My other bugged me in March (MARCH!) about things I might need for an apartment when I move back to the U.S. and go to grad school (which will happen in August). Her rationale is that one of the big department stores in our area often has big sales in the summer during the slack sales period. Additionally, most families travel during the summer (and my family stops at outlet malls and used book stores on such trips) so maybe moving the tradition to Memorial Day would be better (as my mother says some of the best sales are July 4th). I’ll be recommending it to my family for next year (I already have tons of presents for them for this year).