Xmas kicks off on 2 August

The Xmas season will this year begin on 2 August - at least in one corner of London's Oxford Street. That's the date on which Selfridges will start its 2010 Yule campaign, having last year started flogging baubles and tinsel on 8 August. This time around, eager customers can stock up on "trees, crackers, fairy lights or even a …

[Gordon Henderson]

They're a bit late...

... Seeing as local attraction near where I live is already selling baurbles and nativity scenes.. OK. So it's Buckfast Abbey, but even so - it's still July!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

. . . and then Christmas will be dead.

These retailers should read a little tale called "The Goose that laind the Golden Eggs".

[Flossie]

parties

I passed a restaurant yesterday which was already advertising it's deals for Christmas parties.

[T-Unit]

To be fair

There is a lot more reason to be booking a Christmas meal this much in advance than buying tinsel

[SteveK]

A bit late

One round here was advertising Christmas parties in March... I wasn't sure at first if they'd just not taken the huge banners down after Christmas, but no - it was a specific advertising campaign.

[Geoff Campbell]

FFS!

Let's boycott all stores who even think about mentioned Christmas before 1st December, shall we? It's about bloody time.

GJC

[Barn]

Indeed!

There should be some kind of system of fines and/or time in the stocks for stores that start selling Xmas stuff before my (middle of summer) birthday.

[SkippyBing]

I'm in...

although I'm not sure where I'm going to shop from about October onwards...

[Geoff Campbell]

@skippy

Details, details - remember, a principle is not a principle until it has cost you money, or caused you major inconvenience. But do remember to stock up the freezer in September, three months is a long time without food.

GJC

[Anonymous Coward]

There should be a law:

Christmas cannot be mentioned until 1st December.

[Dale Richards]

Re: There should be a law

> Posted Monday 19th July 2010 11:45 GMT

> Christmas cannot be mentioned until 1st December.

He said Christmas! Stone him!

[Anonymous Coward]

I like the sentiment, but ...

no more laws, I think we all have enough, too many really. As a previous poster pointed out, a boycott could be effective.

[lglethal]

Someone should appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

Having worked in a retail store in my younger years AND with the misfortune of being in the christmas department, i can tell you its a torturous time. Not because of the customers (although they're bloody annoying as well), but because of the god awful xmas carols that are played non-stop on repeat for the entire period of the christmas sales.

Its easily akin to "cruel and unusual punishment" and no doubt exists in the CIA's "Experimental Interrogation techniques" right next to waterboarding (although im willing to bet that many staff in christmas retail departments would much prefer an extended session of waterboarding to hearing "Come all ye faithful" sung one more bloody time!)

I can remember one year where Mariah Carey's Christmas Carols were played on repeat for 6 whole weeks, by the end of which, if id had access to automatic weaponry then you would have read about it in the evening news...

I hope for the staffs sake that the christmas carols dont start on August 2... if they do, id avoid Selfridges from about September 13... Trust me you'll hear why on the news...

[Woodgar]

Re: Someone should appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

Same thing when I worked in retail, except we had a loop of the same half-dozen Christmas pop songs. Enough to drive anyone mad.

[MrT]

Yup...

If they HAVE to play anything by Chris de Burgh's eyebrows, I vote for 'Spanish Train' - having had to suffer 'Spaceman came travelling' during one seasonal Christmas job whilst at school.

Slade, Cliff, Krusty Burgh, Boney M AND Harry Belafonte, Shakey, Roy flippin' Wizzard, Jona Lewie and Paul "it wasn't all John y'know' McCartney. Must have worked on some level because I bought one of those 100% Best Christmas Album EVER collections to continue the Christmassy feel all year...

Wibble.

[Anonymous Coward]

Who buys christmas tat that early?

I've never known there to be a sell out of tinsel. In fact I thought it just bred in boxes in the loft.

[SteveK]

January

If I ever have a burning need for any, I tend to buy it right after Christmas when the shops are trying to clear all this unwanted Christmas tat to make way for all things rabbity and Easter-egg-shaped and it's a fraction of the price.

I think shops should cater more for what's happening now though. Have you ever tried shopping for a summer holiday in June/July? Most shops have cleared their summer stock of things like swimming trunks and shorts by then and are stocking for autumn. Same last year when I was foolishly wanting to buy a BBQ in August/September because the weather had turned nice, but all they'd already cleared them all out and all that was left were a couple of really battered ex-display models that were missing half the bits.

Still, if they keep bringing things forwards they'll wrap round and they'll start selling Christmas stuff in December again, albeit for the Christmas after next.

Steve.

[Anonymous John]

Tell me about it.

I've already seen "Back to School" signs, and the summer holidays haven't even started yet.

[Monty Brench]

EX-mas

It is Christmas NOT Xmas .

[Geoff Campbell]

X

X is a recognised shorthand for Christ in all sorts of contexts. This is just one of them, and is quie valid, if rather ugly to parse.

GJC

[bluesxman]

Xmas

Some time ago I made a conscious decision to start referring to it solely as Xmas, given that the other name held no relevance to me as a firm atheist.

And given that the crass commercialisation of the holiday pays only lip service to that there supposed Heyzeus character then "X", as a generic place-marker, seems very appropriate to me.

[jonathanb]

It's not a generic letter

X in this context is the greek letter Chi. In Greek, Christ is written as Χριστός, pronounced Kristos.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's an abbreviation, get over it

The X is short for Christ, you dolt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas

[Francis Fish]

Yeah, yeah whatever

The X stands for the cross, shorthand for christ ... so maybe it should be Xeaster?

