THIS JUST IN:

[Android Kaeli]

If anything Christmas isn't set and stocked by July 4th, then it's offically late. Then again, I work half of my day in a craft store...what more can one expect? But I HAVE been drooling over the Halloween stuff that's out....

[Trixie]

Count me in as another one that is over the back to school stuff. We have no limits on anything so it's all flying out the door. There's one group that's getting shitty with me because the stuff in the aisle is picked through and in wrong spots then there's the other group of people that just don't read. Both of which are my fault, of course.

[Anglesmith]

Once a day I've got a customer that remarks "Winter stuff/School supplies in July?" Yeah. Summer season ended July 5th.

[Bandit]

The Wally World I'm working at will be opening next month.

I must have moved at least a tonne of BTS stuff in the last couple of weeks off the trucks coming in.

I'm glad I don't work in that department.

B

[Not Lillith]

School doesn't start for me until mid-September...at which point I pretty much get everything at clearance prices....Heck, I still have reams of college ruled paper from last year that I bought for 69 cents/150 sheet pack.

Then I get to spend all my "savings" on the really really good pens. Joy!

[hinakiba777]

I'm in a summer course right now, and when I was in spring session I lost my sharpener. So I went to buy one, none of the stores had any. Though they all promised they would have school supplies out in a couple of weeks.

So I was doubly sad. One for the kids who would just be starting vacation when the school supplies started being put out, and then for myself because I couldn't sharpen my pencils.

[XCashier]

Then again, I work half of my day in a craft store...what more can one expect? But I HAVE been drooling over the Halloween stuff that's out....

Oh, me too. We don't have the costume fabrics or props out yet, but we've got some really cool Halloween-themed quilting fabrics. I think I might make myself a few camp shirts from them...

Granted, we have a good excuse for having holiday stuff out early; Halloween costumes and Christmas gifts take time to make. Better to start early, take your time and enjoy it than wearing yourself out trying to get it done in a couple of hours. Still, I do understand that it's annoying to see BTS stuff in July, or Halloween stuff in August, etc.

[Merriweather]

I haven't had to deal with getting BTS stuff in almost 25 years now (escaped HS waaay back in 1988.)

One thing I've noticed just from cruising the aisles at Wallyworld and the drugstores is that what's available now for kids is waaaaaaaay different than what we had back in the 70's and 80's.


:

One big difference is the size of the back to school lists. When I was in school, it was paper, pens, pencils, and then when school started each teacher would ask for a couple of other things (only classes like home economics had long lists).

When my daughter was in school, it was usually a longer list from the teacher at the beginning of the year, but still just a few basic things.

Now my granddaughter has a huge list, everything from paper to kleenex to hand sanitizers, and multiples of each. I usually watch the sales for super cheap items to give my daughter, what the granddaughter can't use gets donated to the teachers, these days way too much has to come out of their own pockets.

Granted, we have a good excuse for having holiday stuff out early; Halloween costumes and Christmas gifts take time to make. Better to start early, take your time and enjoy it than wearing yourself out trying to get it done in a couple of hours. Still, I do understand that it's annoying to see BTS stuff in July, or Halloween stuff in August, etc.

Craft stores are the only ones that don't annoy me by having stuff out way in advance of holidays, projects can take months to do, it's nice to get the fabric and things early on rather than either throw things together last minute, or second guess what you might want to make next year.

[Kanalah]

Yeah my fabric catalogs have Christmas fabric listed starting in March!

I've already bought about half of my holiday fabric and already have Halloween/Christmas table runners ready to quilt.

I love BTS sales! that's when I buy all my paper/pens/etc. for my paperwork.

Seshat: I have a Trapper Keeper! I bought it in 8th grade. It has Starfox 64 on it and I use it to organize all my business papers and quilt patterns.

Edit cause I forgot: The City schools started on August 1st. My daughter's school is year round and her first day of Vacation was August 1st.

[Dreamstalker]

I'm not quite sure how a grocery store does BTS, but we get that insanity starting this weekend I think.

I was in We R Toyz a few days ago during a heat wave and a father and son were looking for an inflatable pool. They only had 1 or 2 left, and the rest of that display was being filled with school stuff. The expression on the kid's face as he realized this...I wanted to go over and hug him.