Posted on 25/09/2009 at 13:32 by Julie Maddocks, Kent on Saturday
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Christmas comes but once a year, and I for one am glad of that.
Now, before you think I’m all ‘bah humbug’, I am far from the archetypal Scrooge, who hates the festive season and all it stands for. In fact, for years, I have driven my family mad for being the person who gets far too excited about the ‘holidays’.
Our house bears a close resemblance to Santa’s grotto by the time I’ve finished decking the halls, and there’s more mulled wine on the go than you could possibly shake a tinsel-decorated stick at.
But why oh why do retailers have to start the celebrations so ridiculously early?
A great example of supermarket madness was highlighted last week in this very newspaper. We reported on Tesco selling festive favourite mince pies in early September. Just a little prematurely, particularly when you consider the sell-by date was October.
It's a familiar moan that Christmas comes earlier to the high street every year. But shopkeepers are thinking twice about bringing out the decorations too quickly this time because of the actions of a vigilante group.
The grandly-named Movement for the Containment of Christmas has sent letters to stores telling them not to sell festive cards until November.
By way of warning, the gang glued shut the front door of a charity shop.
To my mind a rather extreme action , but it goes to prove it’s not just me that’s peeved as celebrations seem to start earlier each year.
My heart sinks each time I walk into a shop in early autumn, to see the signs that Christmas is almost upon us.
But it isn’t is it?
It’s still twelve weeks away yet. Do we really need to be preparing for what is essentially a two-day event three months in advance?
To be fair to the retailers though, according to research carried out by Asda, half of us have already begun buying presents, and three quarters said the early start to the shopping was an attempt to spread the cost of the festive season.
According to supermarket chiefs, it’s all down to the fact that there are only three more pay days until Christmas, therefore, many customers have started their festive shopping earlier than ever in a bid to spread the costs this year.
When working on the radio, we were was always told to keep Christmas in December, which meant we didn’t start playing carols or Christmas tunes too far in advance.
It’s the shop workers I feel sorry for the most.
How many times must they have to endure the inevitable Now That’s What I Call Christmas album continuously looped before the big day? My guess is they’re able to answer the Band Aid question Do They Know It’s Christmas with some rather colourful replies.
So, apparently it’s all our own fault. I started far too late this year, and left it to the very last week of the January sales to begin my shopping. I’ve still got loads to do, with at least one stocking filler to buy for the dog, a lovely tin of talc I’ve yet to wrap for my Mum and never mind the sprouts I’ve still to peel.
And I bet I’m not the first to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.