T’is the Season

When is the Best Time to Start Decorating for Christmas?

Photo by Francesco Liotti on Unsplash

The debate on when families should start decorating for Christmas has been around for a while. Many think that people should wait until December to even start bringing decorations out of retirement; while others start decorating as early as October. The question stands: when is the best time to start decorating for Christmas?

When you are driving around town in early October, have you ever seen people already putting out Christmas decorations or lights? These are the people who decide it is time to start decorating at the beginning of October- there are multiple reasons why some people decide this. Some people, who have a demanding work schedule, are rarely home because they are traveling for work. They decide to put up their tree at the beginning of October so that they have more time to enjoy the Christmas cheer. Pam, who fits this description, says, “Traveling for work keeps me away from home Monday to Thursday. The way I calculate things, if I put my tree up NOW, I will be able to enjoy just as much or more as someone who waits until Thanksgiving and doesn’t travel for work!” If someone is away from home for long periods of time, they have every right to want to spend the same amount of time with the merry decorations as everyone else.

Some may even decide that they want to spend even longer with Christmas decorations, and that is why they decide to decorate at the beginning of October. For many, Christmas is their favorite holiday- the cold air, family, Christmas cheer- they cannot wait any longer to decorate. They decide to pull the decorations out of the attic months in advance to enhance their mood and the cheer of their house. 

Others agree that October is way too early to start decorating, so they decide to start in November; as soon as Halloween decorations are taken down, the tree goes up! Halloween is a major holiday, and many believe that the next big holiday to decorate for is Christmas. With that, stores decide to start marketing Christmas decorations at the beginning of November so they can get a head start on all the sales, especially since there is not a ton of Thanksgiving decorations to market. 

“I start decorating November 1st,” upper school registrar Shana McComb said. “Right as my Halloween decorations come down, I am immediately putting Christmas ones up!” 

Another reason some start deciding to decorate in November is to lighten up the mood during the cold weather. November starts the decline of the temperature and the decaying of nature outside. With the cold weather, you can start to see a shift in the mood of some as they start to miss the warmer weather spent at the beach or outside in general. To bring cheer, some decide to decorate for Christmas in November, making the colder weather feel merry and festive, not worrying about the potential judgement of others.

“My family and I start decorating after Thanksgiving,” freshman Thomas Ferraro said. “Because Christmas is around that area and you can get into the festive mood [by decorating early].” 

While decorating early is becoming more popular as seasons and temperatures change, many agree that waiting until later to decorate for Christmas is best. They argue that Christmas decorations in November can overshadow the reason that Thanksgiving is celebrated. Thanksgiving has many traditions of its own, spending time with family, cooking all day, watchingThanksgiving parades and participating in the annual turkey trot that your parents force you to do. Celebrating for Christmas too early can distract and interrupt many of these traditions, causing people to skip over an important holiday. Driving around town, they hope to spend a little longer celebrating Thanksgiving before having to worry about spending too much money on Christmas decorations that will be taken down in a month. 

Which kind of holiday family are you? Do you start decorating for Christmas as early as October or November, or do you hold off just a little longer until December? The question always stands: when is too early to decorate for Christmas?