Every year the same thing happens, summer has just flown by, students are getting back to school and the weather starts to get colder. Its early September, you have come to expect all these things. Just like any other week, a list of needs and wants piles up and a shopping trip seems inevitable. You go out to the local superstore, so you can get it all done in one trip. You get out of your car and grab a carriage, and just as you step through the front door you are once again horrified by the large Halloween display that is shoved in your face. Every single year it happens, stores get holiday merchandise and up it goes, large and colorful, leaving you to wonder “where did the year go?”

Every year the decorations seem to get put up even sooner. The question is where is the line? When do we say enough is enough and that it is too early to start decorating for a holiday that is most commonly months away? Well it depends on who you are, there are two viewpoints for holiday decorations, the consumer and the store owners;

The store owners have an excuse, they need to sell product and maintain a profit margin for seasonal goods. Trying to find the right balance between early enough that consumers haven’t shopped yet but not so early the items aren’t necessary. They can’t wait for the holiday to be right on the doorstep because they would have lost a large number of customers to other stores. For this viewpoint it makes sense to follow the saying, the early bird gets the worm, because they have nothing to lose. If it’s too early, the consumer just won’t buy it, but will begin to be reminded of items they may need as they get closer to the given holiday.

The real problem is the consumer, trying to walk the thin line of decorating and having that infectious holiday spirit, but not being so early that your neighbors have a growing disdain for you. Through my few years of experience, talking with overly eager friends who decorate as soon as the last holiday is over, and talking with friends that don’t even think you need to decorate. It seems as though the best area is around one and a half to two weeks away from the holiday. This should not be a firm date though; it should fluctuate based on the holiday and its meaning to you. If you feel attached to a holiday or just love the atmosphere around that time of the year then by all means break out the decorations a little early and vice versa. Just don’t be that person who is carving pumpkins in September, or stringing lights in November, try to keep it within that month.