I just saw two "first day of school" ads.

[mac56]

God damn it, why can't retailers just let the season be the season?

grumble grumble grumble

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. I saw my first last week, right after the Fourth of July. NT

[Golden Raisin]

2. I passed a "back to school supplies" display

in a Duane Reade (NYC) this morning (notebooks, pens/pencils, etc.) Kind of stopped me in my tracks.

[Ohiogal]

3. I remember, as a kid, how I hated seeing those "back to school" ads barely after July 4 was gone!

Go to the store in August and they are selling wool sweaters.

Granted, many schools nowadays start halfway through August. I don't remember going back to school before Labor day, ever.

[House of Roberts]

4. First day for students here is August 6th (Huntsville, Al.).

Three weeks from Monday. So ads make sense now that the Fourth is over.

[mac56]

5. I weep for Huntsville children.

[Ohiogal]

7. I hope they have air-conditioned schools!

My kids' junior high school building was not air conditioned and neither was the elementary. On hot days in June and August it was stifling in there. I don't know how the kids and teachers could stand it. In the Junior high building you could not open the windows. Thankfully they installed a/c in the new high school building when it was built. And they kept that place like a meat locker!

[House of Roberts]

9. Most of the schools here are fairly new, and the old ones had AC when I went in the 60s to 70s.

I remember being a little warm in 7th grade because we were mostly in portables. They had AC, but we didn't use it unless it was pretty hot.

[teach1st]

6. My summer break ends on 8/2

I'm going back into the classroom on July 30th, but officially we start on the 2nd of August. First day of school here is 8/13. Only one month left for the kiddos.

I hate seeing back-to-school ads.

[mac56]

8. There's a small-chain department store in my Minnesota town.

One Christmas Eve afternoon, I was still wrapping presents. I ran out of gift wrap, so made a trip to the store.

They were setting out Valentines.

[SamKnause]

10. I have seen ads for Christmas trees in July.

[MissMillie]

11. I've been seeing them this week, and

some movie channel has been doing the whole "Christmas in July" thing.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

17. I Googled. It's probably Hallmark, for the sort of people who pay to watch television.

It's also on one of the cheapskate channels; Light TV, I think. I saw the ad last night.

Life imitates art:

'Christmas in July': Canceled Parade of Lights event gets rescheduled

Thursday, July 12th 2018, 5:21 pm EDT
By Shawn Maclauchlan, Senior Digital Content Producer

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -

Last year, the 25th annual James River Parade of Lights was canceled due to the weather. It has now been rescheduled - for this month!

"Christmas in July" will be held on July 21, beginning at 6 p.m. Boats will parade down the James from Richmond to the Varina-Enon Bridge.

"We couldn’t miss the 25th anniversary of this cherished event,” said JRAC Executive Director Kimberly Conley. "So we decided to make it a summer party with a ‘Christmas in July’ theme. This event will be a real treat with warmer temperatures and fun takes on our traditional holiday displays."
....

[Fla Dem]

12. St Johns County Fl 1st day of school 8/10. A month away.

[malthaussen]

13. Lots of schools do start very early...

... mid-August. And close later.

I don't get it. Are the students learning more than 50 years ago?

-- Mal

[Blue_Adept]

15. Yes.

From last year: http://www.thisisinsider.com/what-going-to-school-was-like-throughout-history-2017-7

American children and teens spend around 7.5 hours a week more at school than kids did 20 years ago.

students today are in school 25 more days out of the school year than kids in the 1950s.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. I saw the first Halloween decorations of the season the other day n/t

[Blue_Adept]

16. The other reality is that students need a lot more supplies these days

And for a lot of parents they have to spread out those purchases a bit.