Tech

I went on a mission to see how much of NYC has jumped the gun on Christmas already

Madison Malone Kircher

2015-11-02T15:05:44Z

Christmas Retail — Christmas is coming. Caroline Moss/Tech Insider

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

While most of us are still wiping off makeup from our fright night costumes, retailers throughout New York City are ditching Halloween, jumping right over Thanksgiving, and plunging right into the big December holiday.

And that's not the only city getting cheery. The lights on Oxford Street, a popular shopping destination in London, England, were illuminated for the season this past weekend; the earliest the lights have ever been turned on, Quartz notes. On November 1, Walmart trended nationally on Facebook for its early Christmas sales.

Over the weekend, I decided to see just how much premature Christmas cheer I could track down in stores between my office and my apartment.

Here's what I found.

I walk by this store every day on my way to work, but it wasn't until I started looking for all things Christmas that I noticed ...

The windows are already decked out in trees and wreaths for the holidays.

Turns out, Christmas is already happening if you look closely enough. Check out the garland displayed in the front of this Lowe's on Sixth Avenue.

Staples has started pushing holiday stationary, in case you want to get a jump start on your Christmas cards.

A Walgreens representative told Tech Insider that they don't start selling holiday goods in their stores until November 1.

But sure enough, on Halloween night, the Duane Reade on my block was already selling Christmas cards and wrappings.

At first, I thought this small 50% off display was all the holiday products Michaels craft store was selling.

Boy was I wrong. When I turned the corner, I found rows and rows of Christmas items, like this light-up reindeer. Everything seemed to be heavily discounted.

There were also ornaments.

Ornaments.

And even more ornaments.

Can you explain to Santa why Christmas is starting so early this year?

A Michaels employee told me that they had rolled out their Christmas products in mid-October.

Given all the sale prices, if you're looking to save money this holiday season, starting closer to Halloween looks like the way to go. At least at Michaels.

Up next, Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And he lives in Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Oh, and he also apparently likes taking selfies.

There were containers of Christmas lights lining the aisle.

And date signs everywhere in case you needed to refresh your holiday calendar. Like this one for the first day of Advent.

Or the the first night of Hanukkah.

There were dozens of boxes of "The Elf on the Shelf," a toy who "watches" children during the Christmas season to tell him who deserves presents and who deserves coal.

Just don't stare at them too long or they get a little bit creepy.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond also starts selling holiday merchandise in mid-October, a store employee said.

He was also excited to show me this festive nightlight, which turns off when you blow on it like a candle.

On my way out, there were hats and stockings galore.

Just when I thought I had left Christmas behind, I spotted this chocolate display right by the exit. While I love peppermint chocolate, October 30 still felt too early for me to buy any.

Next, I headed less than a block down Sixth Avenue to the container store.

The windows promised a "Gift Wrap Wonderland."

Inside, the wonderland did not disappoint. The store started selling Christmas items during the last week of October, a Container Store employee told me.

The Container Store had the most Christmas items displayed of any store I went to.

Even the plastic bins were festive.

There were ribbons.

There were tags.

And plenty of packages, boxes, and bags.

The center aisle at the Container Store had tree shaped displays filled with stocking stuffers.

Because nothing says Christmas like a nice ratcheting screwdriver.

Or a festive salad dressing bottle.

There were also plenty of more traditional decorations for purchase. Like these sparkly trees.

While not every store is in full-on Christmas mode yet, the holiday season is definitely sneaking up on us. Check out the frosted pine cones on display in the front of the Whole Foods in Union Square.

And if you look closely, the topmost mannequin in this Forever 21 display is rocking an ugly Christmas sweater.

On my way into the office this morning, I stopped by a Starbucks to get a cup of coffee.

I had totally forgotten, but the coffee chain rolled out its highly-anticipated red cups on November 1.

So of course, my coffee was served in one of the cheery cups. Only 52 more days of drinking these till Christmas.

Digital Culture Christmas Retail