Christmas at Kmart (in September)

  • Thread starter Thread starter D H
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Christmas
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of early Christmas advertising and consumerism, often referred to as "Christmas creep." Participants express their views on the implications of this trend, its impact on society, and personal attitudes towards holiday celebrations and consumer culture.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with the early start of Christmas advertising, suggesting it detracts from the holiday experience.
  • Others share personal anecdotes about not celebrating Christmas and finding joy in cooking for friends instead of participating in consumerism.
  • There is a sentiment that avoiding television can lead to a more fulfilling life, with some participants agreeing on the value of time spent away from media consumption.
  • One participant questions whether there will be a backlash against early Christmas consumerism or if it will continue to escalate in the future.
  • Concerns are raised about the pervasive nature of holiday advertising, with some noting that it has begun to encroach on other programming, such as news broadcasts.
  • Several participants mention the early appearance of Halloween merchandise as part of a broader trend of early holiday marketing.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the annoyance of early Christmas advertising, but there are differing views on the significance of consumerism and personal celebration practices. The discussion remains unresolved regarding potential future trends in holiday marketing.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of engagement with television and advertising, highlighting personal choices that influence their perspectives on holiday consumerism. There is no consensus on the future trajectory of holiday marketing practices.

D H
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Insights Author
Messages
15,524
Reaction score
769
Here it is, 105 days until Christmas, and Kmart has already started bombarding us with Christmas ads. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101023738

Walmart and others are apparently about to follow suit. This Christmas creep is starting to get old.



Time for some old-fashioned Christmas music! (1978 is old-fashioned nowadays, isn't it?)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
I don't celebrate Christmas. I also don't have television. I think I might be on to something ;)

I've never understood the mad rush for material belongings. I'm much more excited about the excuse to cook a huge meal for my friends.
 
HayleySarg said:
I don't celebrate Christmas. I also don't have television. I think I might be on to something ;)

I've never understood the mad rush for material belongings. I'm much more excited about the excuse to cook a huge meal for my friends.

Hear, hear. Not having a TV is like giving yourself the gift of time. No one will be on their death bed thinking, "I wish I had watched more TV!"
 
lisab said:
Hear, hear. Not having a TV is like giving yourself the gift of time. No one will be on their death bed thinking, "I wish I had watched more TV!"
I heartily agree. I still have a TV (an old CRT clunker) because I'm a news junky. One hour a day gone that way, but that's about it. Rarely, I will toss in a movie on DVD - generally when the weather is really crappy out. I could survive comfortably with no TV, but I do like to have local breaking news and local weather every evening. Maine weather is so hard to forecast.
 
Oh I guess I should say I do have a TV. But I don't watch television. I'm a video game junkie. Plus I enjoy buying documentaries and watching them, or occasionally watching things on netflix. But I've avoided mainstream advertisements like the plague.

So, what IS with this push towards early x-mas consumerism? Does anyone forecast we'll have a push against it? Or in 10 years will we be thinking about pre pre pre-holiday season shopping in May?
 
At least the purveyors of Christmas junk seem unable to make ad-buys during the news hour, so I'm safe so far. Christmas creep is a disgusting thing. If it creeps into my news-hour, no news for me.
 
My grocery store started putting out Halloween stuff at the end beginning of August.
 
Soon Christmas advertisements will be seen for 9 months out of the year. =\
 
Evo said:
My grocery store started putting out Halloween stuff at the end beginning of August.
My wife sometimes likes to watch NCIS and SVU when she gets home, and those cable shows have been inundated with Halloween-crap for well over a month. Who needs to know what store has cheap costumes and $0.99 accessories 3 months in advance?
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
8K
  • · Replies 82 ·
3
Replies
82
Views
20K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
12K
Replies
17
Views
3K
Replies
12
Views
4K
  • · Replies 65 ·
3
Replies
65
Views
18K
Replies
3
Views
5K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K