The Christmas creep

Shimmery white ghosts, witches in pointy black hats and plastic orange pumpkins are being pushed to the back of store shelves as more retailers are bringing out Christmas trimmings long before Halloween is over.

"It's getting out earlier and earlier," said Charlie Grigg, vice president of Grigg's Department Store in Pasco and the Ace Hardware in Richland.

It's called "Christmas creep" by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Hoping to catch early shoppers, retailers are extending their all-important holiday shopping season, which often accounts for 25 percent to 40 percent of their annual sales.

Grigg said his stores have long since stopped stocking fall decorations because people are more interested in decking their halls for Christmas.

He said the Pasco store has gone as far as to keep Christmas decorations out all year, with the newest items hitting shelves as early as August.

But it hasn't always been like that. Grigg said he can remember a time when the Santa hats and twinkling lights weren't put on display until, at the earliest, two weeks before Thanksgiving.

Linda Pasco, owner of Lemon Grass in Kennewick's Marineland Village, said one of the reasons holiday decorations are making an earlier appearance is consumer demand.

"We've had people come in in September saying that they were out shopping already," she said.

The early birds either have a lot of people to shop for, are very organized or are looking for something unique, she said.

They're also looking for inspiration.

Pasco said people often come in looking to catch a glimpse of the latest holiday offerings, looking for ideas for their homes.

But Christmas creep reaches far beyond the Mid-Columbia.

The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group in Washington, D.C., reports that 40 percent of customers plan to start their holiday shopping before Halloween this year, according to The Associated Press.

And major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and JCPenney are more than glad to accommodate their wishes.

And Costco Wholesale said it always has put out Christmas ornaments, gift wrap, cards and artificial trees as early as September.

Tara Raddohl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, told The Associated Press that even though their busiest Christmas sales weeks will occur in November and December, stores have been "placing a selective sampling of our Christmas items into stores early in the season for several years."

And that maybe making Halloween and Thanksgiving items harder to find.

Pasco said she's been faced with some sad customers because they no longer can find pilgrim figurines or items to decorate their Thanksgiving table.

In fact, she tells customers the best time to start looking for turkey decorations is in August and September.

But that doesn't necessarily mean retailers are going to start selling jingle bells before Tri-City Water Follies are over.

"Are we going to see Christmas in July? No," Kathy Grannis, with the National Retail Federation, told The Associated Press. "The back-to-school season and every other holiday is important for them too."