Desperate Holidays: Peppermint Mochas and Christmas Trees, on Guy Fawkes Day? Too Soon?

  • Share
  • Read Later
Starbucks

Ah, November. The month of Thanksgiving, fall foliage and holiday marketing run rampant. But how soon is too soon for holiday cheer?

The final week of October brings out the holiday spirit in New York City – it’s just not for Halloween.

Here, the closing of October somehow means Christmas as retailers deck the halls before the spooks even have their night of fun, turning the city into a live-action recreation of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Even Radio City Music Hall is topped with a giant Christmas tree before November rolls around.

(Holy Halloween Photos: Send in the creepy clowns!)

But it’s been scientifically proven that the definitive sign of the season is the peppermint mocha, Starbucks’ wallop of chocolate, coffee and mint served in a festive red cup. Nov. 2 was the kick-off for this year’s round of holiday drinks, a whole 53 days before Christmas and a month away from the start of Hanukkah.

Businesses use November as the lead up to holiday sales, a much-needed sales boost within difficult economic times, but it’s obvious that department store tinsel isn’t limited to periods of plunging profit margins.

So when do “the holidays” really begin? November 1st? The day after Thanksgiving? Or, are there really only 12 days of Christmas? NewsFeed’s betting that some businesses would jump at the chance to kick off Christmas in September. Or even July.

Is it really okay for retailers to gloss over Thanksgiving, one of the few holidays able to distance itself (for the most part) from all the American hedonism and excess? My brain screams: Give it a rest already! But, as the red cup currently sitting beside me on my desk suggests, my heart is singing a very different tune: Just shut up and enjoy the peppermint goodness!

(Get in the Christmas spirit: The world’s craziest Christmas light displays)