Column: Hallowen in July

I keep reading stories about retail businesses that are coming out publicly and stating they will be not be open on Thanksgiving. I'm a little bit surprised by all the hoopla. Are they are expecting the public to come together in unison and laud them for such a bold move?

I've really got question them for doing this, because when did it become socially acceptable for them to be open in the first place?

I'm not going to get really excited about a big box store doing something they should have been doing all along. Congrats on being decent, welcome to the rest of the world. This pat yourself on the back mentality is silly.

I've never really understood Black Friday in the first place. And if that wasn't early enough, stores are starting to beat out Black Friday deals with great deals on Thanksgiving. I understand wanting to get a good deal, but that defeats the whole purpose of the Holidays in the first place. I have seen people leave Thanksgiving dinner so they could get to the store. This is a day that is supposed to be a time to be thankful for what we have, not to go buy a bunch of new crap that probably only be a few dollars more in a few days. "Excuse me, I've got to leave dinner right away. I understand you spent all day cooking, but I really need to save $100 on a television that is the size of a whale."

As much as I think early sales devalues the reason for the season, I also cannot stand to see decorations out in stores way sooner than they need to be. Growing up I can remember Christmas decorations being in stores in December, but now they are creeping into November. It's not just Christmas either. As soon as Valentines Day is over, there will be Easter Decorations in stores. There will become a day when we see Halloween decorations in July. The costumes have been out for so long by the week before Halloween at Wal Mart, there are literally some slim pickings left. People get to choose from a pirate or a devil costume. I was in Great Falls last Saturday and stopped at K-Mart. There selection of costumes was down to a generic "Frozen" costume. It simply said "Ice Princess" to not get in trouble from Disney. I would much rather the kids would have wanted to come up with awesome make at home costume ideas, but that's not always the way it works.

I get that Holidays can be a big time of the year for stores, but things have gotten a little bit carried away. I don't think it would hurt anyone to see Christmas decorations to come out in early December.