September is the new December for some people right now.
Halloween is still around the corner but Christmas is still top of mind – as families continue a trend since the pandemic of decorating early to get to into the holiday spirit.
North Texas author Colleen Hoover posted this now viral video on social media, showing her decorating for Christmas this week – a full three months before the holiday.
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In her defense, she has a really busy October, so she's just checking this off the list. But she’s not the only one.
Decorator’s Warehouse in Arlington, a family-owned business of 34 years, is already gearing up for a busy season. They operate a Texas-sized 60,000 square foot warehouse of all things Christmas, one of the two largest such stores in the country.
"I would say when we bleed, we don't bleed red. We bleed red and green Christmas colors,” joked Dave Hanson, owner of Decorator’s Warehouse. “We bring in mountains and mountains of things from all over the world. There's nobody like us in the state of Texas.”
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The store usually kicks things off early by opening up in July.
"We open that first weekend in July, partly because we have a lot of the designers that want to get in early and get their things. But then we start getting busy in July, August, September. And now, in the next couple of weeks it'll start getting crazy," said Hanson.
Thousands of designers have descended upon the store to grab up inventory in preparation for the season. The store's owners even film decorating advice on their social media channels and host decorating seminars to help shoppers, with another one planned on Sept. 29, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
They're already starting to get so busy, they transitioned to staying open seven days a week.
"We get people to come in at 10 a.m. in the morning when we open and they leave at 6 p.m. when we close and they're here all day long. So I think it is a place to kind of leave your cares at the door and come in – build memories for your own family, which is really what Christmas is all about."
Decorator’s Warehouse also has an entire section for Christmas lights where pro-installers get everything they need. The key advice this season if you're planning to have someone come out to decorate your home -- don't procrastinate. You might want to call soon because they are already getting booked up fast.
Over at the Christmas Capital of Texas, Grapevine’s Main Street is in the Halloween spirit for now but in the coming weeks, the giant spider sitting atop of Good Things for All Seasons will soon be replaced with Santa Claus.
“We’ve got some spiders out on Main Street and lots of Halloween decorations but once we get through that, it’s Christmas Capital of Texas all the way,” said Elizabeth Schrack with the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau. “To come out here, have those moments with your family and your friends, your loved ones and have those special Christmas moments – we love that. We want to be prepared!”
The family-owned shop starts prepping for the season almost a full year ahead. They order everything in January to ensure they get the shipments in time.
All year, the shop displays over 800 ornaments, along with a fully stocked Christmas village for shoppers. Tracey Wendt, who has helped her mother run the shop for the last 25 years, says the demand for Christmas is already starting to show.
The shop is even hosting a signing this weekend for the artist who designs the popular Christmas village pieces.
“It’s incredible because we’re still up against big box retailers and up against Amazon — so we really appreciate our customers who shop small. And who come to us for all of their inspiration,” she said.
Economists are actually predicting holiday spending will be more difficult for consumers this year because of inflation, housing costs and student loan repayments starting in October.
But new surveys coming out this month show that despite all of that, a majority shoppers are willing to do what it takes to cover holiday purchases, whether it be credit cards or side hustles.
"You might scrimp on something else but everybody wants their house to be amazing for Christmas. If you have kids -- I have kids and grandkids, four of them and they're so much fun. You want those kids to have memories? I think Christmas is a one time of the year that is pretty strong," said Hanson. "I can't speak to other businesses, but so far we've been very strong. And I think, this is going to be another great year."
Local businesses are hopeful.
“Even though the economy appears to some to be bad, people still want to be happy at Christmas and still want to want to spend money at Christmas,” said Wendt.
