Hollidays ruined from over exposure? (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

It's October. Your getting ready for Halloween by going out to get your annual pumpkin. You then go to Sears to get some Winter clothes, only to see....dum dum dum dummmmmmm..... The Christmas Trees are out on display!
This is a big pet peeve of mine. It used to be, no more than 6 years ago, the only add you would see for Christmas stuff would be the anual Radio City Music hall bookings for their Christmas show. Then, Boom, the Christmas feeling got in the air because the day after Thanksgiving, all the gears shifted. As a kid, you looked forward to that day all year.
Now, you'll be seeing over promotions of 'Christmas in July', where stations like Cartoon Network will show 24 hours of Christmas programing. Or in October, where Christmas adverts and store displays will start going up like the aforementioned Christmas trees. By the time December roles around, your so sick of it you want it to be January again....
I don't mind the Christmas Displays, or Christmas Merchandising, just wait untill after Thanksgiving to start it, PLEASE . Last year was one of the few times I really enjoyed the holiday in a long while. Here's hoping that sensation repeats itself this year..
"Ugh, Even my dog has gone commercial!" ..
Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

My friend refuses to acknowlege the month of December. November has 61 days in his book
Frankly, I think we need industry-wide regulations that state no Christmas sales or decorations until Black Friday

 

[ThomasC]

halloween just keeps on coming earlier and earlier every year...my school store had it decorated by late september. i'd think 2 or 3 weeks before would be better...

as for christmas...last year i got a lot less exposure than i had in previous years, something that hadn't happened for a long time. reason? i didn't have a tv. sure, being on a college campus and all, there's christmas stuff around, but you'd be surprised how much less exposure you'd get if you just turned off the tv except when watching movies and other non-commercial things, like pbs. i also didn't read the newspaper that much after i started going to college, that also reduced the exposure by a lot. also, little exposure to the outside world (i stay on campus most of the time i'm here), no shopping malls and no car...thank goodness for the internet.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Yeah, anymore, I find it repulsive. It seems the message (that the American public is all too willing to accept, apparently) is- "enjoy the holidays with your family, sure, but above all else- CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME!"

 

[Ryan Wright]

I agree. Pisses me off, too. Christmas trees have been up in local stores here for weeks now. What gives? We haven't even had Halloween or Thanksgiving. Can't these rotten retailers wait until a more appropriate time?

Nevermind the total bastardization of the whole meaning of Christmas. As Todd said, it's "CONSUME CONSUME CONSUME" now. Drives me mad.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I guess I must just be desensitized to marketing - early Christmas stuff hasn't bothered me much in the last couple of years. Maybe it's because I don't go into many stores that would have Christmas-y displays.

President's Day actually gets to me more. There aren't any President's Day traditions, and yet we still see President's Day sales and the like. Sure, I go to the Boston SF Marathon every President's Day, but that's more opportunistic (hey, we've got a Monday off - let's use it to sleep off the 24 hours we just spent watching movies) and doesn't mention "President's Day".

Although Mother's Day may be worse. My Dad will happily shrug Father's Day off, but there's just no way to feel good about Mother's Day. Sending a card's not enough. Sending flowers or a gift is apparently too impersonal, and just highlights that you're not there. Visiting leads to "why aren't you here more often". There's no way to get it just right.

And Valentine's Day! How many suicides does this chocolate-pimping event cause? Sure, I may occasionally feel lonely not having a girlfriend the rest of the year, but the first half of February is just the rest of the world organizing to make me and others like me feel like crap!

(And then, right afterward - President's Day!)

Compared to those, Christmas is fun and you get to break out the "John Denver And The Muppets - A Christmas Together" album. Who wouldn't want to play that without feeling silly for more than one month a year?

 

[Carl Johnson]

I spent most of the nineties working at a movie theater where I learned to think of holdays as an afterthought in the scheduling process. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just like any other work day.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

I know how you feel, Carl. I work in TV, and TV stops for nothing.

 

[Holadem]

I may occasionally feel lonely not having a girlfriend the rest of the year, but the first half of February is just the rest of the world organizing to make me and others like me feel like crap!

--
Holadem

 

[Sarah S]

What is worse to me is that if you don't celebrate Christmas for whatever reason...then you might as well paint your face blue to telegraph to others the freak you really are.

 

[Julie K]

Every year at Christmas time I entertain the notion of putting up lights on my roof that spell out "BAH HUMBUG!"

I do enjoy getting in touch with my inner cranky curmudgeon.

 

[DeathStar1]

>What is worse to me is that if you don't celebrate Christmas for whatever reason...then you might as well paint your face blue to telegraph to others the freak you really are.
>
I've always wondered about this as well. Why don't the companies squander their millions not only on Christmas adds, but other holidays as well? Give us a breat for a chance

 

[DeathStar1]

>Every year at Christmas time I entertain the notion of putting up lights on my roof that spell out "BAH HUMBUG!"
>>
Hehe, someone should make up signs of the Grinch and 'Bah Humbug to early Christmas promotion' printed on it. Put it up next to any store that has an extravagant Christmas display before Thanksgiving .
Make bumper stickers and a website to get the word out

 

[Rain]

What I don't get is that many adults detest what Xmas has become, but they continue to celebrate it year after year after year, feeling obligated to spend more than they can reasonably afford to buy gifts for every single person they've ever known.
I can understand if you have kids, because to them it's still a magical time of year, but otherwise, why not just boycott it? Or at the very least, boycott the commercial aspects of it?
I have an agreement with my family and friends. We don't exchange gifts at Xmas time. If I feel like buying someone a gift, I do. I don't care if it's December 25 or March 19 or whenever.

 

[Todd Hochard]

I do enjoy getting in touch with my inner cranky curmudgeon.

Is it much different from the outer one? Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
The whole "Christmas is about bringing family together" thing is a bit paradoxical, given that most family earners have to work more hours, or can't take any other vacations, to pay for all the gifts they purchased.
I'm ready to give up the whole thing, personally. I don't think my wife and daughter would go for it, though. The last thing I want to teach my daughter is to be a hyper-consumer.
Todd

 

[Jackson Catts]

Todd, do you know how Christmas used to be celebrated before the Victorian Era? I rather have a respectful, family-oriented, gift-giving Christmas than a rowdy, drunken, gluttonous kind that used to exist for centuries.

 

[Julie K]

a rowdy, drunken, gluttonous kind that used to exist for centuries.

Now that sounds like my kind of holiday!

 

[Ron-P]

I love Christmas and all that goes along with it. The sooner the stores put the decor up the better.
Peace Out~

 

[Todd Hochard]

I rather have a respectful, family-oriented, gift-giving Christmas than a rowdy, drunken, gluttonous kind that used to exist for centuries.

Obviously, you haven't been shopping in recent years on or around Black Friday.
I'd rather have that, too, but it seems, at least according to retailers (and many people's post-holiday credit card statements), that the hyper-consumer version takes precedence over yours.
Todd

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The first one that brings up Festivus is getting smacked