Christmas is here: fancy a mince pie?

Don't be fooled by the sunshine and balmy temperatures: it's officially the Christmas period. The Co-Op was the first supermarket to roll out their mince pies - with some stores stocking them as early as 29 August - and the other brands weren't far behind.

The Co-op says it will sell 1.5 million by the end of the month, and they'll have to, because many of the pies have a best before date at the beginning of October.

Festive goodies

The other supermarkets have been breaking out the festive fare too. Tesco had Christmas chocolates available in some stores from 26 August, and has rolled out some of its festive aisles this week. Sainsbury's started with a few items on September 1st and have been putting everything from chocolate to Christmas puddings and festive gift sets on the shelves this week.

The move has caused something of a stir. Twitter is mostly positive about the change, with pictures of the goodies being posted alongside comments such as: "There is Christmas chocolate in the co op... I repeat... There is Christmas chocolate in the co op!!!" and "The Christmas Isle is out in Tesco, so there will not be a time from now until January you see me without a tube of pink smarties in my hand".

Others are less impressed, using the hashtags #giveusabreak and #Halloweenfirst. One user commented: "Seriously? It's far too early for #xmas2015 #bonkers", while another said: "Not on board with Tesco stocking Christmas stuff already - we've not even had Hallowe'en!! #tooearly".

Tesco has been responding to some of these tweets, including explaining: "We like to give our customers every opportunity to get ready for Christmas." And to one excited customer: "Can't you feel it, Gemma, Christmas is just around the corner :D".

Earlier Christmas?
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Each year when the supermarkets kick off the Christmas period it feels incredibly early. It seems as though it's even earlier than last year - but it isn't. Some festive goodies were on the shelves of Tesco and Co-Op last year as early as 20 August, and Tesco stores across the country started rolling them out from 1 September. In some cases they launched an entire aisle of festive treats on day one.

The supermarkets aren't even the first to embrace the festive season. That title goes to Selfridges in London, which launched its Christmas shop at the beginning of August, to catch the tourist trade.

And while you might think Christmas has come way too early, there are those who have been desperate for festive goodies for months. A study back in July revealed that a million people had already bought all their Christmas presents, while 38% of people had already bought at least one gift. Meanwhile, throughout the summer, people were taking to Twitter to bemoan their lack of mince pies and Christmas pudding. You could argue, therefore, that the supermarkets are just giving people what they want.

But what do you think? Are you ready for Christmas? Let us know in the comments.

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