When is it ok for a store to be decorated for Christmas? When do you think a radio station should start to play Christmas music?

I personally think on or after the 1st of November for the songs, around mid November before the Thanks Giving holiday for the decorations.

Always start ahead.

On or after Thanksgiving. Period. Seeing and hearing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving irks me to no end. What's wrong with just taking it one holiday at a time?

At the very least, wait until Halloween is over. There's nothing that irks me more than going into a store and seeing Christmas stuff next to Halloween stuff a month and a half before Halloween.

On or after Thanksgiving. Period. Seeing and hearing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving irks me to no end. What's wrong with just taking it one holiday at a time?

Regarding seasonal merchandise in a retail store, what is your suggestion for between halloween and thanksgiving? The stores have a dedicated location for whatever the current holiday is, and there is very little non-food thanksgiving related merchandise. The other options would be to leave it empty, or fill it with something that is wasting valuable selling space.

It makes sense to put christmas junk out as soon as possible after halloween.

Junk? Don't you mean "our carefully selected fine holiday merchandise?"

On or after Thanksgiving. Period. Seeing and hearing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving irks me to no end. What's wrong with just taking it one holiday at a time?

Regarding seasonal merchandise in a retail store, what is your suggestion for between halloween and thanksgiving? The stores have a dedicated location for whatever the current holiday is, and there is very little non-food thanksgiving related merchandise. The other options would be to leave it empty, or fill it with something that is wasting valuable selling space.

It makes sense to put christmas junk out as soon as possible after halloween.

General winter stuff. Sleds, toboggans, winter coats, gloves, etc. November is about the time of year that people are going to begin looking to buy stuff like that, so put it all in one place where they can easily find it.

Winter stuff? In Atlanta? You can't even find windshield washer mix for temperatures below 20 degrees easily here. Last I heard, the City owns 8 snow plows!

As much as I love Christmas (not meaning the glamorized shopping spree that every store would have you believe Christmas is), I can't stand seeing it in stores until just before Thanksgiving at the earliest. I don't care if it is a good profit time for stores--I can honestly say that, if any store around where I live held off on the Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving, I would be more prone to shopping there. I hate having it shoved down my throat any earlier than that.

Let the off-season topics begin!

I said after Thanks giving, because it's the next holiday, and its only about a month away.

I said that decorations should be put up around the December timeframe. And radio stations should never play Christmas music. It's too peppy and overdone, it just kills the mood.

But Christmas music is HIGHLY profitable in the radio business.

Terpy, who knows these things because....he does.

On a related note, Star 93.3, WAKW in Cincinnati started playing Christmas music this past weekend.

I usually don't listen to much Christmas music unless I'm with my parents, who will listen to it non-stop until Christmas is over. I only like a few Christmas songs too, but I usually get annoyed because I only hear the same songs being played over and over again.

Christmas music all year on Pandora. Don't even judge me.

At the very least, wait until Halloween is over. There's nothing that irks me more than going into a store and seeing Christmas stuff next to Halloween stuff a month and a half before Halloween.

Maybe they're taking a cue from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

^ If that's the case, then I demand to have the opportunity to have a Christmas picture with Jack Skellington! (Love that movie!)

I might be crazy, but I start my Christmas shopping pretty early. I don't do this intentionally, but if I see something I want to buy someone for Christmas, then I go ahead and pick it up. Sometimes this can be as early as August. Plus spreading your Christmas shopping out over several months doesn't make as big a dent in your checking account as doing it all at once.

With regards to Christmas decorations in the store, my girlfriend and I have been through the Christmas department in Walmart a couple times now already. We've even bought our wrapping paper! I think it's really a personal preference when you like to start thinking about/celebrating Christmas. Walmart has all their Christmas stuff in its own section back in the garden center (at least where I live anyways), so people have the choice whether or not to go look at it. It's not like it's right out in the open as soon as you walk through the door.

I say after Thanksgiving for both.

I spent the Christmas of 1994 in Balikesir, Turkey. There were no strings of lights on any houses; in fact, nighttime there was often foggy and very, very dark. Shopping centers (which were very much alive and bustling with friendly people) played traditional Turkish music, mixed with modern Turkish and European pop music throughout the months that are the "Holiday Season" in the western world. (We could go back to our base, where they played all the American holiday standards); but seeing an entirely different culture during that time was very much enlightening, and made me appreciate what I missed back home. The funny thing is that now, when I hear any of those songs from that area of the world, it's like holiday music to me because of the time frame I heard them in.

I'd be fine with stores putting stuff up in November, but I wish they'd wait until after Thanksgiving to play Christmas music. I try to avoid listening to it until then.

I might be crazy, but I start my Christmas shopping pretty early.

It's not crazy, even I do all of my Christmas shopping in July, candles for everyone on my list...

But what if that doesn't light their fire?

Terp, who likes to ask questions...

I would be fine if they didn't put Cristmas till after the holiday because that's when I buy decorations.

I was driving by my neighbors yesterday, and one of them had haystacks and pumpkins as decorations, and the houses on each side had christmas lights and their trees lit up in the window. It just made me laugh.

Not a huge fan of Christmas music (They play ONE SONG WITH LIKE NINE-HUNDRED DIFFERENT VERSIONS!) I say never. I listen to Christmas music when I put up the tree with my family, that's it.