Badmovies.org Forum

How early is too early for radio/tv to begin with Christmasy music/specials?

This past weekend, Nov. 3&4th, Hallmark Channel began playing a weekend marathon of Christmas movies.

I have 35 MusicChoice channels (no djs, 24/7/365 uninterruped music), and on November 2nd one station began Christmas music, non~stop, until January 6th.

Here in Philly, our 'soft rock' station goes 'all Christmas' usually around Nov. 10th until Dec. 31 or so. The 'oldies' station as well. Hell, around 2008 or so we had 5 (FIVE!) radio stations competing for the holiday ratings...starting on HALLOWEEN! (I took my cousins out for candy and the radio was playing 'This Christmas' by Donny Hathaway).

I dig the holidays as much as the next...but if it's Nov. 1...well, it's early.

Local stores are decorating and advertising a 'Pre-Black Friday' sale!

Too early?

On Halloween, we started to see Christmas commercials. :hatred:

I think the week beforeThanksgiving. 

I think December 1st is early enough and I wish they'd make that law (but I doubt they ever would).

You have Thanksgiving, then there's Black Friday, then the Christmas season begins.  I absolutely LOVE Christmas but when they try to stretch it out to two entire months, even I'm gong to get sick of it. 

We actually had a salesman at a mall kiosk chasing us down wanting to sell us something already.  I mean for pete's sake, that's a sacred Christmas tradition.  On Nov. 5 it's just annoying.

Some major shopping retailers here started putting in Christmas merchandise in August.  That's way too early.

I'd say any time after the Macy's parade is ok for Xmas movies.  Now as for the bastard sadists who play xmas music 24/7 on the radio...its never ok. 

Anything before Black Friday is a crime against nature. 

ABC Family used to do the '25 Days of Christmas' block~holiday & family films of random variety (Rudolph, Frosty, Miracle on 34th St., Brady Bunch Christmas, etc.) from Dec. 1~Dec. 25.

This year is an 'ABC Family Countdown to the 25 days of Christmas' starting around Nov. 17.

The local soft rock station essentially confirmed that by Sunday the 11th will 'flip the switch' to Christmas.

I noticed my cable carrier, in addition to a channel that's already 24/7 holiday now has 'holiday' music videos and holiday films available On Demand.

Too soon, too soon.

Personally, I would rather not see any sign of Christmas before late November.

Fine to think about Christmas if you want to get your shopping done early, or you have something that needs advance planning, but the season of Advent is four weeks, and that seems just about right to me.

Bad enough that the holiday has been encroaching on Halloween for years, but you Americans still have Thanksgiving to get through. Don't start a holiday when there's still another one ahead of it.

My thoughts exactly. Who needs to deal with the stress of one socially mandated family get-together (with food that takes a long time to prepare, no less) while you're being bombarded with advertising and pressure to prepare for another even more expensive socially mandated family get-together?

I think the day after Thanksgiving is soon enough. Especially since I've been seeing Christmas stuff on the shelves since early October. It's like they want to skip right from Halloween to Christmas....Thanksgiving has lost it's meaning. It's just eating and football now....so many folks have no gratitude any more. :question:

Thanksgiving is just a Thursday night with turkey and NFL to most now.

Sad, really.

I'm thankful for this site (and the people on it), does that count?

Yes...in my book it sure does. :smile:

Some places seem like they want to skip right over Halloween.

There's no excuse for any place that has Christmas decorations an isle away from the Halloween costumes. 

Sure they do. Halloween and Thanksgiving are pretty much a single day each, with a few purchases beforehand. Christmas they've managed to stretch out to a sixth of the year, with multiple celebrations and obligations. You have to get your cards in the mail, put up your lights before the snow flies, and get started on the list of everybody you're obliged to buy something for. You might have to make at least one special day-long shopping trip, requiring more gas and dining out for at least one meal. Then there are parades, church functions, school celebrations, office parties, dinners with various branches of your family, last-minute stocking up on snacks, beverages, etc., Christmas Eve parties, Christmas Day feasting, and then at least a week of bargain shopping. And then there are the banks and credit companies that likely make a good deal in credit card interest for at least a couple more months after that.

From a business point of view, there is only one holiday that really matters, and they are going to push it at us as early as they can, and try to stretch it out as long as possible at the other end. Of course, earlier is better, because once Christmas and New Year's have passed, we can stop any time we feel like it. Start it early, and we still have the big day to look forward to. We can't cut the celebration short.

And it seems waiting to start is not so easy either. We put our tree up last weekend, and started with the Christmas movies and music and books. I was pretty adamant that we wait until the end of the month, but once everyone starts dangling Christmas in front of a seven-year-old girl, there is not much you can say that will convince her it isn't appropriate to start right now. After much pestering, I gave in on the tree. Naturally, once there is a crack in the armour, it doesn't take much more to smash right through it.

The thing is, I don't want to dampen my daughter's enthusiasm for Christmas. I want to keep the Christmas season short because I like it. However, with it lasting 2+ months, I'm looking forward to getting things back to normal before we've even made it to Christmas Day. I like Christmas, and I would rather be sorry to see it end than relieved. I would rather not get enough Christmas, so I can enjoy every bit, than get so much of it that I just want it over and done with.

In my family, it's always been tradition that the tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving (at the earliest.) 

My family used to have a real tree every year, which generally didn't last much more than a couple of weeks. Gave my parents a perfect justification for waiting until a week or two before Christmas to put the tree up.

Rather than deal with the extra cost, mess and work of a real tree every year, we got a nice pre-lit artificial tree a few years ago, right after Christmas, when it was half price. Looks realistic, without the headaches of a real tree. The one disadvantage is that it can stay up indefinitely.

That's what I usually do too; I take down the Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations & put up the Xmas things - I don't do a big tree, I have a couple small plastic ones.  It does feel a little early for it but I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper, so it gives me something to do. Have to work off all that turkey & pie.  :smile:

So, tonight ABC Family is advertising a "Countdown to 25 Days Of Christmas" holiday premiere of a new film:
Home Alone 5: Holiday Heist

I shudder at that.

When even the local library starts putting up its annual Christmas tree, which it has been doing for as long as I can remember, and starts putting it up before Thanksgiving, let us play tribute to those who wait till the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is soon enough for me, before beginning the Christmas season.

RadioDisney
Which had the decency to wait to start playing Christmas songs till the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The city in which I live
Which always starts off the Christmas season with a big parade and a tree lighting ceremony in downtown the Friday after Christmas.

ABC Family
Which does not start its 25 Days to Christmas till December 1.