I knew as soon as I saw Target's summer stuff on sale that they would be putting BTS stuff out already. WTF?!?
Once, I went to Home Depot in December to buy a shovel. They had summer stuff out and told me I should have bought a shovel earlier in the fall. Because obviously selling shovels in the dead of winter makes no sense!!
I think they are capitalizing on the summer camp market. For example, I had to get a boat load of stuff for my toddler's $ummer Program for daycare; I was hoping to find a backpack to stash it all. Right now it's stuffed in grocery bags in her cubby.
I always got a new backpack, and didn't realize that most people didn't until H and i were talking about it one day, and he said he had the same one basically all through elementary, then got a new one and had it for all of middle and high school... I was impressed that they lasted that long. I must have been hard on my backpacks, b/c they always seemed to have the zippers break, or get a rip or something.
I think my mom got us a new backpack and lunchbox every year until middle school, then I wanted an expensive Jansport one so I think I got 1 in middle school and a new one for high school.
Also I got the dog's baby pool at Wal-Mart Tuesday. Inflatable 1-ring (like 4 inches of water) were $7 and 2-ring pools (maybe 9 inches of water?) were $10.