I love fall. It is my favorite season and has some of my favorite holidays in it. Sadly, the fall seems to fly by every year. You start the school year and then BOOM! It’s the last week of October and all you wonder is where did the time go? It probably doesn’t help that as soon as fall is pushed into stores, it is just as soon pushed out by the monster of a holiday called Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. I love seeing the look on peoples’ faces when they open presents, the music, the meals and all the decor. But the holiday season has slowly evolved from the month of December to seeing decorations starting as early as September. Christmas needs to take a step back and stop over stepping into other holiday territories.
Let’s start with the biggest problem: marketing. When you think of commercials about holidays, do you think of spooky recess during Halloween or Santa drinking Coca Cola during Christmas? According to the National Retail Federation, sales in the months of November and December increase about 40%. Starting holiday sales earlier would only increase this number. Christmas starting earlier and earlier is not because people love it and can’t wait, it is because corporations ready to make profits can’t wait. We just go along with it because we love the holiday.
But what about the other holidays? Halloween hasn’t been infringed upon as much, only by Christmas decoration hitting shelves earlier each year. There is one holiday that is pushed into the shadows year after year. I’m talking about Thanksgiving. You cook for days and enjoy the greatest meal of each year yet it is forgotten about year after year. You know why? Because it’s not as marketable. Studies show that more people would buy a product if it’s advertised in winter or by Santa versus a Thanksgiving turkey. When you go to a store, how much Thanksgiving decor do you see in comparison to Christmas? It’s usually not a lot as Thanksgiving isn’t as marketed as big comercial holidays like Christmas.
We need to not forget Thanksgiving. It’s a historical event here in America. You know what they say “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.” Christmas needs to wait to get started. At the earliest, I would say black Friday is an acceptable start date as that is the consumer holiday that launches the holiday shopping season into motion. Give fall decor, fall movies, and fall holidays their chance to shine. Because nothing competes with Christmas in December. So why pin Christmas against fall holidays when you have a chance to market and create greater profit from all holidays for the end of the year?
Sources:
https://aofund.org/resource/how-increase-sales-during-holidays/#:~:text=The%20National%20Retail%20Federation%20(NRF,small%20and%20mid%2Dsized%20businesses.
