BARABOO, Wis. -- Why wait until after Thanksgiving for the holiday season to begin?

Mirroring the many early celebrations nationwide, red and green was everywhere in Baraboo this weekend, as the city has officially kicked off its "Holly Jolly Christmas" celebration. The start of the month-long event was capped by the evening's "Holly Jolly Light Parade," which this year -- its 10th anniversary -- featured a "Christmas Around the World" theme.

While a non-profit group provided hot beverages to parade watchers, organizers noted the success of the annual celebration, WISC-TV reported.

"We do it the weekend before Thanksgiving every year, and it really seems to be a very successful weekend. People get used to it. They plan for it," said Lacey Steffes, of Downtown Baraboo, Inc.

One of the other major attractions this weekend in Baraboo was an open house of the city's local retailers, with many stores offering specials and activities to draw in early Christmas shoppers.

"We get new customers from the Holly Jolly Light Parade every year," said Bekah Stelling, of Bekah Cakes. "People that have never been to downtown Baraboo before, or families who bring relatives in, and once they come downtown, they just fall in love with the nostalgic feel this event creates for the downtown."

Many stores are ratcheting up their seasonal marketing campaigns, hoping to bring in customers before the traditional start of the holiday shopping season next Friday.

But some speculate that an early start to shopping will also lead to an early finish.

"This year people are only going to spend so much money,” said Deborah Mitchell, a University of Wisconsin School of Business senior lecturer. "And so, if you get them started earlier, what may happen is they’re just going to quit shopping earlier, and so you pull the sales forward a little bit, but you don’t really see more sales in total."

But Mitchell added that local retailers could see an overall increase in sales if the promotions and prices are tempting enough to consumers, especially on Black Friday. That's specifically what retailers in Baraboo and other municipalities are hoping for.

The celebrations in Baraboo don’t end with the "Holly Jolly Light Parade." Every weekend until Christmas, Baraboo will be hosting holiday activities ranging from a cookie walk to a Victorian Christmas celebration.

For more information, visit Downtown Baraboo's Web site.

Elsewhere, Milwaukee residents lined the city’s streets for its 83rd annual holiday parade. The festivities included 20 bands, 30-foot helium balloons, and a special appearance by Santa Claus.