Barely have we packed away our beachwear and sun cream and already Christmas goods are popping up on store shelves.

Among the ‘back to school’ items are little glittering glimpses of the festive season which still seems a long way off – let’s be honest autumn has only just begun.

Indeed, many of us are still waiting for summer to start frankly and are keeping our fingers crossed for some mythical Indian summer.

Yet, Christmas chocolates, shortbread, puddings and decorations are already on display in some of the island’s shops.

Media IoM had a little look around a few of the Douglas stores to see what seasonal fayre was already on offer.

We began at the large Tesco store on Lake Road where surely there would be Christmas goods on display.

But so far the chain has been restrained with no items officially tagged as Christmas. However, there is a large stack of tubs of Roses, Quality Street, Heroes and Celebrations near the entrance.

While not exclusively festive, let’s face it, other than the odd house party, we only buy such large volumes of choccies at Christmas.

Marks & Spencer, however, was a different story.

While not in-your-face festive, there were a number of areas where you could find festive treats or decorations.

In the food hall there was a section of Christmas biscuits, some boxed up in the shape of sleighs, Christmas trees and snow-covered houses.

In another area, there were festive chocolates and Christmas puddings, including the classic golden coins – a staple of any stocking.

Upstairs there was a section near the café filled with candles and scents of cinnamon and fir tree as well as a selection of baubles and other decorations.

Admittedly, these areas are quite small and understated at the moment but you can expect that to expand as how head deeper into autumn.

In the Spar there was the slightest hint of Christmas with a few festive biscuit tins.

One shelf at WH Smith summed it all up perfectly.

On one side was an array of ‘Christmas treats’ such as chocolate Santas and chocolates shaped as snowballs and puddings while on the other were ‘back to school’ items.

Oddly, during the search, we found very little Halloween items. That’s no bad thing with the island pushing back against the over-Americanised season, preserving Hop-tu-Naa and choosing turnips over pumpkins.

The early appearance of Christmas winds many people up but stores are driven by demand. Such are the financial pressures families face at Christmas, getting an early start is one way of coping.

But what this all means is that, whether we like it or not, we are now on the road to the festive season.