aRE HOLIDAYS COMING EARLIER?
When I was a little girl, I remember decorating for Christmas right after Thanksgiving. It became a family tradition to begin decorating on Black Friday after eating a turkey sandwich on pan de bollo. I also remember going to my aunt’s house on October 1st to find it completely decorated with orange curtains for the Halloween season.
This year, I went to Walmart in August and saw it stocked with Halloween decorations. Even more peculiar, by the time September rolled around, Christmas and Halloween decorations were displayed side by side. By October, a lot of the merchandise would already be gone. Every year, the holiday aisles at department stores are crawling with people and the demand seems constant as items often run out well before their intended holidays. This reminds me of a phrase my mother would say at every trip to Walmart after noticing the full parking lot: “I guess for this, people do have money.” Even though Puerto Rico has been dealing with all sorts of economic crises for as long as I can remember, the comment stayed with me. It begs the following question: Why do department stores stock holiday decorations earlier every year, and how is this connected with Puerto Rico’s current economic climate?
Puerto Rico’s economic climate & How it Connects
The first thing that must be addressed is Puerto Rico’s economic situation compared with that of the U.S. states. Puerto Rico is currently the U.S. territory with the lowest median income at $26,000 with a total income per capita of $17,981 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Puerto Rico also has some of the highest energy costs compared to other states. There is a 90.5% above average residential electricity rate in Puerto Rico compared to 282 urban areas in the United States, according to the Instituto de Estadisticas de Puerto Rico. According to the same agencies, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has gone up an average of 4.0% between July 2025 and July 2026 on items like food, clothes, transportation, entertainment, among others, which signals rising costs on necessary items. Despite this, department stores like Walmart are currently thriving in Puerto Rico. Although they do not have specific sales reports for the island, they do have 25 total retail units on the island, including 7 Sam’s Clubs. They also collected $382.7M in taxes in 2026 and paid $163.0M themselves. Furthermore, Walmart employs 13,807 Puerto Ricans, but while the average pay for the associates is $15.72 in the United States, it averages at around $19.34. Taking these numbers into account, it’s safe to say that Puerto Ricans have been feeling the pressure of rising costs each year. However, the reality remains that retailers have been introducing holiday stock earlier every single year, so how does it all connect? Every year, holiday decorations come earlier. A decade ago, seeing Halloween decorations in August was unheard of. Now, it happens like clockwork. Christmas also makes it to stores earlier as they are in stock just as early as September. According to the National Retail Federation, early holiday shopping remains popular with consumers who say it’s to spread out their budget. Consumers look to Halloween and other festive times of year to lift their spirits and spend time with family and friends, but through it all, they continue to keep economic pressures in mind (NRF 2026). In terms of winter holidays, 54% of consumers shopping before November say that it’s also to spread out their budget. Taking these factors into consideration along with Puerto Rico’s own economic strain, it’s easy to guess why holiday shopping is done earlier each year. The National Retail Federation determined that most people buy earlier in order to further extend their budget, the same must be true for Puerto Ricans that share even harsher economic strains as a territory, but have such rich and vivid holiday culture. Even locally owned seasonal stores, such as El AlmacĂ©n Navideño in MayagĂĽez, have participated by opening as early as August 29, 2026. Though it should be considered that MayagĂĽez as a town has gained a reputation for having massive holiday celebrations known as encendidos by decorating its town square every year with beautiful themed lights. This tradition is present in towns all over the island, which keeps evolving every year. However, there is yet another factor to consider, and that is that Puerto Rico does holidays differently than the US.
christmas in puerto rico
There is truly no Christmas like a Christmas in Puerto Rico. Think about it, the music, the celebration, and the traditions. The wind has a coolness to it, the air is fragrant with the spices that accompany our traditional christmas meal of pernil and arroz con gandules, pasteles, and tembleque. Even Wendy’s participates with a coquito-flavored frosty. Our Christmas celebrations are truly unique to our culture, and part of what makes it so unique is how much longer it lasts. Puerto Ricans have always had a tradition of not just starting the holidays earlier, but also ending them later. This is because it is a part of our culture to include other celebrations amongst Christmas, such as our coveted Three Kings Day, which is known in the U.S. as the Three Wise Men or the Magi, which is seen as an extension of Christmas. Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6th every year, which is why holiday celebrations extend until then. Not just that but Puerto Ricans also have Las Octavitas, which are an additional eight days of further celebration after Three Kings that culminate with the San Sebastian Street Festival, locally known as La SanSe. It goes without further saying that Christmas means a lot to us. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that the demand for Christmas decorations comes earlier every year. This creates a sense of community, which is why it’s normal to see decorations in homes well before November until well through January. It must also be noted that Puerto Ricans don’t currently just have economic strains, even though the average consumer pays more in electricity than many other territories in the United States. There are constant power outages which can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. These can cause all sorts of issues in Puerto Rican homes, such as spoiled groceries, higher gas demand for generators, broken appliances, and occasional interruptions in the water supply, which puts further strain on the average household. Nevertheless, Puerto Ricans are resilient and the holidays have become a hopeful time where communities and families come together with streets full of beautiful lights, squares filled with local artisans, and plates of foods packed together with a bendición and a smile. This is the reason why the market has adapted to the needs of the average consumer on the island. Decorations are not just a splurge, they’re a luxury that must be enjoyed for as long as possible.
Why do we decorate earlier each year?
This brings us to the final reason why this is happening: perception. Even with the holidays coming earlier each year, it feels as if years are flying by. Why is that? Every year, we crave the community-based holidays that are present in the second half of the year. We also can’t omit the influence that social media has had on creating buzz for the holidays. After the 4th of July, there were many videos with influencers decorating for autumn just the day after. I believe that part of the reason is because the consumer has become more frugal due to inflation and decorating for the holidays seems like a luxury. And what do you do with luxuries? You savor them. The average person wants their decorations to last as long as possible. At least, that was my intention when I decorated for Halloween in early September. Furthermore, the perception of time going by quickly could be due to the average working class’ hours. A nine-to-five gives the average person only a few hours in their home before they have to go to sleep and do it all again the next day. Therefore, taking the time and money to decorate your home for just a few weeks seems like wasted energy. This can be why a lot of Puerto Ricans decorate earlier each year, and with the holiday season lasting around three months, it would seem a perfectly good justification for splurging on decorations since they are going to be used yearly. So stores opening up early not only accommodates the budget needs of the average consumer but the privilege of using luxury items longer makes the purchase “worth it.” This, on top of the fact that bringing out holiday decorations early creates an anticipated buzz for the holiday season, it gives the average working citizen an escape to fantasize about their holiday break and bonus. For Puerto Ricans, who often have to plan to welcome or visit family members in the states, the demand is high, as gifts must be sent, packed up in a suitcase, or prepared for relatives traveling to the island. So, it’s safe to say that the demand only goes up during the holiday season, even considering the rising strains on the average Puerto Rican. So, when we go to the store and see decorations for our favorite holiday months in advance, it gives us the opportunity to plan around our next paycheck—or maybe the one after that? The side by side comparison of Halloween displays and Christmas displays might look peculiar or even annoying to others, but it represents much more. It represents a working class with a rich culture for the holidays, who refuses to stifle the festivities, and a market that is adapting to those behaviours.Â