Our lives being governed by the retail

Maybe they're getting in quick before the uncertainty of Brexit! There'll be a run on choc if stocks start to get short.

PS Hot cross buns are available all year round in my experience.

Christmas cards are out in Card Factory !
I used to think that was great when I used to send cards to Australia by surface mail that used to take weeks to get there but at least a lot cheaper than air!
Now there is no surface mail, the last time I posted the cards in September (as you used to have to) they arrived the second week of October ! I was getting messages to say thank you for the card, I'll put it away until nearer the time!
How did we cope when the Christmas stuff didn't appear until November ? My mum used to put a certain amount away each week to pay for Christmas presents. The year before she died, she got organised (or so she thought) and bought several presents for the GGC only to find that they were no longer interested in them when Christmas arrived !

When I worked with families who were really struggling to make ends meet they needed to start purchasing one (or two) school uniform item(s) a week over the summer if their children were going to have a uniform in September. They found it really hard to just save the money up when the electricity was running out but could just about manage if it was bought as soon as their wages or benefits came in.
Obviously they would buy from, say, ASDA rather than John Lewis - but if other places have the "back to school" stuff out in June you can be sure JL etc will too.

When I see it in the stores, although I hate it, I'm always reminded how fortunate I am.

Me too

In with one thing out with another, when most of us are feeling in the now phase retailers are way ahead, it is annoying when for example you want to buy a summer top in August and half the stores are full of thicker autumn wear but that’s how they work I’m afraid, I’ve worked in retail all my life and ppl used to get so mad when coming in to buy swimwear in August and none available: our particular retail didn’t seem to understand that ppl need swimwear all year round

We don't start to plan Christmas until "the Scorpio birthdays" (husband and middle daughter) are over. We now have granddaughters born in September and October too so more autumn birthdays to help us put off the evil hour.

Where's all the Hallowe'en tat?

Pumpkins not included in the tat category!

lemongrove go and stand in the corner facing the wall!

BradfordLass

No secret munching before C Grandad

Why anyone woukd want to buy school uniform or shoes in June puzzles me - children grow in the summer or rain.

sodapop Quote [ Ah yes Grandad1943 but do we actually want or need these things or have we been conned into thinking we do] End Quote.

sodapop, in our case we probably do? we have our three adult daughters and their husbands/partners and their four Grandchildren who all will be coming to us on Christmas day.

We then have my wife's brother and his family who always come to us for a day between Christmas and New Year.

It then always falls to me and my wife to obtain all Christmas Boxes for the now twenty-nine staff in the office which is usually a bottle of wine and/or chocolates to go along with their Quarterly Bonus.

So, there is quite amount to think about and we always start to obtain it all gradually starting about now, as like others we just cannot abide shopping malls in the last two weeks before Christmas.

Looking at this thread has started us thinking we may well find ourselves working out that Cristmas list today as we are both on a day off. ?

Oh Nannyjan!
I have been rumbled!

It is a cunning plan to manipulate us to spend more. Buy the Christmas sweets now....then over the next few weeks you keep dipping in. By November they are all gone, so you buy more

For various reason, not least my very poor eyesight, I prefer to shop for Christmas over the preceding months as I absolutely hate going into crowds in December.

Not least because it's so hot at that time. I do not want to be peering like Mr Magoo at things I can barely see whilst being jostled by hoards in 30 degree heat.

So I agree with Grandad1943; I want to have everything done except the last-minute fresh foods, no later than mid-November.

Given that most people happily source out of season food - strawberries in March or asparagus in October- we cannot be surprised that “seasonal” no longer features in retail thinking.
If there is a demand there will be the supply and in the cut throat business of the retail sector, nobody can afford to fall behind their competitors.
But letting it govern our lives?
Only if you let it.

Ah yes Grandad1943 but do we actually want or need these things or have we been conned into thinking we do

Many people buy Christmas items gradually in the Months/weeks leading up to December.

The summer holiday period is nearly over and here in North Somerset the schools reopen next week. So, the Christmas stock goes out on the shelves of our retailers.

If there was not a demand for those items at this time, they would not be on those shelves, simple as that.

Some people may not want those items at this time, others will.

Love your post BradfordLass it made me chuckle. A friend is from Harrogate and she really struggles to spend money - and she is well off. Perhaps that’s why!

Sainsburys also have hot cross buns available all year round, and rich fruit cake with icing on, which is the same as Christmas cake. I buy both regularly.

I do think August is a bit too early to be promoting Christmas fare though. Even if you are planning to send things abroad, there's still plenty of time.

I don't care how far in advance business needs to order seasonal items- But I think they should wait until each specific season to take them out of their inventory and put them on the shelves for sale- There was a small section of Christmas items already being put out in July at local retailer-

I am shunning that link Chewbacca!

It's only August for goodness sakes!"

Does go to show how these pesky shops manipulate us though.

Apologies Day6, it was Mark's & Spencers who have the hot cross buns, not Tesco. Here's a link for you so that you can order yours!

www.marksandspencer.com/s/food-to-order/adventures-in-food/hot-cross-buns

Ooooooh nooooooo Chewbacca!!

We are all out of sync!!!

Unless, of course, you come from Yorkshire and have never regarded depleting the bank account as any kind of therapy but more like pulling teeth without anaesthetic.

Laughing here, BradfordLass. Love that.

My friends in Yorkshire will love it too, I'm sure. One of them, last time I was with her, had no hesitation in spending a huge sum of money on a dress that took her fancy. She is letting the side down.

I am still bemused when hot cross buns appear in the supermarkets, in January

<whispers quietly.... Tesco currently have hot cross buns on their bakery aisle>

Somebody is buying it that early or they would not do it! Resist the temptation!,

Lemon I’ll pick them up when I get mine, but you may find I’ve eaten all the purple ones from yours! ?