It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Starbucks

Starbucks Christmas decorations.

So, I made a pilgrimage to my local Starbucks tonight. After sitting for two hours reading the Christos Tsiolkas book "The Slap," things finally got interesting.

About 9 p.m., a big crew of baristas pour in. They're setting the store for Christmas tonight.

Let it be know that tomorrow is Nov. 15. A full 42 days before Christmas and not incidentally ten days before Thanksgiving. At least they waited until after Halloween....

The main Christmas decorations this year are ... in a word ... ugly.

Each store gets three of the ugliest Christmas trees known to man. Two feet tall, covered in green plastic that is supposed to resemble holly (but really looks like tiny weeds) and with a garish decoration of paper mistletoe and three red balls stuck on front.

These come in three sizes. One is in three parts that attach to each other and winds up about five feet tall. It goes BESIDE one of the display cases. Another is in two pieces and goes ON one of the tables. The third probably goes on either a counter or beside the register.

These are truly ugly. See the photo. If this is supposed to be someone's idea of what "holiday greenery" looks like, they need their head examined.

Worse, they're made in China. This, after Howard made a huge deal and launched that whole campaign to get folks to buy a $5 bracelet and rebuild the American economy. This, if you're not familiar, is called the "Create Jobs for USA" campaign. Starbucks Melody has a pretty good roundup at her eponymous blog.

However, I think it is highly hypocritical of Starbucks to beg customers to give $5 of their money to "create jobs in America" when they can't be bothered to buy merchandise from America. While coffee beans won't grow here, coffee cups, teddy bears and everything else can sure be manufactured here. Yet, box after box came out labeled "Made in China." Check the label on that $14.95 Bearista Bear - cute as a button - "Manufactured in China." Just so you know.

Rant over. The rest of the Christmas merchandise is actually kind of cute. The 2011 Bearista Bear is adorable. Green puffy jacket, cute furry hat, and a $14.95 price tag. There's also a white stuffed puppy dog with a green Starbucks scarf.

Lots of new mugs and gift packages, mostly in red, although there's a stylized snowman mug in the style of Mondrian that is kind of modern and interesting. The angular theme of the merchandise and the packaging is exactly what's on the holiday cups, just shifted to "stuff." On the whole, I like it - although the Christmas trees don't fit this at all. They look like traffic cones covered in plastic moss.

Perhaps my favorite is the 2011 Christmas ornament. This year, it is a full size espresso cup with the logo. At first, I thought they were actual espresso cups, but no, they're ornaments. There's also a four-pack of the takeaway cups as ornaments, two in white and two in red.

By ten until ten, the store is absolutely jammed with merchandise covering every table, chair and flat surface except the one I'm sitting at. More comes out from the back. There are also boxes and boxes and boxes of coffee - and the baristas tell me that they will sell through the Christmas blend as fast (or faster) than they can get it in stock.

Also, I hear that no one wants the Thanksgiving blend right now, but that the week of Thanksgiving, everyone wants it. So, if you're a fan, stock up now.