Nov 9, 2013 2 min read

OK, everybody, let’s strike up a chorus of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”:

“He sees you when you’re sleeping/ He knows when you’re awake/ He knows if you’ve been bad or good…”

Oh, bah, humbug.

Even though the Halloween candy is still fresh and Thanksgiving is two weeks off, Santa Claus will be settling in at Washington Crown Center mall Thursday. His arrival will have no shortage of accompanying hoopla, with the Trinity High School Marching Band, the Washington Wild Thing and assorted local police and fire departments all rolling out the red carpet for the rotund fellow – and, no, we’re not talking about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie here.

And Crown Center will hardly be alone. Count on Kris Kringle and his sled to swoop down on dozens of other shopping centers in the region and around the country this week as retailers get us prepped to unsheathe our credit cards for gift-giving.

Perhaps it’s the quickening of time that comes with age, but Santa Claus is starting to seem like the party guest who shows up at 6:15 p.m. when the invitation says 7 p.m., and proceeds to nibble on the cheese cubes and drain the punch bowl. But there is some empirical evidence to support the notion that the Christmas season has been starting earlier than it has in the past. In 2011, USA Today reported that some holiday merchandise started landing on the shelves of chains like Kmart and Costco in September. That year, Walmart put its Christmas goods out at the end of September, rather than mid-October, as it had done previously.

Of course, many retailers are now opting to get a jump on Black Friday by throwing open their doors on Thanksgiving Day, depriving their employees of the rest and fellowship with family and friends they would otherwise enjoy that day.

Back when the Christmas season would seriously get under way the day after Thanksgiving, it was easy to feel wistful when it was all over. Now, you’re more likely to feel sated and exhausted by the time Dec. 25 rolls around.