People seem to find that the cheaper pumpkins are at chain stores like Walmart. When done picking the nicest looking pumpkin, people turn around and see that the garden section of the store has been turned into a winter wonderland in which all things Christmas have appeared.

Local farms usually keep with the natural order of holidays, while chain stores across the country seem to be two or three holidays ahead. Local farms that sell pumpkins in the fall and Christmas trees in the winter often stay within the limits of the month of the holiday. Halloween items seem to move to the clearance bin at the beginning of October in stores. Chain stores like Target and Walmart had their Christmas decorations out in mid-October when people were still planning out their pumpkin designs for carving.

People often are ready for a holiday before it arrives, but two months early? There is a very small amount of people that decorate their houses, inside and out, for Christmas before the day after Thanksgiving. So, how early is too early?

Christmas decorations are not the only Christmas related thing that seems to come earlier every year. Black Friday ads also continue to drop in mid-October as a preview of what is to come. Black Friday is a sort of holiday within itself. Black Friday is a way to celebrate the acceptable time to start celebrating the holiday season. The term ‘Black Friday’ originates from the crash of the U.S. Gold Market on Sept. 24, 1869.

Ads began to appear online, then in print and finally reached television in late October and early November. Savings range from a few dollars for small things, to hundreds, if not thousands, for appliances, electronics and jewelry.

The next ethical dilemma seems to be when Black Friday actually starts. Does it start the minute after the dinner of turkey and mashed potatoes ends, or when the clock switches to midnight and it’s officially Friday? Somes stores, like Kohl’s, open at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening. Thanksgiving is seen as a time where family from all over can gather and spend quality time, not only eating, but laughing and sharing stories as well. The constant obsession with getting the best deal,can and will, pull people from their families on the evening of Thanksgiving, while many of the shoppers are still digesting their turkey.  

The combined corporate offices of Homegoods, Marshalls and TJMaxx understand this aspect of Black Friday and keep their doors closed and lights off until the day of Thanksgiving is over.

As holidays come earlier and earlier in stores, the real questions is, will stores ever observe the holiday rather than the items that come with it?