How early in the winter season is it okay to decorate for Christmas? I understand people get really really excited for it and jump the gun, but is two weeks into November too early? I think so. Some apartments around our complex have lights on their decks or porches or trees in their windows and I thought that it was time to lay down the law on decorating. And it's real simple: Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is so close to the end of November that why not just wait? It's not like there is a ton of decorating people do for Thanksgiving, but they just need to take a break. A few days into the month of November the Halloween decorations come down and it should be time to take a break. Realize that your house or apartment does not always need to have lights hanging off of the eaves or pictures in the windows. I always thought that December was the time for Christmas decorating, not November. Christmas decorations stay up through the majority of December through the new year, but not too long past the new year. Within the first week. Growing up, the decorations were always down before my brother's birthday which is 10 January, so there's a week and a half window in which to take everything down.
We got our first snow last week and I immediately thought about decorating for Christmas. It was the first time in years and years that there was snow on the ground before Thanksgiving. Snow brings out the spirit of Christmas and the decorating that goes along with it. However, it's all about timing. Decorate too early and you seem too eager, decorate too late and you lose out on how long your house looks like a fun holiday house. I think that the best time frame for decorating your house has to be some time in between the 7th and the 11th of December.
Not to be too particular or anything like that.
I put lights on the guttering around the entire house on 11/15. I agree that it was very early, but was fairly certain that it was the last of the 65F weather we'd have in SGF and didn't want to spend hours going up and down a ladder in colder weather.
ReplyDeleteI originally planned to leave them turned off until we hung the rest of our decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving, but changed my mind after all of that work. We're the new kids on the block this year, so I suppose this gave our neighbors a chance to keep up with the Joneses if they'd like. Putting up lights in warm weather was awesome, so I'll keep trying to do this .. but I'll probably be able to show a little more self restraint and wait to turn them on until after Thanksgiving next year. :)
Decorating over the long Thanksgiving weekend has long been a family tradition for me, so it seemed natural for P,K, and I to continue this. We put up the rest of our decor over the weekend as planned. P went a little crazy with indoor decorations, but we're keeping the outside simple.
Totally get the keeping up with traditions thing! I understand the wanting to put the exterior lights on when it's warm, I've stood outside in three feet of snow and hung lights, not too fun.
ReplyDeleteI went down to the storage garage today and got the tree and lights into the apartment. A is going to get the lights on the tree because that's her thing, but the decorations probably won't go up for a day or two after that.