Growing up, we had very strict guidelines about when we put up our Christmas tree. It was always the first weekend in December. I remember being jealous of my best friend, who got to pick a tree the day after Thanksgiving. Both of our families got real trees, and I remember the anticipation I felt when we finally got to go to the Christmas tree farm.
The Christmas tree farm was a magical place
In those days, there was often snow on the ground at the beginning of December, and traipsing through it to find just the perfect tree was a treat. While the snow made it fun to search for a tree, it also meant waiting longer to put it up and decorate it. We would put it in the garage to melt and dry for a couple of days, so the wait felt like torture. I loved having a real tree growing up, but when I got married we only had a one-bedroom apartment. Getting a real tree seemed like much more of a pain, so we got a fake one.
I found the most realistic tree that I could find so I could pretend for a while. I also got to realize my dream of putting a tree up the day after Thanksgiving. It was easy because I already had one and didn’t need to worry about having to keep it watered for an extended period of time. There’s really no reason why you can’t put a fake one up whenever you want to. Sure, it doesn’t smell as good, but not shedding as many needles kind of makes up for that.
Waiting until after Thanksgiving was the standard from then on... at least until last year
With the pandemic, we decided to just do our own thing and didn’t have guests. This made it an ideal day for putting the tree up on Thanksgiving while the meal was cooking and we were celebrating. The kids had a blast with it. It was an impromptu decision — one that led to us spending Thanksgiving night watching a Christmas movie in the glow of the beautiful new Christmas lights.
This year, my husband actually said to me that he’s ready anytime to put up the tree — and it wasn’t even Halloween yet
Even though I think that’s a bit early, now that it's past Halloween, why not? Who's to say what is too early?
If it makes you happy, why not put up your holiday decorations in November? We’ve already started listening to Christmas music, and I’m excited to start in on the movies soon. In this world that often beats us down so much, why not find joy wherever we can? Who cares what others think? Frankly, it is never too early to bring in some extra joy. And I think everyone can agree we need all the joy we can get this year.
