Fairy lights, fir trees, office parties and turkeys - it may sound like a nightmare so long before Christmas, but some people think it's never too early to plan your yuletide celebrations.
The sparkly season has definitely come early for one Co Louth turkey farmer, who says he already has 400 bookings from people desperate to ensure they have the pick of the traditional Christmas birds.
David McEvoy, owner of the McEvoy Farmshop in Termonfeckin, said that holidaymakers in the area have been putting deposits on turkeys and geese for a month. The birds range in price from €40 to €55.
"Our turkeys hatched in June and they look very cute at the moment," said Mr McEvoy. "The holidaymakers are coming down to the farm and when they see the turkeys they start thinking about Christmas".
They are not the only ones. John Brennan of Irish Christmas Trees says he is delighted by the success of his deeply unseasonal Christmas tree showcase in the RDS last month.
"We had a magnificent 30ft artificial tree in front of the RDS and five companies have already expressed an interest," he said. Five might not sound like many until you consider the trees come at a not-so-jolly €12,000 a pop.
The latest Christmas tree accessory, said Brennan, is a decorative "scent ball" invented in China. "You soak the wooden ball in whatever aroma you like and a fan inside the ball distributes it around the tree." The madness can be witnessed across the water, too. Hasbro's annual Summer Christmas event was held last week in London's Somerset House, complete with warm mince pies and mulled wine.
Irish hotels and restaurants have been taking bookings for Christmas office parties for months now. A spokeswoman for the Renvyle House Hotel in Connemara said business already looks brisk.
Those presumably closest to the real spirit of Christmas are going even further. Staff at Westminster Abbey in London have just held their pre-Christmas drinks, saying they held the event so far ahead because it gets "too busy" in the run up to December 25th.
