Fox Valley businesses are reporting earlier Christmas shopping in 2025. Nov. 19, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
FOX VALLEY, Wis. (WTAQ-WLUK) — Christmas is arriving early for Fox Valley businesses.
“The shopping season, from a holiday perspective, is starting earlier,” said Oshkosh Chamber President & CEO Rob Kleman.
An Appleton-area Christmas retailer’s 3 big takeaways
- People are buying earlier
- People are looking for the best deals on the market
- People want to get their Christmas shopping done as quickly as possible
That’s according to Sandy Diedrick, co-owner of Country Village Shoppe near the mall in Grand Chute. It may seem like typical Christmas season activity, but it’s significantly heightened, according to Diedrick, and others are seeing the impact as well.
Others notice the trend, including in Oshkosh
“You saw stores and promotions pre-Halloween for the holiday season,” said Kleman, whose organization represents Oshkosh-area businesses. “You could see the uptick in traffic pre-Halloween and now into Thanksgiving.”
Non-retailer opened Christmas taproom in October
“This year we went a little bit wild,” said Eric Topeke, general manager of Fox River Brewing Company – Oshkosh.
The brewery debuted its “Tipsy Tinsel Taproom” in late-October, the first year of the promotion.
“We’ve seen a really large uptick in guest counts from this event,” said Toepke. “Most of our guests are migrating down here now instead of staying in the regular restaurant area.”
Seasonal hirings down nationwide
Despite Christmas season starting early, many businesses aren’t hiring the same number of seasonal workers. A national study found seasonal jobs to be at their lowest number since 2009.
The Oshkosh Chamber doesn’t track seasonal hiring, nor do the Fox Cities Chamber or Fox Valley Workforce Development Board, Inc., who regularly monitor the job market. However, Kleman does speak with Oshkosh-area businesses regularly to gauge the seasonal job market.
“The hiring process right now is probably cautious from a seasonal perspective, just based on some things with the economy,” said Kleman.
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