uh, Christmas lights already?

[bmyers]

Driving home the other night I noticed a guy in my neighborhood already had his complete holiday montage of lights and snowmen up and running. He started setting it up last 2 weekends ago.

Does this seem early or am I a grinch?

[DUD]

I voted for the trailer park, as what decorating We do is already made . We just stand them up and plug them in. Bill

[jaywood]

Too early

We had a house in our neighborhood that had their Christmas lights and blow-up Santas up and on display about 3 weeks before Halloween!!! The only thing we could think of was that maybe that was their way of protesting Halloween????

I've always been a stickler for not lighting up the house before Thanksgiving... the day after is fair game though! This year, though, I DID put my lights up the weekend before last though because I was afraid I wouldn't get another two days of good weather on the weekend in order to get my display AND lights up. So the lights are up... but they won't be turned on until I get the rest of the display set up the weekend after Thanksgiving!

[LarryG]

Not too early by current (stupid) standards

Sure it's too early, but lately it's been the trend to start earlier and earlier every year. I was in the local Cracker Barrel about a week before Halloween, and they not only had all their Christmas stuff out on display, they were also playing Christmas songs over the PA system. I couldn't help but think that all those poor people who worked there were going to be deep into the Postal Zone by Thanksgiving ... and there'll still be a full month yet to go!

If I live long enough, I eventually expect to see stores put out their Christmas merchandise on July 5th.

[MilDoc]

Mine go up this weekend, but not lit until day after TG. They don't come down until Jan 6th.

[TheRic]

Baaa Humbug. I don't do much with Christmas Lights, decorations, etc. I'll help the wife somewhat but I don't do much, and she knows better than to ask.
I think I got turned off to it from my mom. It seems like she would pack up half the house, to put out all her Christmas decorations. Her Christmas village (more like a major city) now covers (grows every year) 4 tiers in a 10' X 10' area of one room. That does not include the rest of the Christmas stuff thru out the house. The storage area, for inside stuff, she keeps everything in is about 10' X 15' packed to the 10' high ceiling.

[TheRic]

.......If I live long enough, I eventually expect to see stores put out their Christmas merchandise on July 5th.

Never heard of Christmas in July Sales??!!!

The wife and I was coming back from Missouri (we live in Ohio) stopped at a Lowe's, forget where and they already had Christmas stuff they were setting out. This was in Mid September!!!

[jspelbring]

Borg Xmas

I just got back from the Home Depot - they're playing Christmas music already. <sigh>

[Ed62]

There's only 2 of us here now, so I don't know if we'll be putting up very much. My wife has been buying pieces for a Christmas village for years, and she has so much we're giving some to our kids. We just don't have enough room to put everything on display. But it's *way* too early now. Maybe a week or two before the big day.

Ed

[LCHIEN]

In my neighborhood, the signs are already up - advertisements for contractors who will put up lights and do your exterior Christmas decorations for you.

[D_Epler]

I think it should be ILLEGAL to show Christmas stuff until at LEAST after Halloween...what next, 4th of July sales in Feb? Halloween Sales in June?

These marketing idiots have gotten WAY OUT OF HAND!!!

What ever happened to all the Xmas stuff being stocked in the aisles for the day after Thanksgiving AND NOT BEFORE? What happened to spending the day after Thanksgiving hanging your Christmas lites?

Retailers have commercialized some holidays (like Christmas) so much that it takes the fun out of it for me!!

HUMBUG!!!!

Dave

[Ed62]

Now you're talking, Dave.

Ed

[dlminehart]

We got a flyer the other day from a group in our neighborhood whose purpose is to promote decorating fronts of houses. They started a couple blocks away, got everyone to put a decorated tree in their front yard, called the newspaper to get a picture, and are now moving further afield. "Only $15 for a tree; order now!"

Not to be a grinch about it, since I like colored doodahs as much as the next guy, but surely there's a better way to show Christmas spirit than outdoing other neighborhoods in spending on outdoor decorations! Like, maybe, providing toys for homeless kids?

[Stick]

I voted trailer park too. I've honestly never known anyone that has them at all that ever takes them down. Up here you'd have to put them up in September and take them down in June if you didn't want to be doing it in 20 below! We all leave them up year round. Nobody ever turns them on before about Dec 1 tho. I sometimes use mine in the summer if I'm sitting outside on the deck at night, since it gets REAL dark out in the country and the colored lights don't attract the skitters like yard lights do.

[TB Roye]

I will go down to the storage locker and bring them home on Black Friday and start setting them up. Usually takes a couple of days. On the 4th of July I put up the blow up santa and poo bear and fake cristmas tree to get the neighbors all fired up. Told them I wanted to be first in the neighborhood. Don't worry we celebrated the 4th in the traditional manner with flags and fireworks. It was either Easter or the 4th and I thought the 4th would be safer. Only kept them up and on for about 30 minuets. We decorate the back yard more than the front as we can enjoy them while in the house or shop and they are not stolen. Sad part of Christmas in our area if you decorate to much people rescue them from you for a better use, theirs.

Tom