Many things in life are good if you do it early. Taxes, mise en place and preventative maintenance for cars and other important machinery you use in your daily life come to mind when it comes to being prepared.
But on the flipside, certain things in life are not very good if you do it too early. Any respectable cook or chef, including the likes of Gordon Ramsay knows that you take a steak off the grill or pan too early, it can have the texture of chewing gum. Also, every F1 driver knows that braking too early into a corner can give a gap or an opening to your opponents; just ask Lewis Hamilton.
Putting that aside, if you are as observant as I am, I think Christmas has come too early this year.
The Thanksgiving turkey has not been bought yet and Santa Claus did not travel down Fifth Avenue either, but pajamas and toys are on full display at Macy’s.
I haven’t made my wish list, but early Black Friday deals are one and plenty at dozens of retailers I shop at.
Seeing all this rattles my internal calendar and changed my habits for this Christmas. Usually, I do not get into the "Christmas mindset" until possibly the Monday after Thanksgiving – and it's not even because of cyber Monday either.
There is an actual reason to why we saw all of the Christmas special stuff like the pajamas, FAO Schwartz branded toys and the perfume box sets that feature matching deodorant or body wash that we are never ever going to use.
According to an analysis by Reuters, a lot of major retailers like Walmart, Macy's, and even Dollar General have been carrying a lot of excess stock in "the back."
Thing is, retailers get really optimistic about people's spending habits during the holiday season, and tend to make these errors when it comes to ordering their holiday specials from the manufacturers.
Reuters said that the average American was only going to spend roughly 3-4% more on holiday gifts this season, which roughly rides the same wave as inflation; which would translate to breaking even or a loss, depending on how stuffed the stockrooms are.
As we, and I, were seeing, the stockrooms seem to be taking the deepest of breaths, as retailers are eager to sell, and sell at a discount.
Of course, what do you do with excess merchandise? You put on a sale.
Everyone loves a sale. I like a sale.
What's the problem with a sale? Retailers lose money.
The Conference Board says in their Holiday Spending Survey for this year that mortal consumers plan on spending less on holiday gifts this year, from $1,006 in 2022 to $985 this year.
There isn't enough money to go around this year, and these retailers have got to spread their peacock feathers in order to attract every dollar through their doors.
But believe me, I love Christmas time. I love that it is a time to be with family and I can set aside the gifts because I am surrounded by the people I love.
What makes this time of year kind of weird for me is that my birthday falls on Christmas Eve.
When I was a kid, my relatives asked me what I wanted for that year's Christmas and my birthday, and I remember getting upset that I'd get one gift.
Usually, it was clothes - I know it sounds ironic that someone who occasionally writes about fashion would hate getting clothes on Christmas, but you had to understand that I was a living, breathing child during the heyday of Toys R Us; I wanted toys.
I have a certain attachment to Polo Ralph Lauren in my adult life because many of the clothes that were gifted, the stuff in boxes that I wished were toys were items by Polo.
As a kid, single digits, I remember getting boxes and ripping off the wrapping of the boxes that would reveal a Macy's box. One Christmas, I felt so disappointed on the sight of seeing the signature red star, I slammed the box on the ground and it opened up to reveal a PRL button up shirt - the horse and jockey staring at me; asking me coyly what they have done for me to feel ungrateful.
To be fair, I was a kid that simply wanted toys.
I used to also think about what it would've been like to have my birthday on any other day, but I came to reason with that idea. Imagine having a summer birthday; they'd have your birthday celebration in class in June; even if your birthday wasn't for another two months.
But seeing all this stuff so early makes me reconsider Christmas. 2023 felt faster in some ways, and the fact that it is already Christmas, already the end of the year puts me in a mindset that isn’t easy for me to process.
I can go on and on about a central idea, such as consumerism, black friday, food, or the trival meaning behind certain Christmas song, but what this weird feeling made me feel was one that I haven't felt before.
At least not this early.
Ingat.