Ready to shop? (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

While the rest of the United States jumped straight from the election to the fiscal cliff, we jumped right from the election to Christmas marketing. We were behind the curve, though: The retailers had started on that part way, way before. We recorded this pre-election (and pre-Halloween), and we were already inundated with Christmas stuff when we were out and about in our lives.

• It’s not your imagination: Christmas marketing really does start earlier and earlier every year.
• Holly is unperturbed because fabric stores.
• The ire seems to be mostly about Christmas and Valentine’s Day displays being early. Not so much Halloween and other less emotionally baggage-y holidays.
• Year-round Christmas stores and how we hate those less. “We” being me, not Holly.
• Whether there’s sales value to all this creep
• Same-store sales and other retail metrics
• Some motivations to shop early: deals and hot-item toys
• Backlash to creep and whether it’ll actually hold any water
• Food spoilage and holiday creep, and a digression about pumpkin beer
• Actual logistical benefits to a longer holiday shopping season
• Whether holiday creep may spread out the shopping season and ease traffic woes for nonshoppers
• Listener mail! It’s a duo reading from two people. Lin writes about our Hello Kitty episode, and Jennifer writes on our Facebook wall about a similar point related to shot glasses at Disney.
• Is Black Friday the biggest shopping day of the year?
• Episode link: Beware the Holiday Creep

My research that Holly didn’t also use:

• Consumers fight early Christmas decorations
• Consumerist.com Unveils its Christmas Creep
• Christmas Creep Annoys, but Sadly It Seems to Work
• Cyber Monday Gains Rivals
• Christmas Creep: Backlash Brewing?
• Christmas Creep: The Shopping Season Is Longer, but Is It Better?
• It’s Not the Eggnog Talking: Christmas Is Starting Earlier

Holly’s research:

• Christmas Creep is coming to your inbox even earlier this year
• Stupid Media Watch: Meet the Real Christmas Creep
• Despite the Scorn, Consumers Embrace ‘Christmas Creep’
• OctoNovemCember™: Why an Unsteady Economy Is Causing Consumers to Search for Deals Long Before Black Friday
• Christmas Before Thanksgiving
• Holiday Creep: Easter Candy, Already?
• Holidays Arrive Early With The ‘Christmas Creep’

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