You Tell Us: Too Early To Prep For Christmas?

Is it too early to deck the halls?

That's the question raised by some Patch commenters in our weekend guide post from Thursday morning. A Towson church is holding its Christmas festival, while the Avenue at White Marsh is having its annual tree lighting.

Commenter Gregg Roberts said:

Wow, it isn't even Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities started on November 2nd. When I was a kid there was no thought of Christmas until Santa showed up on the Thanksgiving Day parade. A Christmas tree lighting before Thanksgiving would have been thought a joke. 

Why not enjoy the simple beauty of Thanksgiving and -- let the Christmas holiday last longer. It seems by the middle of November, radio stations are playing Christmas carols but some stop midnight on Christmas Day. The 12th Day of Christmas is January 5th. Why not fill up the cold and possibly snowy weather of January with extended Christmas atmosphere then ruin Thanksgiving? Malls -- The Avenue -- don't worry you can get your shoppers from Black Friday all the way through After Christmas and New Year's sales going well into January.

Commenter Tim said the early date for an event like the Avenue tree lighting wasn't going to stop him:

It's absolutely ridiculous the Tree Lighting is a full week before Thanksgiving, but the Mrs and my little one want to go, so we will. It was the same last year.

Many department store chains—except, notably, Nordstrom—have already put out their holiday merchandise. Other holiday lighting ceremonies are fast approaching too. In New York, Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree just arrived and will be lit on Nov. 28. The tree lighting in Washington and the lighting of Baltimore's Washington Monument, however, won't happen until Dec. 6.

The Consumerist blog has examples of so-called "Christmas Creep" dating back to August and September.

So you tell us: How do you feel about tree lightings and Christmas sales in mid-November?