Many debate about when the Holiday Season really starts because advertisements and products start showing up in stores during the second half of the year. The first big one is Christmas In July which has become a popular marketing technique for retail stores. Once September rolls around many Christmas and Holiday themed things start popping up in the stores along with all of the Halloween items. You may even see a holiday commercial or two on TV. After Halloween most people are ready to start enjoying the Christmas songs and start decorating.
Many families have a tradition of decorating their houses during the upcoming week of Thanksgiving. This is usually the time where you see most towns and storefronts go all out with decorations, lights and displays if they haven’t done so already. The Christmas tree lot in my town sets up shop and there is a Holiday festival during the week of Thanksgiving so that is the biggest sign to me that the holidays are here. The Christmas cards and products fill the shelves in the stores. The cold weather starts setting in and the temperatures get low enough for a first snow. The radio starts playing Christmas songs and the fireplaces are burning. That is when it begins to look a lot like Christmas!