Christmas stores in August: Utter madness or do people really want to start their festive shopping this early?

Christmas stores in August: Utter madness or do people really want to start their festive shopping this early?

Shops are already selling decorations and festive treats, but is it consumerism gone out of control or a good way to lift the mood and help people get their present list sorted early? Arlene Harris discovers it’s an emotive subject

Brown Thomas opened its Christmas shop on August 21. Photo: Brown Thomas

The kids may have gone back to school and the sun might have taken a bit of a sabbatical, but that doesn’t mean that it’s time to start decking the halls with boughs of holly. There was a time when the countdown to Christmas started tentatively after Halloween, but increasingly, year after year it seems to get earlier and earlier.

Brown Thomas opened its Christmas shop in store