The part that gets me the most is that these stations that can't wait to get on the Christmas bandwagon usuallyl dump the holiday music by Noon on Christmas Day! And not a sign of the season on the 26th (Boxing Day).
When I programmed public radio stations that aired music, we'd progressively add more Christmas/holiday music each week after Thanksgiving. (I learned this from commercial radio I had worked at.) One or two selections per hour the first week of December, Three an hour the next week, once every set the next. And the week before Christmas, more or less half of the music was holiday material. It worked, since the stations favored releases by contemporary artists, and downplayed the "chestnuts" from Andy Williams, Burl Ives, Theresa Brewer, etc. Lots of holiday/winter music selections up to the Solstice, then more of the religious themed material up thru Christmas Day. Public radio has a lot of great Christmas specials (everything from Jonathan Winters reading 'A Christmas Carol' to special hours of Cajun, Celtic, jazz and AAA Christmas tunes, and live concerts from Paul Winter at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York and African-American gospel choirs from Moorehouse and Spellman colleges). The specials really got you in the mood for the holidays, and made it easy to give airstaff time off. (Too bad the KUOW and KPLU don't air hardly any of them, in favor of "regular programming" on Christmas Eve and Day.)
I'd also make sure Christmas Eve programming had a more quiet, sacred sound, play a choral version of "Silent Night" at Midnight, and Chrismas Day specials had a lighter, brighter tone. Now that was a tradition of holiday music you could look forward to.
