Die hard Christmas fans might be disappointed as Nordstrom posts signs in all their stores windows letting their shoppers know that they will not start decorating their stores until the day after Thanksgiving. This comes as an effort to celebrate one holiday at a time and not get stressed and caught up in holiday shopping.
While the Christmas season is the most successful for most stores some tend to jump the gun a little bit. With Halloween candy being sold in August and Christmas decorations being hung in October it is easy to worry about the future and not focus on the present. I find premature Christmas decorations to be a little stressful and out of place. I think the stores that are already decorated for Christmas make it hard for customers to appreciate other holidays and add stress to the holiday season. That’s not to say I don’t love holiday seasons but I do think that holidays should be celebrated one at a time and not rushed or dragged on. When I see a Christmas Tree lit up in a store in October it stresses me out. Should I be looking for gifts already???
The National Retail Federation conducted a survey and found that 41 percent of Americans already begin their holiday shopping BEFORE Halloween. That means that when you were scrambling to decide whether you were going to be a cat or a witch for Halloween, 4/10 people had already bought Christmas gifts for their loved ones. I don’t know if this hurts me because I am a procrastinator or it hurts me because it shows how caught up our society is in the consumerism in the holiday. The holiday season isn’t about gifts and buying them two holidays before Christmas seems a bit overkill.
I commend Nordstrom for putting their foot down and continuing with their tradition of celebrating Christmas during the actual holiday season. I think this keeps the holiday spirit high and reminds customers about what the holidays are really about without stressing them out too much.