How soon is too soon? On Oct. 5, as I was strolling through Macys, I noticed a man on a ladder who appeared to be changing one of the displays. I didn’t think much of it until I glanced again and noticed it was Christmas lights and garland he was carefully putting in place.

Could it be true? Holiday displays going up the first week in October? It looked like my fears were coming true. I am all for holiday music, decorations and getting into the holiday spirit, but do I really want to be thinking about that before I even know what I’m going to be for Halloween yet? I certainly do not.

This holiday season, Sears, Kmart and Home Depot were among the first to set up their holiday displays, jumping into the Christmas spirit during the last week of September. According to The Detroit News, shoppers already have Christmas on the brain, based on an analysis of Google search trends. Searches for “black Friday deals” and “holiday gift ideas” increased 50 percent in September, while searches for “toys for Christmas” grew 60 percent.

While this may be true, I find it hard to believe these consumers are actually ready to make significant Christmas purchases before the leaves have even changed color. Sure, I may start having Christmas thoughts here and there as I begin to rack my brain for gift ideas on what to get Grandma this year, but when it really comes down to it, I know that in all seriousness I most likely won’t be buying anything until Thanksgiving has passed. Let’s face it, we live in a society where most of us, whether we like to admit it or not, tend to procrastinate from time to time, especially when it comes to Christmas shopping.

Not all stores have jumped on the early holiday decorating bandwagon. Nordstrom’s policy states they will not put up their holiday displays until the day after Thanksgiving. They strongly believe in celebrating one holiday at a time, with the majority of their customers in full agreement and support of the decision.

So which side are you on? Do you like to see holiday displays set up early or do you prefer they wait like Nordstrom does? When do you do the majority of your Christmas shopping? In a perfect world, when would the perfect time be for stores to put up their displays and start playing their holiday music?