Zizi Sparks: Is November too early to put up Christmas decorations?

Christmas comes earlier every year, it seems. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

The Christmas season has arrived. Or has it?

If you ask retailers, it arrived on November 1 when Halloween decorations were swapped for Christmas baubles.

If you ask my office, it started a couple of weeks ago when the Christmas tree and a singing Santa were dragged out of storage.

If you ask me, it's still up to 10 days away.

I'm not a full-blown grinch, but I do tend to save the festivities for December.

Growing up, we only ever put up the Christmas tree on the last day of the school term, so never in the first half of December.

But as I've aged it feels as if Christmas has started earlier every year, or maybe I've just noticed it.

Everyone has a different view on when you're "allowed" to put up decorations, so I decided to google it and, unsurprisingly, got no closer to a clear answer.

In 2019, the New York Times reported a couple in Texas had put a light-up smiling snowman, and an inflatable Santa and reindeer up in their front yard on November 1. The home owners' association for his neighbourhood noticed and demanded he remove it because it was too soon for holiday cheer.

The couple ignored the notice and instead added an inflatable grinch to the lineup.

Of course the question "When is too early to decorate for Christmas?" has been asked on the international question-and-answer site Quora and countless articles have been written addressing the question all over the world.

In 2017, a United States psychologist told Today Home decorating your home for Christmas early could make you happier and spike dopamine due to the colours, ambience and nostalgia.

The 77 answers on Quora vary from "please have the good taste to wait until at least Dec 1st" to "It's never too soon to put up Christmas decorations ... You can't get arrested or go to jail for it".

A common theme for Americans is the weekend after Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November and roughly four weeks before the big day.

I firmly believe November 1 is too early for festivities. Starting then would lead to almost eight weeks of Christmas which is 15 per cent of the year.

But I could come around to Christmas in November if it's four weeks before the day.

I remember growing up, the fact we had to wait until so close to December 25 added to the excitement and meant having the Christmas tree up was something special because it was fleeting.

If you start celebrating Christmas too early, I think it loses its joy.

Let's stick to four weeks of Christmas and make the most of them.