It was the second week of November and my plan was to dig out the Christmas decorations and get started turning my home into a snowglobe. I look forward to it for months. My balsam fir candle will be burning, Hallmark movies will be in the background, and I will plug in every strand of twinkle lights I have.
I saw a meme the other day that said, “There are twelve days of Christmas. None of which are in November.” And whenever I post my finished pictures of my home in its holiday best I get a lot of comments like, “Can’t we wait until after Thanksgiving?” or “It’s too early for that” or “This is depressing me.”
Listen, I’m all for everyone getting to have their opinions on when they want to decorate for the holidays or if they want to decorate at all.
However, it makes me laugh that people take the time to say things like this. If you are someone who decorates early for Christmas, nothing can destroy your inner elf.
First of all, there’s no “we” here. This is my home and it brings me great joy to decorate it how — and when — I want. I’m not sure how it affects other people so much, but apparently what we do inside our four walls does bother people.
When I was a kid, we never got our Christmas tree until mid-December. It never seemed early enough.
Then, in three short weeks, we took it down. I want this season to last longer than a few short weeks.
I also think (especially these days) people are doing whatever they can to cheer themselves up. We all need something to look forward to after the last couple of years we’ve had. If someone wants to put their tree up during the summer, hang Christmas lights on Halloween, or skip Thanksgiving altogether and go right for the holiday cheer, let them have their moment. You don’t have to do it; you don’t have to look at it; you don’t have to partake.
No one is asking you to go out and get an ugly Christmas sweater and come to their Yankee swap. It literally doesn’t have an impact on how you live your life.
Keep in mind that some people cling to the holidays because baking, listening to Christmas music, and looking at twinkling lights is a happy place for them. They may need a distraction from their everyday lives. It may be that the holidays are the only happy memories they have from their childhood. Or it could be that only celebrating the holidays for a month just isn’t long enough.
I will always put up my Christmas tree and decorate my home in November because I am an adult, I love it, and no one is going to make me feel like there is a set time when I’m allowed to celebrate and get festive.
The point of getting into the season is to experience peace, happiness, and all the warm fuzzies we can. It’s not to piss anyone off. So keep that in mind the next time you try and tell someone when they are allowed (according to you) to decorate for the holidays. But realize that they aren’t going to listen to you, so save your energy for a better cause.
