How early is too early to start counting down to Christmas?
 

We all know about holiday creep. Head to the mall and stores are getting the Christmas decorations out before Thanksgiving has gobbled it's way off the calendar. Bells start jingling all the way in elevators long before Santa gotten the red suit out of moth balls. But how much is too much?

At Sears this year, they aren't waiting for the day after Thanksgiving to start having "Black Friday" sales. "Black Friday," of course, is the biggest shopping day of the year, a day that arguably could be called a holiday itself. Usually, on the day after Thanksgiving, stores open their doors early (Old Navy at 3am, anyone?) to lure in shoppers with amazing "Black Friday" deals, like super cheap televisions. Last year, in fact, there was a riot at Walmart over sale priced XBox 360s. But Sears, in the hopes of jumpstarting holiday sales, has taken their "Black Friday" sale one step further- they started having them BEFORE HALLOWEEN! That's right, Sears is planning "Black Friday doorbuster" deals every Friday evening until the actual Black Friday on November 27.

It is understandable, considering the economic climate. Retailers are not expecting great sales this year, and anything that can get buyers attention is a good thing for their bottom line: "Retailers are prepared for the worst," said George Rosenbaum, chairman of the retail consulting firm Leo J. Shapiro and Associates, in an interview with CNBC. "(They're) going to go even more aggressively than they did last year."

So holiday creep is not surprising, but when is it just plain silly? The ABC Family network has just announced a "countdown to the 25 days of Christmas," with special holiday-themed shows for families. That means they have just kicked off a countdown to a countdown! Starting about two weeks before Thanksgiving, the tv station will be "counting down" until December 1, when it will begin counting down to Christmas with the "25 Days of Christmas" celebration. That means their countdown to the countdown to Christmas officially started the day before Veterans Day!

Don't get me wrong. I'm no Scrooge. I love holiday music and Christmas decorations as much as the next guy. I don't even really mind holiday creep- in fact, I kind of like humming along to carols. But let's not take it too far. Otherwise it gets to be, well, TOO creepy.