It’s been less than two weeks since Halloween has passed and Thanksgiving is still 2 weeks away and we are already being bombarded with Black Friday and Christmas ads. When you walk into a store such as Fred Meyer or Target, you already see fake trees and lights. Then there’s “Jingle Bells” playing and sticking  in your head way too easily. This is all an attempt by companies to coerce consumers into the spirit of buying their products.

As a country, the  biggest day for shopping is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Companies mark down prices on items to encourage masses of people to come in and start shopping for Christmas. Traditonally most stores open early Friday morning. Now stores are opening on Thanksgiving to try to maximize their profit. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday not about the gifts, but about the people with whom you spend the holiday. Companies opening on Thanksgiving really takes away from one of the most traditional holidays in America, where it is a time to step back and appreciate how fortunate we are.

What sets off this phenomenon is the advertising. These ads are constantly streaming on all forms of media. Whether you are reading the newspaper or watching your favorite show, you are bound to see ads for Christmas, with Santa Claus impersonators or Christmas music blasting at an ear splitting volume.

Retailers constantly try to convince consumers to come into their stores and take advantage of the  best deals on their Christmas presents.

We could write to retailers and ask them to scale back on the Christmas fuss in November, but they would not care. It would have to take enough driving force to stop retailers to stop with the shopping on Thanksgiving and the ads. For now we might just have to wait.

This constant advertising can be great for retailers, but it can drive consumers insane. Even though consumers are trying to grab our attention, the ads for the holidays start way too early. By the time it is Christmas I think we will all be thankful that the ads are over.