Early decorating sign of early shopping season

NORFOLK -- It's a polarizing subject: holiday decorating. Some put up a tree the moment Halloween ends, others wait till well after Thanksgiving. In Norfolk, supply shortages have pushed decorating even sooner.

"I love the fall stuff so I like to leave that up [...] I never start until after Thanksgiving," Pat Sharp of Pender said. But after attending a Christmas event in Pender just Monday, Sharp went to a holiday decorating class in Norfolk -- and not the first of the season.

Magnolia's Home Decor and Design in Norfolk, hosts holiday decorating classes that prepare people for festivities with tips such as starting tree decoration at the top; pairing ribbons in groups of three; or putting spotlight ornaments on extension branches.

Owner Amy Renter said customers have been interested in these Christmas decorations as early as September this year.

"It does get earlier every year, but this year, with the prediction that there will be a shortage in the market, it's actually benefited us because our customers are buying it when they see it instead of waiting until it's on sale," Renter said.

Part of the shopping-panic is from the Better Business Bureau's warning earlier this week that Black Friday will be lacking many items.

"We have a limited supply; we didn't get everything we wanted," Kate Zautke of Magnolia's marketing department added, "We didn't even get half. Twenty percent of our orders won't even ship."

Zautke said it's a better deal than bigger stores are facing, though. "We actually have an advantage this year because small businesses are getting stuff rather than the big business containers that are stuck out at sea," Zautke said.

As president of the Downtown Norfolk Association, Renter noted other business owners and she have decided to start their Black Friday sales now. You might even start seeing "Pink Friday" deals for boutiques in Norfolk downtown soon.

They advise you to start a list of what to buy now -- and remember that in small towns, the store owners might have an idea of what your gift recipient wants.