By Ceana Cuello ’16

As the holiday seasons approach, many retail stores decide to jump the gun and put out decorations in untimely months. In July, when everyone celebrates the end of the school year and enjoys the start of their summer break, some stores can barely wait two weeks before setting up displays of back to school shopping. People tend to be bummed out because no one wants to even fathom the idea of going back to school when everyone is still in summer mode. Even in August and the very beginning of September, many will start to see Halloween costumes, skeletons and even candy corn hit the aisles.

The inappropriate timing of the release of this decor sucks all the value of the holidays for many shoppers. It allows people to overlook the true meaning behind each individual holiday. People gain more excitement for holidays that are commercialized far in advance, rather than enjoying the actual holidays of the month. People need to ignore the overdone exploitation of certain holidays and focus on creating memories and enjoying the holiday itself.

“Nothing bothers me more than walking into Target in the summer and already seeing back to school shopping posted throughout the store,” senior Isabella Russo said. “Some stores need to take a few steps backwards and hold off on the sale of these items to let us enjoy the months we are in.”

Even though stores may think they are a helping people by giving them a “head start” on holiday shopping, they don’t give people enough processing time to get ready for the holiday itself. Customers are definitely not ready for Christmas trees when they still are deciding between being a cop or a superhero for Halloween. Holidays are definitely something to be excited for but shouldn’t be rushed. The true meaning of each individual holiday is taken for granted when stores sell items for various holidays at once. It just completely takes away the anticipation and celebration that comes along with each individual holiday.

“Most stores over-commercialize the holidays and allow us to lose the true meaning of what the individual holidays should represent,” sophomore Christina Cammarata said.

If this trend continues in the direction it is going, in a few more years the true meaning behind the holidays will be lost. Consumers will only remember the commercialization of the holidays, which is what we all should steer away from. Even if it’s impossible to completely stop stores from releasing these holiday items so early, customers can have a better judgement by slowing down their reaction time to wanting to purchase it. People need to ignore the fact that stores take advantage of the holidays for a profit and remember what the holidays are really about: celebrating and sharing good times with family and friends.