All across the malls and shops in Orlando, sights of Christmas had popped up too. In the Florida Mall, I noticed Santa's Workshop was ready with a sign saying old Kris Kringle would be arriving VERY soon (as seen here on the left).
But why is that? Why start Christmas right then and now?
Of course, not every store was ready to "Deck the Halls." Nordstrom, a high-end retailer, took a very interesting move on the Christmas before Thanksgiving tradition that has started these days...
There are a few answers to this that I've discovered myself. When talking to managers around the Magic Kingdom, it was quite simple: people visit Disney to celebrate Christmas during these months. Guests who come in November want the prestige of Christmas and since they can't afford to take their family during that time (the price difference is huge between the months), they take them then. Christmas parties start in November, with a few prior to Thanksgiving. Disney also made sure this year that there were ZERO Christmas parties during the week of Thanksgiving, mainly because they were unnecessary given the attendance increase during the week.
But, then begs the question, why do people want Christmas in November? Well, many visitors in early November are not American so they don't celebrate Thanksgiving (that's the short answer). The long answer can be the Christmas spirit entering us right when Halloween ends.
After all, some stores start Christmasing long before Halloween has gone for good. I've seen Macy's decked out 3 weeks prior to Halloween! So, why then and now?
My theory on the whole mall thing trickles down to the Christmas card. People get in line to have their kids see Santa early because, hey, that's their Christmas card photo. And that translates to the key word in this: money.
Christmas is ultimately, a consumer holiday. By decking out early, it gets people's mindsets on the holidays. Meaning they need to start buying gifts stat and maybe a head start wouldn't be too bad. If you start decorating early, people will see the holly and smell the gingerbread thinking about all they things to buy to prepare. And the earlier you start, the more money that could translate for your business.
Are there theories on this? Perhaps. I haven't personally researched any.
And what about Nordstrom? If they wait 3 weeks longer, do they lose money? Obviously not. They still are doing it and a lot of people like the PR move they've put on them. It has brought the store wanted attention. Many people would say how they don't like Thanksgiving being overlooked so maybe they would want to shop at Nordstrom. Plus, since Nordstrom is a pricey place, they won't lose more money.
Nordstrom has done this for a few years or so and it has been successful. Would other stores follow suit? Most likely not; Black Friday has now started on Thanksgiving Day for big stores like Target, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us so don't look for that to change.
Ultimately, money is what these stores want. They're big corporations and Christmas brings lots of money. With the economy slowly picking up, they want to capitalize. And they must.
Only time will tell how far these stores will go for money. But don't criticize those people who feed into it. Christmas is a consumer holiday, but the holidays in general is a wonderful time of year for many- you can't blame them all if they want a head start.
Happy Holidays!
