Selfridges opens its Christmas shop (a mere 143 days before Christmas)

The department store hopes to cash in on tourists visiting London for the summer

Selfridges officially gets the 2015 Christmas season underway as the first department store to launch its Christmas shop (Evening Standard)

Shopping giant Selfridges has jolted everyone out of their summer reverie by opening their Christmas shop 143 days before the big day.

Selfridges opened the doors of the shop on Monday, in what was apparently the first department store Christmas Shop opening in the world this year.

In a statement, Selfridges acknowledged the oddness of opening a Christmas shop in the height of summer.

They said: "It's midsummer, the temperatures are set to rise over the next few days, and the summer holidays are in full swing. So it must be time for Selfridges' flagship store on Oxford Street to go arctic and open the doors to its famous Christmas Shop."

The shop boasts over 120 types of cracker and tens of thousands of baubles (Anthony Devlin/PA)

For anyone taking this year's Christmas planning a little too far, the shop will be a godsend - with over 150 different lights and trees, more than 120 types of cracker, and tens of thousands of baubles on offer.

Photos from the impressive display show model reindeer, elves, and one fairly convincing Santa - who will have to suffer through a few more weeks of heat in his woolen suit.

The early opening of the shop will be a boon to tourists looking to take home some London souvenirs, but will probably get a much frostier reception from the capital's Scrooges.