A debate almost as old as time itself: when is the appropriate time to put up your Christmas tree? A week or two before Christmas? December 1st? Thanksgiving? November 1st? Everyone has their own idea of when Christmas actually starts, similar to the argument of when it’s socially acceptable to put out Halloween decorations. However, as I get older and I’m adjusting to the difficulties of college/adult life very frequently, I have become one of the biggest advocates for putting up your Christmas tree as early as you can handle it being up, and the same thing goes with celebrating Christmas altogether.
I would say that almost universally, people who grew up celebrating Christmas as children formed some of their best and most impactful memories around this time. Reminiscing about Christmas magic and waiting for Santa to come, watching Christmas movies and eating Christmas snacks, making memories with family and friends, and listening to Michael Bublé on repeat. Although it sounds super cheesy, these are the kinds of things that truly shaped who we grew into as people. It also provides perspective on how hard parents and the other people around us worked to make that time as special as it could be.
There’s something so happy about Christmas. It’s such a specific time of the year and it usually has really positive associations. So, with it being late November and finally getting cold outside, giving the air that Christmas-y feel, it has genuinely made me wonder why people don’t want to cherish that feeling of Christmas. I can think of few things that are warmer and more inviting than the holiday season, and those feelings are something that we should try to hold on to for as long as we can.
The biggest argument I usually hear against celebrating Christmas early concerns music. As of writing this, just earlier today I was talking with a classmate that said November is too early to start listening to Christmas music. I, as I often do, asked what one should listen to instead during the awkward stretch from November 1st to December 1st, and they responded with the age-old retort: “Thanksgiving music.”
Obviously, Thanksgiving music is not really a thing. If it were, think about the kinds of themes that Thanksgiving music would be about. Probably being thankful? Getting together with family and friends? Giving things like food and hospitality to others and being grateful for what you have? It just so happens that these themes are basically the same ones found in Christmas music.
In terms of putting up decorations, do most people not start decorating for Halloween/fall early? I know many people who are putting up fall decorations as soon as August 1st hits, or if not August then definitely by the first day of September. This allows for 2-3 months of fall/Halloween, and you’re telling me that Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year, only deserves 25 days? Three-and-a-half weeks?
Not only are Christmas decorations beautiful, but they can also fit into anyone’s style and bring joy into your life in very small but impactful ways. I just this week replaced my brown blanket on my bed with a red flannel one for Christmas (being a college student in a small apartment room, there was only so much I could do). But even something as small as this brought the Christmas spirit into my space and I genuinely feel so much happier because of it.
I would never insinuate that I don’t trust someone who waits until the last minute to start celebrating Christmas.
But….
I just think that Christmas is one of the most joyful and warm and inviting and happy times of the entire year. I think it’s so important that, even though we are growing up and don’t care as much about toys or whether I or my younger sister gets to put the first ornament on the tree, we channel that feeling and use it to still encourage Christmas joy into adulthood. Savor that nostalgia, and think about the fact that Christmas is allowed to still be Christmas. Have fun with it! Wear Christmas pajama pants, drink hot chocolate with marshmallows, play in the snow, listen to all the Mariah Carey you want. Put your Christmas tree up early just because it can make you happy.
