A coworker put up her Christmas tree in mid-October. It had been a rough day at the office, and she felt like she needed a pick-me-up when she got home.

Now, every time she opens the door, she’s greeted by a blast of holiday cheer that makes her smile, a routine that will last for months.

Unlike Santa’s Christmas Eve delivery that always arrives on time, early warning signs of Christmas are appearing long before the big event.

Pretty soon, jokes Celeste Diaz Ferraro, a lecturer in the economics and business department at Colorado College, it will be Christmas in July. Not for the deep sales traditionally tied to the outdated phrase, but because stores will fill aisles with holiday-related lights and other décor that people will buy and hang. In the summer.

“Christmas in July was supposed to be funny because, of course, who could imagine that? It referred to a super-special value, one that you wouldn’t expect to see again until Christmas rolled around.”

With today’s capabilities of comparing prices online immediately and year-round, the slogan no longer applies in the marketplace, Diaz Ferraro notes.

And it’s only kind of humorous since the reality of “Christmas in July” seems feasible, given the way things are going.

Colorado Springs resident Ken Dee swears he came across Christmas-themed items in a big-box store at the end of September this year.

“We’re seeing Santa Claus too early, too,” he said recently, while waiting for a city bus to give him a lift.

Just five days after Halloween, Santa made an appearance at the unveiling of the 55-foot white fir Christmas tree that traveled from Mount Shasta, Calif., to the Outlets at Castle Rock, for example.

The jolly, red-suited king of gifts returned 10 days later, on Saturday, for the outdoor shopping center’s annual tree lighting — nearly two weeks before Thanksgiving.

Some people think it’s just wrong to break from the ritualistic heralding of the fall and winter holidays in the rightful order of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, with Diwali, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah thrown in the mix.

The kickoff to Christmas used to be the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, because discounts attracted enough buyers to push merchants into a profit margin that year. With online purchasing going strong, Black Friday is fading into the neo-Luddism heap.

Christmas has been creeping into Thanksgiving’s space for a long time, said Stephanie, who was shopping with her young son in Old Colorado City one day last week and declined to give her last name, citing privacy.

“Halloween hits, and immediately it’s Christmas,” she said. “It just moves from one thing to the next.”

Blame the COVID-19 pandemic for today’s even deeper encroachment, Diaz Ferraro said.

Supply chain problems led to a slowdown in distribution and spotty inventory. That caused retailers to order an abundance of merchandise ahead of time, in case there were delays.

Shopkeepers began selling the goods as soon as they could to prevent an excess of inventory after Christmas, Diaz Ferraro explained. Now it’s become commonplace.

Some wonder whether Thanksgiving is getting lost between the decorating, costuming and reveling in the ghastly gore of Halloween and the sparkle and warm fuzziness of Christmas.

Thanksgiving was born out of a three-day harvest feast in 1621, when Pilgrims brought wild birds and venison to the table, and Wampanoags contributed corn, fish and other foods.

President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday on Oct. 3, 1863, calling for the last Thursday of November to become a day of “thanksgiving and praise,” to help heal and unite the nation during the Civil War. The holiday moved to the fourth Thursday of November in 1941.

But it hasn’t changed much since its beginnings and in the 21^st century is being steamrolled in favor of a growing trend, Diaz Ferraro said.

“Thanksgiving is an outlier. It’s a single-day event based around a meal with family and friends. It’s very home-centered and hasn’t been successfully experience-ized or productized,” Diaz Ferraro said.

The borders of both Halloween and Christmas, however, have expanded significantly from one-day festivities to entire seasons unto themselves, with weeks of pre-activities.

It’s part of the new experiential economy, according to Diaz Ferraro. The model is based on providing experiences for consumers, rather than just selling them goods and services.

Stretching out Halloween includes churches and other groups offering “trunk-or-treat” as a safe alternative to trick-or-treating in the weeks beforehand.

Scary movies, haunted houses, costume parties for all ages, home decorations and candy purchases this year added up to $13.1 billion in sales over Halloween, estimates the National Retail Federation.

More communities are also holding events around the Mexican Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, traditionally celebrated on Nov. 1-2 as a festive remembrance of those who have passed, further extending Halloween in some quarters, Diaz Ferraro noted.

Christmas also has become a series of experiences commercialized as a revenue source, she said. Calendars fill up with concerts, theater and dance performances, shopping districts featuring live music and hot beverages, ice skating, tree cutting, parties, light shows, visits to Santa, holiday markets, amassing food for feasting and trimming the house.

“All this goes on and on for weeks and weeks,” Diaz Ferraro said.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that consumers will spend $890.49 per person this Christmas season, which collectively will top $1 trillion for the first time.

In the federation’s annual consumer survey, 42% of Americans said they planned to start shopping before November.

Social media is fueling demand for experience over detachment, Diaz Ferraro said.

“Consumers are looking at social media feeds and viewing the experiences other people are sharing. That awareness raises interest, and more people start engaging in these other experiences they may not have engaged in before.”

Retired Air Force Col. David Murphy, who holds a doctorate in leadership philosophy and is dean of the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Colorado Christian University, points to the country’s “tumultuous times” as creating the type of comfort that can be found in “premature enthusiasm for Christmas.”

Murphy said he recently learned that military families living in privatized housing at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida were ordered to take down Christmas decorations they had put up in early November.

According to media reports, a letter residents received titled “One Holiday at a Time,” referenced strict leasing rules around timing of outdoor decorating.

“The nation is politically divided, and geopolitical risks abound,” Murphy said. “During difficult times, people turn to their faith and family; no other holiday captures both like Christmas. It’s no wonder people are eager to embrace the Yuletide spirit.”

That Thanksgiving is seemingly being de-emphasized is not surprising, Murphy said, since it’s a family-centric observance and the family construct is “under severe strain in modern America.”

An erosion of traditional family values is contributing to a shift that places greater emphasis on relationship health and personal boundaries instead of family structure and maintaining obligatory bonds.

Estrangement is also on the rise, with some studies estimating one in four families are experiencing no contact or reduced contact with a close relative due to myriad reasons that include political or ideological differences, mental health concerns and past pains.

“Significant societal and political forces are working against the American family,” Murphy said, coupled with “strong economic headwinds making wages flat and houses unaffordable for young couples.”

Along with the turkey and fixings, Thanksgiving can be fraught with disagreements and discord.

For many, though, there’s still a strong desire to take part in the custom, whether it’s done the conventional way with family or a “Friendsgiving” — spending time with friends or a family of choosing, instead of duty calling.

Colorado Springs resident William Walter said he used to think Christmas was more important.

“Christmas as a child is leagues above Thanksgiving,” he said. Because, presents, of course.

 “As I grow older, I’ve come to appreciate and value Thanksgiving,” Walter said last week while relaxing on a bench and eating his lunch. “Christmas and Thanksgiving feel equal and complementary to each other.”

Plus, both holidays result in a day off work, he added.

The shopper named Stephanie said she enjoys Thanksgiving because of its focus on “sharing the day with the people you love.”

As for Dee, the bus rider, he’s most looking forward to football and food on turkey day.