It's only early September and already the toy catalogs are pouring into the mail slot every day. It annoys me beyond description. Ridley has already started writing letters to Santa. Saturday afternoon Boston spent at least two hours with a catalog that contained lots of Spy Gear stuff, identifying all the items he didn't yet possess. Again at Sunday breakfast, he was spelling out words to me so he could read and understand the descriptions of items in yet another catalog.
I guess it helps his reading, right?
Just for the record, I came from a family where Christmas was big. Quality-big, not quantity-big. We each got one big gift and several small gifts. One year, when we were older, we each got new record players. Another year, a family friend gave Daddy a set of mag wheels for his new Thunderbird. Frequently there were new water skis for Christmas, then on Christmas afternoon we took the boat out to try out the new skis.
But in the 50s and 60s, it didn't start until November, to the best of my memory. And we didn't have television, so I don't know if there were commercials targeted at kids.
I think the way the companies target children for Christmas, and the way they hit them early and hard, is reprehensible. And there's probably no way to tone it down without seeming like UltraScrooge.
2 comments:
You have hit on one of my pet peeves. Honey when I worked in retail in the 70's we put up the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving!! It gets earlier and earlier every year. I was talking to the manager in Costco yesterday and asked him to turn off the Christmas music and he agreed it was WAT TOO early but said company policy. Of course I have learned that if I see it now and don't buy it, when I look for Christmas presents/decorations in late November/December they are GONE!! I put up my tree the weekend before Christmas and take it down after January 6th.
Since I can remember Christmas decorations went up just after Halloween - frankly - as miserable as the news is I don't mind the twinkly lights and music diversion.
Of course it is not my holiday either, but growing up Catholic and singing in the choir - I do so love the music.
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