Are the holidays starting already?! I was shocked when in early September I went into my local Costco and found that it was full-on Christmas. Trees, wreaths, lights, wrapping paper, the works. I shared it on my Instagram and I was so surprised at how many of you replied saying “Yes! Bring it on!”
And honestly, I kind of get it. 2020 has been a doozy of a year and it’s not over yet. I can understand why people want to just put up their trees, turn on some twinkle lights, and have a very visible spot of joy in their lives. The holiday season is full of warm and fuzzy emotions for most people and don’t we all just want to feel a little more joy and a little less anxiety right about now?
Which brings me to this. I heard Jess Sturdy talking about holiday shipping on her Instagram Stories the other day and she brought up a really salient point that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.
Covid has brought many changes to the retail industry one being slower shipping. This is one part retailers are trying to protect their employees by having them social distance but also that some items are just hard to get right now because of outbreaks of COVID around the world. Meaning, you probably won’t be able to order gifts online the week leading up to Christmas and have them arrive on time.
This is a pretty big departure from the past several years where retailers and shipping companies were really pushing the boundaries of how fast they could get items to consumers. So Jess’s point that there is actually a practical reason for the holiday shopping season to be starting so early is pretty valid.
I imagine that fewer people will be traveling for the holidays so that means shipping gifts across the country rather than hand-placing them under the Christmas tree. You might want to start earlier than you normally would if you’re going to be ordering a lot of gifts this year.
I am trying to think ahead about how I can best serve you guys this holiday season. I’ll be posting gift guides in October rather than waiting for November. I’ll be sharing my holiday survey on Instagram in a few weeks to get a better picture of what you guys are thinking when it comes to all things holiday-related.
Also last week, Andrew came home from Costco last week with a Christmas present for Ted so…
