We've run this post every year for three years, mainly because it's sumthin' we REALLY DO believe in: Thanksgiving comes first. Without further ado...
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
No Cause Is Truly Lost
It's that time o' year. The time when we ring up Mr. Panza and beseech him to help us in our annual tilt against the windmills of commercialism. Well, it's more like me being ol' Sancho to Jim's Don Q (ed: link updated for 2011). But... lost or not... I'm all FOR what Jim is selling. Here's what I said last year and the year before:
Blog-Bud Jim, aka Suldog, has launched his second annual “Thanksgiving Comes First!” campaign… and has asked those of us who agree with him… and who are the proprietors of blogs… to join the campaign. Well, I can’t think of anyone who actually approves of seeing Christmas sales, Christmas advertising, Christmas-this, or Christmas-that, before Thanksgiving has come and gone. NO ONE… period, end of report, full-stop (ed: It has since come to my attention that I'm wrong here. There IS one person I'm aware of, and only ONE.). I’m quite sure even the employees and management of those businesses who launch Christmas before Thanksgiving is even here have a distaste for the project at hand. I mean… how could you NOT?
So. I’m on board with this. I hope you are, too. Jim has great narrative reasons and not a few rants on the subject at the link above and here, as well. Do go read.The links in the quoted bits above are older. Jim has updated his original post and added thoughts at my link in the first graf. Won't you help us?
As noted in my parenthetical comment in the first graf of my repost, Jim has updated his post for 2011. And there is progress in this space... companies DO respond when their customers tell them things. See?
I stole that from Jim, of course. Thank you, Nordstrom's! Now if we could just get EVERY retailer to go along...
Muchas gracias, Sancho! As promised, links forthcoming later this week!
ReplyDeleteBoy I'm with this all the way. Tell you ANOTHER gripe in the same vein--new season's worth of spring/summer clothing, swimsuits, etc., being displayed in December at many maj. Clothing/Dept Store chains! Most of the good stuff/sizes is/are gone by end of Jan! No such thing as casually picking up a new set of trunks (or any other summer item) and having a wide range of styles and sizes in June anymore..I know this doesn't apply all to stores everywhere, but the trend is strong and affects most maj chains..
ReplyDeleteDe nada, Don Q!
ReplyDeleteVirgil: Well, speakin' as someone who only updates his wardrobe with new tee shirts and 501s (as required), the availability or lack thereof of "summer" clothing is pretty low on my list of bitches, moans, and complaints. Christmas In October, OTOH, is RIGHT up there.
Feelings are the same here Buck. I get very grinch-like at this time of year, simply because I dislike dodging displays of Christmas ornaments while I look for something Halloween-related.
ReplyDeleteAs my name might imply, I have a vested interest in the "greatest" holiday of the year. Since, my life is very busy beginning on Thanksgiving Day, all my personal decoration has to be completed prior. I have already begun hanging lights around casa de Santa, but would never turn them on prior to Thanksgiving Day or the day after. I agree that I would like to get past at least Halloween before the big displays go up, but retailers are self destructive when they get into competition.
ReplyDeleteYou know I love Thanksgiving much better than Christmas - lots of problems with the latter. So I don't buy Christmas stuff at all. How is that for grinchy?
ReplyDeleteVirgil, use the internet for bathing suits and stuff that are more seasonal. You can find some pretty good sales when things are not in season.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Nordstrom ad on Facebook -- makes me wish there was a store here that I could patronize -- I dislike buying clothes over the internet because I'm so hard to fit.
ReplyDeleteBut, I am still onboard with the Thanksgiving comes First campaign! I don't like seeing Santa standing in the Halloween candy aisle at the drug store! Creepy.
Saaayyyy, sportsfans, think we could start a national 3rd political party using the "No-Christmas-before-Thanksgiving} dealieo as our platform? Ought to have a HUGE built-in potential base :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Virgil on the out-of-season gripe. Try buying a last minute Halloween costume or bag of Halloween candy. Nowhere to be found because the Halloween merchandise has already been moved out to make room for the Christmas merchandise, which was just around the corner anyway, as Kris said.
ReplyDeleteI think we're all fed up with the reason that retailers ignore Thanksgiving to push Christmas -- bowing your head to give thanks doesn't put any money in the retailers cash registers.
Kris: I'm very grinch-like for the ENTIRE holiday season. It's my own personal version of Seasonal Affective Disorder.
ReplyDeleteSJ: If I were King I'd publicly behead retailers who put out Christmas displays prior to Thanksgiving. Well, check that. Mebbe I'd just flog 'em. I fail to see how a month is not enough time to do what must be done for the holiday.
Lou: Your grinchiness works for ME.
Moogie: No Nordstrom store in these parts, either. Must be coz their Christmas sales are so low. ;-)
Virgil: Are ya throwing yer hat in the ring?
Red: You just reminded me: I need to buy a bag o' sumthin' for the little devils. And witches.
Hat in the ring? Me??? LOL, Buck, don't think so, don't think I'll be going public anytime soon, I've just recently had to build an addition onto our house just so I can have enough closets to hide all my skeletons..
ReplyDeleteJust sayin for myself. I don't disagree at all that we start the retail season too early for all seasons. Just try to get summer wear in August, even here in Houston where the summer still has 2 months to go, especially this year.
ReplyDeleteWish you could come with me to see my deaf and handicapped kids here. I'll see about 1500 of them before the holiday time is over. That will take all your grinchiness away if only for a minute.