Winner... and still champion...

I've never bought a single item from Nordstrom's. But, I might have to start.

(No, I won't. There's not one convenient to me. But, if I find myself in a mall with a Nordstrom's, I might go F-ing nuts with joy.)

Nordstrom's truly gets it.

From the article linked above....

Nordstrom's department stores won't be rolling out the holiday decorations and fanfare until the day after Thanksgiving. It's a low-key policy they've carried out for as long as company spokesman, Colin Johnson, can remember. "It’s our longstanding tradition that we wait until the day after Thanksgiving to unveil the holiday trim at all of our stores," Johnson told Yahoo! Shine. "We think it’s important to celebrate each holiday on its own so we’re doing it again this year. "

That sound you hear? That's the tear in my eye.

Congratulations, Nordstrom. You once again set the Gold Standard for the Wilcox Rules of Festive Holiday Displays. I'm so proud of you!!!

The Official Wilcox Holiday Display Rules

Please note the schedule for the Christmas/Holiday decorations according to the Wilcox Rules of Festive Holiday Displays - which follows.

1) Assembly of large displays may begin November 1, however the lights may not be activated between the hours of 5 AM and 1 AM under ANY circumstances. Mind bendingly large installations (like the Osbourne Family Spectcle of lights, decoration of Cinderella's Castle, etc.) may begin in August - however they should be invisible to the naked eye, and must follow the time restrictions on testing. The only exception to the time restrictions is if the lights are not visible from public grounds, and the area is clear of all non-testing related personnel.

2) On November 15, outdoor commercial festive displays related to purchase (IE - You can buy the display for your house or business) may be activated and illuminated for viewing, however, it's still not recommended.

3) The week of Thanksgiving indoor festive displays mat be installed. Outdoor residential festive lighting and displays may begin installation, but may not be activated or illuminated. Festive music may begin to play on the radio, but not on PA systems in public places (festive music in private places is unregulated. What you do in your own house or car is YOUR business, however we in no way recommend or condone such activity.)

4) The day after Thanksgiving any and all festive displays, music, etc. are fair game. It's on, Christmas!

AT THE END OF THE SEASON

5) Displays, music, or other festive paraphernalia is to be deactivated or powered down no later than January 3 and dismantled no later than January 15. Major commercial displays (of the mind bending type) must be dismantled by January 31.

Special Articles/Addendums

A) Indoors at private residences

We realize that not everyone can hold back on their holiday cheer. If a private citizen wants to decorate the interior of their house, they are free to do so at any time. Similar to the music in private places (Santa) clause, these must be invisible to those outside your home.

B) Hanukah

Chosen people - you caught a break. Hanukah decorations are unregulated at this point. Not to be Holiday-ist, or Anti-Semite, or Pro-Semite... quite the contrary. Due to the moving target that is the festival of lights, it's quite difficult to set a finite set of dates. One year would be too early, one year too late. Plus - do people really decorate for Hanukah that much? For the festival of lights, there's an awful lot of candles, not so much electric lights. Plus... it's 8 days. Christmas gets stretched out to be 2 whole months - and it only lasts for 1 day!

C) Manufacturing Plants/Design Areas

We recognize that to make the season brihg,t we need people to help make the stuff that makes the season bright. (And I'm not talking about Family, or Children. I'm talking tangibles!) Should you work in a factory that makes Christmas displays, or in an area that prepares Holiday decorations (like Disney's Holiday Services - a 365 operation) you may display Holiday decor for Test and Adjust purposes only. However, you should make every attempt to test A) Indoors or B) On a building, in a field, far away from civilzation. That way nobody has to see your Holiday products in April when you make them.

D) Christmas in July

No. Just no.

If you require special permits, contact the department of Festive Holiday Displays office - which have a heavy bias towards declining your request.

What's your problem with Christmas?

Truth be told. I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

However - I strongly believe in "too much of a good thing" when it comes to Christmas.

Here's how it started. One day, I was driving to school along I-4, and I noticed that Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede had started to put their Christmas decorations up. That day was October 4, 2006.

Giant wreaths, garland, and what was likely the largest Christmas tree I'd ever seen (as tall as the 3 story building that housed the facility).

"Wow" I thought, "they must be going all out for Christmas this year! I'll be excited to see the decorations go up over the coming weeks."

9 hours later, I passed by the same location, and discovered they had completely finished the install. This absolutely boggled my mind. It was barely time to put up the Halloween decorations, and they'd finished their Christmas install. It blew my mind - if you can do this in one day, then why did you do it now? I feel no anger towards Disney's Hollywood Studios, which starts their Christmas light install for the "Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights" in August every year - after all, it's 5 million plus Christmas lights! That's not something you can do in an afternoon.

I went home and decided to do something about it. I laid out what would become the Wilcox Rules of Festive Holiday Displays and posted it on my MySpace (hey, remember MySpace everyone?). They continually change and grow, as the future dictates it must. Provisions are put in place, dates are reconsidered, and policies are made.

This blog, and the corresponding Twitter account (@JWWholidayrules) will be places to post offending homes and businesses on the "naughty list" - meaning they violate the rules and should be publically shamed.

Please keep me informed of any violators. Maybe we can all hope that stores follow Nordstrom's policy, which I'll detail in a later post.