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***mandy*** · 12-03-2005, 12:59 PM,

Quote:Does it not feel more manic and insane this year? Is there not more commercial pressure and consumerist mania and does it not seem increasingly surreal and obnoxious and silly? Or is it all relative and it just seems more utterly intolerable because we've had 10 months to try and forget the last holiday season's odious marketing-shopping miasma?

Christmas decorations were out long before Halloween. Retailers were preparing their attack months in advance. On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the most gruesome shopping day of the year, stores from the hellbeast of Wal-Mart to tepid ol' JCPenney...

full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...120205.DTL

xppman · 12-03-2005, 03:16 PM,

I liked it.

You go Mark.

jezebel · 12-06-2005, 01:14 AM,

Quote:Truly, every holiday-related news story from now till January focuses almost exclusively on the holy grail that is holiday shopping, on the health of the nation as it relates to how many people are signing their paychecks over to Wal-Mart -- and doesn't that seem horribly wrong and sad?

It does seem sad.

**Kristijntje** · 12-24-2005, 03:02 PM,

:hoxmassanta12:

***regic*** · 12-24-2005, 04:29 PM,

I blame the commercialization on Hallmark Halloween and Valentine's Day too. Laughing4

stardust · 12-24-2005, 05:18 PM,

[quote author=regic link=topic=1548.msg6571#msg6571 date=1135441786]
I blame the commercialization on Hallmark Halloween and Mother's Day too. Laughing4

[/quote]

Nat · 12-24-2005, 07:44 PM,

Quote: Is there not more commercial pressure and consumerist mania and does it not seem increasingly surreal and obnoxious and silly?

I've been noticing this year in the stores and malls and newspapers so much more 'commercial pressure and consumerist mania' than other years. But oddly enough I have been noticing that there are not as many houses decorated with lights on the outside of the house and yard as much as there has been in past years. Even we toned it down this year.

I suggested to DH we go for a drive to see people's Christmas displays and went to the neighborhoods that have always had lots of houses with tons of lights and decorations and this year, we had a hard time finding many. Even the local flowergardens that always have had a huge display of trees decorated by local merchants didn't put any trees up - just a few lights. This year seems so odd - people's houses not decorated like they used to be but so much more pressure in the stores and malls.

xppman · 12-24-2005, 07:57 PM,

Who can afford all those lights after buying all that crap
they didn't need or anyone really wanted anyway?

To add: I blame the commercialization on President Bush.
After all... The main stream media and left wing nuts say everything
was / is President Bush's fault.

Happy Ho Ho days to all.

Happy001

bargainbloodhound · 12-24-2005, 08:07 PM,

Quote:I've been noticing this year in the stores and malls and newspapers so much more 'commercial pressure and consumerist mania' than other years.

I've noticed it mainly in the media's daily 'buy, buy online this holiday season articles': Cyber Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...

Quote:Who can afford all those lights after buying all that crap
they didn't need or anyone really wanted anyway?

I think that is the main reason for fewer Christmas lights...especially the 'who can afford it' with the jump in electricity prices this year.

xppman · 12-24-2005, 09:46 PM,

Yep:
Electricity, home heating fuel, gas, ebay and PP FEES.
The list goes on and on. BangHead