Christmas creep facts for kids
Christmas creep is a fun name for something many people notice: stores start selling Christmas stuff super early! It means you might see Christmas decorations and gifts in shops even before the traditional holiday shopping season begins. In the United States, this season usually kicks off right after Thanksgiving. The term "Christmas creep" first popped up in the mid-1980s.
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Why Do Stores Start Christmas So Early?
Stores begin selling Christmas items early to try and make more money. They want to give shoppers a longer time to buy gifts and decorations. This way, they hope to sell as much as possible.
Making More Money for Holidays
For many stores, the last three months of the year (October, November, and December) are called the "golden quarter." This is when they hope to earn most of their yearly profit. By starting Christmas sales earlier, they try to stretch out this important shopping period.
In countries like the UK and Ireland, there isn't a Thanksgiving holiday like in the US. This means there's no "break" between Halloween and Christmas. So, some stores there put out Christmas items even earlier. For example, an Irish store called Brown Thomas sometimes opens its Christmas section in mid-August!
Other Holidays Creeping Up Too
This early selling isn't just for Christmas. You might also see it for other holidays like Valentine's Day, Easter, and Mother's Day. Stores try to start selling things for these holidays sooner too.
It's not just holidays either! You might see summer clothes appearing in stores while it's still spring. Or winter gear showing up in the fall. For instance, in the UK, some supermarkets sell Easter eggs even before Christmas. In the US, you might see 4th of July items before Easter. This general trend is sometimes called holiday creep.
In Canada, some people feel that Christmas decorations should wait until after Remembrance Day on November 11. This day is important for remembering soldiers.
In Australia, Christmas items can appear as early as late September. This is partly because Halloween isn't as widely celebrated by older Australians. However, in recent years, Halloween and Christmas items sometimes show up at the same time. The department store David Jones Limited even starts selling Christmas things in early September.
Christmas Creep in the United States
In the US, stores like Sam's Club were among the first to start early Christmas sales. This helped smaller businesses that bought items from them to resell.
In 2000, the hardware store Lowe's decided to put out Christmas trees and decorations by October 1. They did this because the time between summer and Christmas didn't have enough other holiday sales to fill their stores.
Between 2002 and 2003, more big stores like Walmart, J.C. Penney, and Target began their Christmas sales in October. By 2006, a group called the National Retail Federation said that 40% of shoppers planned to start their holiday shopping before Halloween.
Since the 2010s, it's become common for stores like Walmart, Sam's Club, Kmart, Costco, J.C. Penney, Sears, and Lowe's to start Christmas sales even before October 1.
Christmas Music on the Radio
Christmas creep also happens with radio stations playing Christmas music. Years ago, stations would play a few Christmas songs in early December. Then, they'd play only Christmas music on December 24 and 25.
Around 2000, some stations started playing only Christmas music for the whole month of December. This became more common in 2001. Later, many stations began playing all Christmas music right after Thanksgiving, or even earlier.
Since 2006, a few US radio stations have become known for switching to Christmas music on November 1, the day after Halloween. However, for most of North America, mid-November is still the usual start time. It's still rare for stations to play Christmas music before October.
In 2020, some stations started playing Christmas music even earlier, in late September. This was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and broadcasters hoped it would help people feel better. But in 2022, this trend reversed. No station played all-Christmas music until October 28 that year.
Some TV channels also start their Christmas programming early. For example, the Hallmark Channel usually begins its "Countdown to Christmas" with many Christmas movies on November 1. Another channel, Freeform (formerly ABC Family), starts its "Kickoff to Christmas" programming for the entire month of November. They can't start in October because that month is already filled with their "31 Nights of Halloween" shows.
Funny Takes on Christmas Creep
People have made jokes about Christmas creep in movies and songs:
- In the 1974 cartoon It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, the characters go shopping in April and see Christmas displays. A sign even says there are only 246 days left until Christmas!
- In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), Sally complains she can't find Thanksgiving decorations because stores are already selling Christmas items.
Several songs also make fun of this trend:
- Loudon Wainwright III's "Suddenly It's Christmas" (1993)
- Straight No Chaser's "The Christmas Can-Can" (2009)
- Paul and Storm's "The Way-Too-Early Christmas Song" (2010)
- Christian singer Brandon Heath's "The Day After Thanksgiving" (2013)
- Randy Brooks, who wrote "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," recorded "It's Halloween (A Christmas Song)." This song talks about Christmas starting right after Halloween. It even jokes that Valentine's Day might start on December 26, and next year's Christmas might begin on Labor Day!
In the 2012 book Cold Days by Jim Butcher, even Santa Claus himself says he won't let Christmas start before Halloween!
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