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"They're back..."

Christmas has come early at Starbucks, two days after Halloween and seven and a half weeks ahead of Christmas.

Back are the red cups and holiday menu, including the much-drooled-after eggnog latte.

Some see the cups as a potent herald that retailers will continue to push the holidays earlier each year.

"Our departed colleague J. Alex Chasick hypothesized that the date Starbucks brings out the red cups is a national index of Christmas Creep," writes Laura Northrup on The Consumerist.

The holiday menu appeared Nov. 3 last year and Nov. 8 in 2007, she writes.

The cheer seems particularly unseasonable this year: The snowflakes fluttering on the cups didn't gel with a high of 10 degrees in Toronto on Tuesday.

"We should be able to have a normal life these next few weeks to enjoy the fall," writes a deliciously rankled Brian Moylan on Gawker. "I love Christmas, but all that joy and frustration is emotionally exhausting enough. It needs a definite window."

Although gingerbread latte fans were rabid on Twitter today there were some refreshing traces of Scrooge too: "Starbucks has all its holiday stuff out already. Gross," wrote one.

What's next? Christmas tunes?

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