Well, there's people who buy that stuff months ahead, I guess.
I was surprised a few years ago, when my students started reporting that were getting gifts for Easter! I may not be Christian, but I thought I knew the traditions surrounding this holiday, and this didn't seem right. But, it seems like parents feel the need to overindulge their kids a little more. I've had several families I am working with now tell me they wish they never started the tradition of "spoiling their kids" with an overabundance of gifts at X Mas when they were little, because now they can't afford it, but the kids expect it. One of the women I work with described how she stood in a line for 3 hours on Monday, in the cold, to get some toys from Toys for Tots. There were several fights, the police had to be called, and some people had already been there. There were no Marines in sight .
I just don't get any of this.