To wonder why does Christmas start so early in the UK and are you happy with that

[TheFateofOphelia]

I was in John Lewis yesterday and a huge part of the ground floor was taken up with Christmas trees and decorations. My heart sank because, much as I enjoy the festive season, I want it to start mid Nov not end of August as it does in supermarkets.

Anyday now they'll be blasting out "Do they know it's Christmas." The what shall we do with Uncle Stanley on Christmas Day threads are popping up on MN. Do you like it starting in Autumn or will you join my pointless 'Let's keep Christmas in December' campaign?

But it's there in the background and it just has a really depressing effect on me, especially the shop displays. I do ignore it as best I can, but it's hard to completely shut it out. And I resent it because it decreases my enjoyment of what is actually happening. The months running up to Christmas are busy enough without subconsciously absorbing the message that actually we should be thinking about Christmas as well. It impairs our ability to live in and enjoy the moment, I find.

Sound bliss.

I wonder if the UK is the worst offender. Because, for instance, in the US they have thanksgiving, first, so I doubt it's the same over there.

I agree with you OP, l hate seeing Xmas cards/presents out in September ridiculous and if you happen to have friends/family birthday in November or December it's difficult to get a decent card or you have to purchase it months earlier.

It is. Hobby Lobby start stocking for Christmas mid August.

I was an exchange student in the USA in the late 70s & remember being really shocked at a disco version of Oh Come All Ye Faithful being played in a shop at the end of September.

Totally agree. It ruins actual Christmas tbh. The whole thing feels like a cross between a nasty retail sector grift and a narcissistic SM smugfest.
Used to look forward to it-now can't wait for it to be over.
Just yuck.

Not just UK. I am in Australia, we are starting to have the weather warm up towards summer & the local shops have started putting out Christmas stuff. I haven't had my birthday yet, it's too early !

Except that lots of things are on offer now and won't be in December. Early buyers of sparkling wine, chocolates, biscuits for cheese etc can pay half what they'd pay in December.

It’s annoying but after seeing what happens in the Philippines the UK is tame and nothing in comparison. They start from September and I mean all out, trees, decorations, the works. Over here we just get the odd Christmas bits here and there on display, some cards, maybe the chocolate and mince pies come out on the shelves, the lights on oxford street going up but not turned on.

The Philippines is straight up Christmas from September 😂

After Seeing that I don’t say anything about the UK anymore.

I did see a Christmas tree up in someone’s front window on Friday though!

I'm sure I saw external house lights a couple of weeks ago. I was driving past and I should have stopped to have a proper look, because now I need to know.

But those aren't Christmas things particularly. Those are things most people might buy occasionally all through the year.

I do like to start shopping early, I used to leave it all til mid December and then I always felt rushed and pressured. I like shopping but only in short bursts and the shops are always ridiculously overheated in the winter (or at least they are for those of us dressed in thick jumpers and winter coats, probably not for the people who work there). Now if I see something and think dsis (for example) would love that I buy it and put it away for Christmas. I also get to put a bit more thought and research into the trickier family members to buy for rather than panic buying a generic present at the last minute. However I don’t need aisles of Christmas stuff to do that as I buy people normal stuff not Christmas themed. It does help to spread the cost in as much as I can take advantage of offers, prices do seem to go up in December generally anyway.

I like the decorations being in shops a bit early because although we reuse the same decorations every year dh and I buy each other one tree bauble every year and the children get one in their stockings so I like to look around til I find a good one. After Halloween is fine though. August bank holiday seems too early to me.

One of the hotels nearby put a Christmas tree up in the lobby in August, I know they want Christmas bookings but I don’t like that!

I an quite the Grinch about it all and regularly remind my children that 25th Dec is the first day of Christmas not the last. I hate that all of December is so busy with Christmas activities (we used to have multiple nativities and concerts to go to when the DC were small) but they nearly all stop by 24 Dec. But most of all I hate that if you go into a supermarket on Christmas Eve they've taken down the decorations and have their sale signs up and that there are threads on here on Christmas Day saying 'who's taken their tree down and is clearing up all the chaos, I'm so over Christmas'.

I do enjoy having a slow build up by making my cake in half term, putting up the advent calendars on 1st Dec and the tree up the Saturday before Christmas and the last of the decorations up on Christmas Eve so you see the house complete for the first time on Christmas Day and can then enjoy it while everyone is on holiday.

I love Christmas and enjoy seeing stuff arrive in the shops, I love the build up. I wouldn't put my tree or decorations up yet though, like a house a few streets away. DH said it was stupid, but what if one of the people there is terminally ill and might not see Christmas? They might want to see everything now. The tree lights were on, window decs, the lot.

It doesn't bother me so they can crack on, although I do wonder if the novelty has worn off by the time Christmas arrives.

Also I do think it's crept up sooner; I used to work in retail and Christmas didn't appear ( in the shops) until Halloween was over. I was in The Range last week and there's loads of Christmas stuff, plus Halloween.

I’m in my 50s and worked in Debenhams when I was at uni. Christmas stuff appeared after the Scottish September weekend, ie the last weekend in September

There are two elements here; retailers and what individuals do.

I don’t know what shops you are going into, but most do not have that much in the way of Christmas stuff in September other than those selling Christmas decorations which in the main are JL and garden centres. That certainly ramps up towards the end of September and into October with more retailers starting to put their Christmas things out. Most of those are easy to avoid - just don’t go to the store or that area of the store. Our local supermarkets have not had much in the way ‘Christmas food’, although that is starting to increase. So far the Christmas sections are tiny and easy to avoid if you are not interested, in much the same way as the freezer, alcohol, baby sections etc are.

Lots of people are saying that things are out in shops earlier, I don’t think they are out that much earlier and in some places they are later than they used to be. We had a family tradition of going somewhere at the beginning of October to see Christmas decorations and that has now been pushed back a month. What we are seeing is more places selling Christmas things than we used to 40 years ago. For example our tradition could now take place in a number of different places, whereas when it started decades ago, there was only one or two.

Individuals can be varied, but someone putting their decorations up early doesn’t generally impact anyone else, unless the outside of their house is illuminated like Blackpool. I am not a fan of decorations going up early and/or coming down on Boxing Day, which completely misses the 12 days of Christmas. But someone else choosing differently doesn’t affect me and if it brings them joy…just don’t moan to me that you are fed up of it before Christmas.

Because it takes so much time and effort people have to start early.

Lets be really honest, people can do Xmas shopping whenever, it doesn't necessitate having wall to wall Xmas decorations in the shops for months! You want a rake for the garden in Early September - forget it because the garden stuff has gone and been replaced by Xmas stuff!

It's not related to buying presents, it's taking advantage of people that refuse to be sensible! The amount of people online last year that said they were getting their Xmas decorations out the loft on Halloween to put up the next day! It's not normal to have Xmas trees up before bonfire night and yet it's becoming increasingly popular! I don't want to be seeing Xmas decorations all over my street too early either otherwise the novelty has long gone by Xmas.

That's the problem, people aren't being sensible because they see the shops full of Christmas trimmings by early September and think it's suddenly appropriate to start celebrating Xmas almost a 3rd of a year too early! It's like celebrating easter in December which the people putting up decs early would probably see as weird yet think nothing of celebrating Xmas for a third of a year!
It must be a nightmare for people with kids when the kids are being hyped up for Santa coming up to four months beforehand!

Only if you overdo it.

It shouldn't be allowed till December 1st.

Imagine Santa's workload.. :-)

Or disabled/ill/elderly and a host of other reasons, including wanting to send parcels overseas.