For a brand new app with a hard target release date of 1/2, I would have submitted before thanksgiving with the intention of getting a version of the app approved before the 22nd of December. Then I would have submitted again any fixes required or if there was any additional work done. Again, something an experienced dev would have done because they know that the Apple review process is a black box and you must expect and schedule around rejection.
So no, submitting on the 12th, in the middle of holiday season, is not submitting early. Yes, I know Apple says things only slow down for 22-27, but experience tells me they actually slow down starting the week of Thanksgiving and the slow down lasts until 1/2.
The better option would have been to schedule the release for 1/12 or sometime that is not the day everyone comes back to work. Many mistakes were made in this release planning.
