialised these days), I love spending time with family at this time of year.
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I’m kind of with Tonya. I love Santa and watching my daughter get up on Christmas morning. I also like our family tradition of playing board games on Christmas Day. As for the rest of it, I don’t think adults should do gifts. I hate having to buy someone something because I think they might get something for me. Yes, it is too commercialized and September is way too early for Christmas decorations, but if I found a good sale on something I needed to buy as a gift, I’d do it any time of year.
Almost all my shopping is in store. Australia still charges for delivery mostly, and I think it’s a rip off. And I like to feel/touch/see and get inspired, in a way that online browsing doesn’t offer me as easily. When do I buy? When I’ve decided who gets what! I am leaning more and more to experiences than things, partly my minimalist push, but also cause they are more memorable!
I know someone who does their Christmas Shopping the whole year. According to her, she just looks out for great deals year-long and whenever there’s an item that’s in her Christmas list she gets it. So by the time Christmas season arrives she’s usually ready to give away everything to everyone on her list without stressing on finances.
I agree Christmas starts WAY TOO EARLY in the retail world. I love fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving and they get completely overrun by all things red-and-green. That being said, starting your Christmas shopping early can be really helpful on your budget. I’m a procrastinator but this year am making a concerted effort to spread out the expense of the holidays. I probably shop 50/50 in-store and online. I like how easy it is to shop online, especially with events like Free Shipping Day in late December — that holiday was totally made for me!
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We’ll presumably do our Christmas shopping on October, or at whatever point there is a deal on the web. In the event that we could discover great arrangements, then we would surely buy it if conceivable.
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