Early Christmas Decorating

I kicked off the holiday season (October 31st), with Covid-19 and Strep Throat. Excessive sinus issues had me on the couch, half sitting-half reclining just to sleep. One night, I was so weak and bereft of sleep that I wept non-stop thinking I would be dead before morning.

I'm still struggling and not overly excited about Christmas because we buried mom on Christmas Eve last year, but having woke to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on the radio, I realize the season's started.

On November 1st, as I sat on my couch at 3 am, one of the "recommended for you" videos, was from a DIY channel I follow, so I clicked on it.

She was decorating for Christmas, while handing candy out to trick-or-treaters. She apologized for doing it on Halloween, but said that she has so much decor to work through that it doesn't make sense to wait, and why not enjoy that cozy Christmas feeling as long as you can?

I remember thinking to myself... 'This chick is nuts!'

I was too tired to reach for the remote so I let it play, reviling my misery and watching her with a morose sense of curiosity to see how it ended. Then I wondered what the socially acceptable date is to start Christmas decorating.

According to CountryLiving.com, decorations should go up on the first day of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. I don't know when that started. Anyone who's watched "A Christmas Story" might remember Ralphie's dad bickering with the tree lot salesman to get just the right tree, only a day before.

According to Google, 65% of their editor friends said to do it right after Thanksgiving or the first week of December. This gives Thanksgiving its due, making a clean transition into the yuletide season. ChristmasDesigners.com also says the day after Thanksgiving, but not to light anything until December first.

And yet? I was watching someone decorate for Christmas on Halloween.

My husband and I have traditionally been the house on the block that people stop at to ogle the Christmas lights. A lot of thought, work and love goes into our process, but I've never decorated for Christmas prior to Thanksgiving. It's usually the day after Thanksgiving. I take several days off work and then light everything up on the 1st. I don't know if that's acceptable or not, but it works for me.

Thanks to falling asleep during this video, others like hers played while I slept. Now, every time I visit YouTube there's some Christmas DIY or decorating tip suggested. While I think it's bizarre to look at this stuff so early, curiosity gets the better of me and I find myself watching anyway. Ironically, I stopped thinking about how miserable I was.

I have Alexa at home so I am now getting ads on my phone and social media accounts for things that mirror my YouTube channel.

Because of that, I found an article, (linked below), which says that psychiatrists agree that Christmas decorating spikes dopamine, the "feel-good hormone". The colors and lights act as chromotherapy, also known as color therapy. According to the article, colors and lights can increase happiness and energy, which explains a lot, actually.

The lady decorating on Halloween (I'll include a link to that video at the bottom), seemed comfortable and happy. As the camera roamed through the decor to holiday music, her house literally "felt" like Christmas. I couldn't stop looking at it so, I guess I just needed it to feel better.

Ordinarily, I'd say something pithy about jumping from Halloween to Christmas, but this last bout with Covid-19, (my fourth!), really had me down. Those videos and DIY projects took my mind off my misery and gave me something positive to focus on.

It occurred to me through all of this that it's unfair for me to look at someone getting into the Christmas Spirit as "nuts". It was a nice break from my sickness and weakness, and from the grief I'm feeling over my mother's holiday-time death last year.

In an effort not to feel so sick, I promised myself to do something for Christmas every day until it comes. Unfortunately, it had to be things I could do sitting down because it was hard enough just getting to the bathroom.

I made a tree-skirt from some fleece I already had, which was basically cutting, hand-sewing it together and then tying knots around the edges. I cleaned the silver service, made out my Christmas card list, had some photos printed at Staples for hanging up when I feel better, etc. Every small thing kept me from fixating on the negative and legitimately made me feel good. I'm closer to holiday-ready, (still behind the chick from Halloween), but my house certainly doesn't show it yet.

I guess the answer to the question of when it's okay to decorate for Christmas really comes down to a personal choice. It's my hope that whatever holiday you're celebrating this year, that you enjoy every little thing and take it at your own pace. It doesn't matter what other people think of you. What matters, is how you feel. Life is too short to do things any way or on any schedule other than your own! ;)

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The first video below is the one from Halloween. I subscribed to this channel, (" Life Behind the Whisk"), when I was baking my first wedding cake. Her house really does feel like Christmas even if it is a little busy for me.

Also, just so you know, during the video you'll see her television paused in the background on Britney Blane's channel, which is hilarious to me because I subscribe to Britney too, and she has a great video out about how to decorate your house like a Hallmark Movie for Christmas. (Also linked below) I like Britney because she has three Yorkies running around while she's decorating and y'all know how I love dogs. Anyway...

Happy Holidays, whenever they may be! Enjoy!