Decking The Halls

Can you believe it?  Many stores are trying to get customers to buy this month by having Christmas in July sales.  Target is having a one day online Black Friday sale today, the fourth Friday of the month.  That's four months before the official Black Friday, which is the fourth Friday of November (otherwise known as the day after Thanksgiving).  Sears and Kmart are promoting both online and in-store sales in their Christmas Lane department, and Toys R Us has special sales this weekend, and Monday (which they're calling Cyber Monday, mimicking the marketing term for the Monday immediately following Black Friday)

I'm not in the market for any Christmas items now, but the whole concept was goofy enough that I had to check it out. Besides, thinking about late December weather would be a welcome change from dealing with the last few weeks' swelter. This afternoon I drove to the closest Sears store to do a bit of browsing.  I figured the Christmas department would be on the lower level of this store, which is where they have the seasonal department, so I parked on the lower parking lot..  There weren't many cars in this section of the lot, so a lot of prime parking spaces were available. I was already liking Christmas in July!

The first thing I saw when I walked into the store was red.  Lots of red, as in the color of the packaging of Craftsman tools.  It made for a festive, Christmas-like atmosphere, but it wasn't what I came in for, so I pressed on.  A little farther into the store I heard the sound of tinkling water, coming from a fountain in the outdoor furniture department, where large signs announced End of the Season discounts.  Again, nice but not what I was looking for.

I walked through the fitness, cookware, and home decor departments and came up empty handed.  Just as I was starting to despair, I found the Christmas Lane: a 10 foot by 20 foot area consisting of end cap shelves, a tall stand-alone shelf, and a round table.  A half dozen stuffed animals dressed in holiday sweaters shared the space with a small selection of boxed ornaments and some tabletop decor.

After I got over my disappointment, I decided to do some more seasonally-appropriate shopping, and went upstairs to see if I could buy some shorts or a new swimming suit on clearance..

Update--I talked with an acquaintance today at the gym whose husband works at Target.  Evidently the decision about how much to participate in Christmas in July festivities was left up to each individual store. The manager at the Sears I visited must not have felt the early holiday spirit.