When is it too early for retailers to mention Christmas ??

Is August Too Early to Mention Christmas Shopping?

I’ll admit it from the outset: I am slightly biased.

I’m opening Memory Lane, a business built around creating highly personal gifts, including individually written songs, videos and keepsakes. These are not products taken from a warehouse shelf and dropped into a delivery bag. They take thought, conversation, creativity and time to produce properly.

So yes, I want to start advertising for Christmas early.

But when does “being organised” become “far too soon”?

Every year, the moment a retailer mentions Christmas before the clocks have changed, somebody complains that Christmas gets earlier and earlier. I understand it. Nobody wants to be ambushed by sleigh bells while they are still wearing shorts and trying to enjoy the last of the summer.

However, there is an important difference between a retailer putting chocolate Santas beside the sun cream and a small business opening its order book for personalised Christmas gifts.

Personal gifts cannot always be bought at the last minute

If you are buying perfume, slippers or a bottle of something nice, you can probably leave it until December. If you want someone to create an original song about the life, memories and relationship you share with another person, that cannot—and should not—be rushed out on Christmas Eve.

At Memory Lane, the customer is part of the creative process. We need to learn about the recipient, understand the important memories, write and produce the song, create the accompanying video and prepare the finished gift.

That is precisely what makes it special. It is also why we need customers to think about Christmas earlier than they would if they were simply ordering another pair of socks.

Mentioning Christmas is not the same as forcing Christmas on people

There is a right and a wrong way to begin Christmas marketing early.

I do not believe August should mean fake snow, flashing reindeer and four straight months of festive music. Frankly, by December even Santa would be sick of it.

Early Christmas marketing should be quieter and more useful. It should say:

● Our Christmas order book is open.

● You can begin planning a genuinely personal gift now.

● Ordering early gives us the time to make it properly.

● You can avoid the panic—and the expense—of doing everything in December.

That is not rushing Christmas. It is helping people plan for it.

So when is it acceptable for retailers to start?

For ordinary off-the-shelf retail, I would suggest the following:

● Late August: gentle mentions only, particularly for bespoke, handmade or limited-capacity products.

● September: Christmas gift planning, pre-orders and early-bird campaigns are perfectly reasonable.

● October: the main Christmas campaign can begin properly.

● November: Christmas shopping is fully underway, whether we are emotionally prepared for it or not.

● December: the focus should switch to availability, final order dates and guaranteed delivery.

The product matters. A business selling goods that can be dispatched tomorrow does not need your Christmas order in August. A craftsperson, artist or small creative business may genuinely need the notice.

Why Memory Lane is starting now

Memory Lane is not about selling more stuff for the sake of it. Most of us already own too much stuff.

We are offering something with genuine meaning: a gift built from somebody’s story and created especially for them. It might celebrate a relationship, a family, a friendship, a milestone or someone who deserves to hear just how much they matter.

That takes longer than clicking “add to basket”—and it should.

Opening our Christmas order book early also protects the quality of what we create. I would rather accept a sensible number of commissions and give each one the attention it deserves than promise the world in December and deliver something rushed.

The verdict

Yes, retailers can mention Christmas in late August—if there is a genuine reason for customers to act early.

The message should be about planning, choice and giving the business enough time to do a proper job. It should not be manufactured panic or a desperate attempt to squeeze an extra month out of the festive season.

So, with my bias now fully declared, Memory Lane’s Christmas order book is opening.

You do not need to put the tree up. You do not need to start playing festive music. You do not even need to think about sprouts.

But if you want to give somebody a completely original gift this Christmas—one made from their memories and created especially for them—now might be exactly the right time to start.