Earliest opening day for Harrods' Christmas World department

Harrods, and several other large department stores in London, have been welcoming sunglass-wearing Santas into their snow and gingerbread stuffed seasonal stores.

Just a day before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games, Harrods has opened its Christmas World department, the earliest opening date in the seasonal department's 14 year history.

The massive 8,000 square foot department features a snow-globe village, a pop-up gingerbread shop front and a full-size alpine ski chalet.

The Christmas World department's opening has, of course, been brought forward to coincide with the massive influx of visitors to the Olympic Games. David Miller, a director at the Knightsbridge store, said "Some of our international customers may only visit the UK once this year. The summer opening is to cater for this seasonal demand."

July also saw the launch of supermarket Waitrose's festive food offerings. With just 150 days to go until Christmas, these are just some of the first seasonal sightings, but with big shopping days just around the corner expect to see more such messaging over coming weeks.

Tags: Christmas, department store, festive, Olympics, retail, seasonal marketing