[Kubla Cant]

X not cross

@Francis Fish:

The X doesn't stand for cross. It's a representation of the Greek letter chi, the first character in Christ. Don't ask me why he wrote his name (or, strictly speaking, job description) in Greek - pretentious, I suppose.

And the name Easter actually has nothing to do with JC. According to Wikipedia, it's derived from the name of a putative Germanic goddess.

[Richard 125]

What have the Romans ever done for us?

They gave us Easter.

If you're going to complain about the use of "Xmas" then allow me to complain about the Christian appropriation of a pre-existing mid-winter celebration. Yarr!

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually . . . .

It's not Xmas or Christmas it's actually Yule.

[Anonymous John]

Or

Winterval.

Paris as I wouldn't mind her at Christmas.

[Anonymous Coward]

oops

I forgot to take my xmas tree down may aswell keep it up now!

[deshepherd]

One plus when living in the US ...

.... was that they have a very established sequence of seasons in shops there so you they don't start selling Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving (and in turn Thanksgiving stuff doesn't go on sale until after Halloween etc).

On the downside Christmas ends on Boxing day so the local garbage company christmas tree collection service was no good for those of us who thought the tree had to stay up until twelth night!

[jonathanb]

Unfortunately

Thanksgiving this side of the pond really does come much earlier, typically on the first Sunday in August - it varies depending on location, but it is a strictly religious festival, and there is no mention of it in the shops.

[Rob]

Bah...

... pissing humbug, people like selfridges are part of the reason xmas is such a flippin pain in the arse for some of us, I don't want to hear about it until November at least (see I went for a compromise and said November, personally I'd like the retail religious festival of crap banned).

[Z 1]

Icon request

Can I request a new icon of someone banging their head against a wall.

Big Brother, because I can't help feeling there's something sinister about this

[stucs201]

FFS

Don't these people realise how stupid they look when they end up with the baubles on the shelves before the pumpkins and fireworks? Really annoying when you can't find your normal food shopping because all they supermarkets want to sell is xmas pud and mince pies.

[Anonymous Coward]

Never mind

the rest of the crap I can do without but pud and pies all year will do me!

[jonathanb]

What's even worse

is when the Xmas pud has a best before date of sometime in October on it. And that's not October next year.

[Anonymous Coward]

Christmas is coming earlier each year

Do they mean it's not going to be on 25th December anymore?

What's the new date, I don't want to forget to put my stocking out.

[Roger Kynaston]

Ban bloody Christmas

In a dim and distant past I worked for a drinks retailer (now defunct) and we used to have to go to a team meeting in June where the Christmas promotions would be unveiled. Christmas is a disease and should be banned. It is a long time since I have darkened the doors of Selfridges and now I know not to go there - ever!

Better be careful or I will get FoTW

[Velv]

Christians Everywhere

Jesus would be turning in his cave.

Well, he would be, if he was still in the cave.

Which he isn't, which is why we roll eggs at Easter.

EASTER - quick, get the chicks and the eggs out on the shelf!!!!!

[Spot the Cat]

What kept them?

Scole Inn, Norfolk, 3rd June 2010. Christmas 2010 menus on the bar. I have the pictures. Wazzers.

Beer, because, well, it is a pub and the beer's OK.

[Simon Neill]

Next..

I will be able to buy christmas stuff on my birthday. Heck, if they are starting the 2010 campain in august, why not start the 2011 campaign in september?

Soon "not christmas" will be shorter than "christmas"

[Justabloke 1]

Title

"Geraldine James, Selfridges Christmas Shop's buying manager, warned: "Christmas is coming earlier each year. I can see a time when we offer a capsule Christmas collection throughout the year.""

It is indeed.... BUT only because stupid people like you keep ranging christmas stuff to sell earlier and earlier!

Just think if you didn't range Christmas stuff until say 15th August, it would be a week LATER than last year rather than a week earlier...

Now Ms james, did you see how that worked? see if you can manage the next iteration on your own eh?

idiot!

[moonface]

Rapture in the aisles.

I wonder if futurologists have speculated on the possible consequences for channel marketing and retail planning, following the Second Coming (and possible going) of Christ?

[Laie Techie]

Christmas Every Day

Aren't we supposed to carry the Christmas Spirit throughout the year?

Where I'm at, there are craft stores which do carry Christmas projects year round, but they only start playing the carols after Thanksgiving.

I'm also with the person above who suggested buying Christmas decorations *after* Christmas when stores are giving them away. I bought an artificial tree for $30 which retails for $350. I throw away all old lights and buy new strands (guaranteed to work) for a buck.

[Anonymous Coward]

Christmas Every Day

You can blame the Post Office for at least part of the early sales... It's gotten to the point where the Post Office is putting Christmas and holiday stamps on sale in October, then reminding everyone to "mail early for Christmas" incessantly from November 1 to the day before Christmas.

Back when I started with the USPS, one of my supervisors actually mailed all his Christmas cards on Thanksgiving Day... he would come in then just so he could give us poor slaves who were stuck working something more to do...

I won't start the Christmas music in my store until after (the US) Thanksgiving in late November.

Paris, cuz I'd like to have her in my Christmas stocking all year round.

[Anonymous Coward]

all year

I have seen a store that sold christmas decoration all year and right next was also a store (by the same owner) that sells easter decoration throughout the whole year.

[Gavin Burnett]

pay attention all shop owners

The correct order is as follows:

Halloween.

Bonfire night.

Christmas.

You can only promote them in that order.

Rant over.

[christmascrackers]

We Sold Our First Christmas Crackers In February

We make and sell Christmas crackers for a living. We have to buy our new stock for the year in February and it starts to arrive from suppliers in June.

Our earliest sale this year was in February for a customer who bought Christmas crackers from last years stock. I assume they like to be ready nice and early!