CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST; HOLIDAY DISPLAYS ALREADY APPEARING IN MANY STORES.Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer Forget what the calendar says: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. True, people complain that Christmas - or, more accurately, the commercialization of Christmas - arrives earlier each year. But really, this year it has come earlier than it ever has before, hasn't it? Christmas in August! Retailers, determined not to let the last big buying season of the millennium go by without a fight, are dusting off their plastic reindeer reindeer, ruminant mammal, genus Rangifer, of the deer family, found in arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America. It is the only deer in which both sexes have antlers. and spreading their artificial snow four months ahead of the holiday. The stores are not yet overwhelmed with Yuletide knick-knacks - that won't happen for another week or three - but there's no doubt that Santa Claus Santa Claus: see Nicholas, Saint. Santa Claus jolly, gift-giving figure who visits children on Christmas Eve. [Christian Tradition: NCE, 1937] See : Christmas Santa Claus has crept into the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. as well as other places. ``It does seem strange to be selling collectible Christmas items when it's 100 degrees outside, but that's how business is lately,'' Ramon Orozco, a salesman at the Green Thumb Garden Center in Canoga Park, said Monday. ``That's how business is lately - sell things as early as possible.'' At Amy's Hallmark in Woodland Hills, several hundred keepsake holiday ornaments Ornaments are a frequent embellishment to music. Sometimes different symbols represent the same ornament, or vice versa. Different ornament names can refer to an ornament from a specific area or time period. have been on shelves since mid-July as part of a chainwide promotional campaign. But before fingers start pointing at Amy's, know that the post-Independence Day sale has occurred at the same time for several years. ``The customers are always a little surprised that we're selling that early, but they really do sell,'' said Amy's manager Paige Thigpen. ``The early birds want to buy because they want to avoid the crowds later and they want to get the best selection.'' Thigpen, who will convert about half her store to Christmas goods right after Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. , said the ornaments have sold well so far. Carolyn Barnett, owner of Cherish'd gift shop in Woodland Hills, has seen strong sales of Mary Engelbreit Christmas ornaments Christmas ornaments are decorations (usually made of glass, metal, wood or ceramics) that are used to festoon a Christmas tree. Ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. and a few other Christmas and Hanukkah items since June. She will start installing major displays in early September. ``It does seem early to be putting on displays, but people have already been asking about Christmas items. I could see having a permanent section of the store as early as July.'' Barnett predicts that home decor items will be particularly strong. It's not just high-end collectibles that have reappeared. At Pic 'N' Save Pic 'N' Save was, at one time, the second-largest closeout retail chain in the United States. Financial troubles caused the chain to close many of the markets in the late-1990s and early-2000s. in Canoga Park, the discounter has started selling a variety of Christmas goods including $4.99 artificial trees, 79-cent wreaths, 99-cent glitter shakers Shakers, popular name for members of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also called the Millennial Church. Members of the movement, who received their name from the trembling produced by religious emotion, were also known as Alethians. , 99-cent ornaments, $2.99 boxes of cards and $9.99 ceramic trees. A few stores go the full-year route. REI Crafts in Canoga Park has Christmas trees Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. up in the front windows and holiday decorations in its supply bins. ``We're a crafts store, so people expect us to have this for them,'' said REI's Elizabeth Carpenter. At Deforest's Patio and Fireside Center in Woodland Hills, 20 percent of floor space has been devoted to Radko ornaments and Dept. 56 miniature lighted villages for the past six years. ``I never thought we'd be selling Christmas items in the summer, but we think our customers appreciate it,'' said Deforest's co-owner Pam Gietzen. But not everyone is hopping on the Christmas-in-August bandwagon. ``It's still awfully early,'' said Rick Mendoza, a manager at the Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . Studio store in Canoga Park. ``People are always a little suprised when they see Christmas stuff early, but they get into it pretty easily.'' Notable among those sticking to the tradition that Christmas shopping doesn't start until after Thanksgiving is Nordstrom, which will place no Christmas decorations in stores until Nov. 26. ``The basic thinking is that customers are going to want to enjoy the holidays as they come rather than being inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. by Christmas,'' said spokeswoman Leslie Harris. She did admit that the chain's Christmas catalog will be in customers' hands in mid-November. Retailers generally expect the combination of a strong economy and the novelty of the 2000 celebrations to lead to good holiday sales. At the Papyrus papyrus (pəpī`rəs), a sedge (Cyperus papyrus), now almost extinct in Egypt but so universally used there in antiquity as to be the hieroglyphic symbol for Lower Egypt and a common motif in art. gift shop in Canoga Park, for example, one clerk was happy that 2000 calendars - including dogs, cats, Ricky Martin, Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11 1974[1]) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor who garnered world wide fame for his role as Jack Dawson in Titanic. and Elvis Presley - have arrived because of customer requests. The store also has prominently displayed Millennium Party invitations in its front window. ``We'll have to wait and see on those,'' the clerk said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Color) Tessa Nieuwenhuis, 7, takes a close look at Christmas ornaments at Deforest's in Woodland Hills with her mother, Esther, and brother, Luc. (2--Color) Andrea Lipson and her daughter Allie, 9, of Camarillo, admire the Christmas ornaments at Deforest's Patio and Fireside Center. Tina Gerson/Staff Photographer |
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