Walking the aisles of Wal-Mart this week, I was irritated. I wasn’t irritated because of the screaming children and the slightly antiseptic meat smell. I’m immune to all of that by now. I was irritated because there are Christmas ornaments out in the aisles already.

Don’t get me wrong; I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday.

What I dislike is that it is not even winter yet, and someone is trying to get me to spend money.

I mean, are retailers serious? It’s barely October. It was over 100 degrees this week. Baby Jesus is the furthest thing from my mind. I am still trying to pick out my Halloween costume, although Santa costumes seem like a viable option at this point. It would be timely.

Imagine if the rest of the holidays were set up in stores three months prior to the actual day. Hey guys, Memorial Day is coming up. Companies better set up the grill sets in February and drive those pre-owned beauties onto the lot with giant red white and blue stickers. So what if you have to replace the Cupid mascot with an army man poster? Cupid had his turn to sell cars for the last three months.

Why do we need so many months of Christmas merchandise?

One word: Profit.

People love Christmas. They are more willing to spend money around Christmas. It is this innate joy that we get when we think about Christmas. We are reminded of spending time with our loved ones, of hanging up decorations as a family and giving gifts to those that we love.

We hear a rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and like clockwork, our wallets open. We are Pavlov’s dogs. We are just cuter because we have Santa hats and elf earrings on.

We are unknowingly giving in to an intense marketing scheme to make us spend money, not to spread Christmas cheer. ­

While consumers are excited about the prospect of the holiday season, our ingrained materialism kicks into overdrive.

Big businesses are aware of this. Wal-Mart did not just put out ornaments to remind you that the holidays are coming.

Starbucks has got the season’s greetings thing covered for us with their new cups and the infamous pumpkin spice latte.

Large retailers did this as an attempt to catch you before you have built a budget for the holidays.

What is a $6 ornament worth to you right now? Whereas in November when you have to buy that white elephant gift for that co-worker you don’t really care for, $6 is going to buy them a $5 Starbucks gift card, and maybe a Christmas card from the dollar store. Maybe. You could just pocket that dollar and buy yourself a candy cane.

I refuse to buy Christmas products until at least after Halloween. I cannot deal with so much holiday pressure.

Do I buy my false eyelashes for my Halloween costume or more Christmas lights? Because let’s face it, I am not untangling last year’s lights.

It is the momentary monetary pressure I feel as I push my cart down the seasonal aisle that irritates me.

I do not need the lights. I do not need the false eyelashes (my eyelashes are pretty fabulous), but I want them.

My own materialism is tugging at my wallet, and it seems to be happening sooner and sooner each year. Every holiday has become commercialized. Are we celebrating holidays, or are we celebrating capitalism?

I wonder how much I will spend on Christmas merchandise this year.

How much will you spend, because a company is preying on your good spirits?