Holiday merchandise hits shelves in a hurry Merchants admit they have been preparing for Christmas holiday since the beginning of October, making it almost impossible for shoppers to ignore the tinsel and garland.
by Veronica Sandate
Thanksgiving is more than two weeks away, but that hasn't stopped stores from stocking their shelves with holiday decorations.
At Mark Knox Flowers, store manager Nancy Wilson and her crew spent Halloween putting finishing touches on their store.
But they weren't hanging green-faced witches or glow-in-the-dark ghosts.
Instead, their walls were covered with snowmen, cowboy Santa Clauses and even fully decked-out Christmas trees.
"We've been working (on Christmas decorations) since the first of October," Wilson said.
The push to get holiday merchandise in the stores seems to come earlier every year.
"It's crazy," Tara Pope said. "(Stores) try to push Christmas too early."
Pope was shopping at Target looking at Halloween costumes Wednesday, just one aisle down from a display of artificial Christmas trees.
Target employees worked overnight last week clearing out their Halloween merchandise to make room for their winter holiday products.
"We already have people looking at Christmas stuff, wondering why we don't already have decorations up," Sheila Knight, in Target human resources, said.
Knight said stores often compete with each other to try and get their products out first.
"Wal-Mart already has theirs up, and if we don't have ours up, we're losing sales," Knight said.
Some shoppers don't seem to mind the early arrival of tinsel and garland.
"I think it's good timing," shopper Eva Vargas said. "I can get all the good stuff first."
Getting the "good stuff first" is also what drives Wilson to have all her decorations out and ready for her customers.
At her store on 1209 E. Eighth St., oversized ornaments dangle from the ceiling over Christmas trees and holiday wreaths.
Many of them have red tags tied to them, showing they have already been purchased.
What drives people to buy their holiday trimmings so early may have more to do with inclination, than strategic planning.
"I think a lot of it is impulse," Knight said. "I don't think they go out and 'major' shop until Thanksgiving."
Which rings true with at least one shopper.
"I start (Christmas) decorating the week after Thanksgiving," Pope said.
Once Christmas has passed, workers will be cleaning out the leftover stockings and Santa hats to make room for chocolate hearts and teddy bears.
After all, there will only be 50 shopping days until Valentine's Day.
