X-Mas in late September?

Okay, so the Cascades just got a dusting of snow (THANK YOU LA NINA!), but just cause the leaves are STARTING to change color doesn't mean you can skip 3 months ahead in time to Christmas. I love Christmas, don't get me wrong. It's just, I really hate it when retail goes on sale 3-4 months ahead of time. You can't even buy Eggnog this time of year, but Toys-R-Us is ready for the holiday season as noted by Copyranter. I'd like to see the research that supports the early sale of Christmas crap in September, or did they ask Geoffrey the Giraffe for marketing advice? I thought everyone did their shopping the day after Thanksgiving, so why is there a Christmas dispay in Toys-R-Us this time of the year? Were they worried some other toy store would beat them in sales? Laughable.