Christmas is a little more than a month away. Thanksgiving is this week. I’ve always wanted to remember my blessings and give thanks for them before I think about decorating for Christmas. But then, when some of those I number among my blessings showed up the weekend before Thanksgiving and were in the Christmas mood enough to help me do my Christmas decorating, I decided early was a great time to put up a Christmas tree. I counted my blessings as I enjoyed seeing smiles while the decorations almost flew onto the tree with very little help from me other than offering encouragement.
So, is it too early to put up a Christmas tree? I asked Google what the thinking was on that. After all, you can ask the internet almost anything and it will tell you almost anything. Here are a few thoughts I found online about decorating early.
Some research suggests that putting up decorations early can lead to increased happiness.
Well, I did have increased happiness as I watched my sweet elves sifting through my containers of the Christmas ornaments I’ve gathered across many years. Here are some comments as the decorating was going on.
“Oh, this is a cute one.”
“Wait. You have to put this one on.”
“I think I might have given you this one.”
“This one has been on the tree every year forever.”
“There’s an empty spot. Perfect place for this one.”
“Here is one with my first granddaughter’s picture and another one my grandson made me when he was in elementary school.”
“We were at the beach when I got that one.”
“This one is from the Shaker village.”
“This one has Oscar’s picture. He was the best dog.”
“The birds all go at the top of the tree.”
“Here. You’re tallest. You put the angel on the top.”
And on and on the memories came back as the ornaments were unwrapped and hung on the tree.
So decorating early can connect you to the past and trigger happy memories, not only of the holidays but of the times when you got this or that ornament.
Decorating early can also be a practical choice, allowing you to take your time and enjoy the decorations longer.
It was definitely a practical choice for me with help showing up to make the decorating more fun. One of my granddaughters has helped me put up a tree almost every year since she was big enough to hang the ornaments on the tree. Now she has gone out of state to vet school and I thought this year she wouldn’t get to be here to decorate. Then she got to come home for a Thanksgiving break. She drove all day (8 hours) to get home and came here first to help with decorating the tree. She will be doing plenty of decorating at her house too as her mother loves to decorate and puts up a tree in every room. Her house looks beautiful at Christmas.
I’m happy with my one tree and this year very happy to have my granddaughter here to help me after not seeing her since she left for school in August. That made decorating my tree early a double blessing.
Plus, my daughter was here and another granddaughter and my son. Blessings and more blessings.
In seasons with less daylight, holiday lights and decorations can bring brightness and a sense of cheer into the home.
The tree did get beautifully decorated and brightened a day that had been cloudy and gloomy. Nothing gloomy in my house as the decorating party continued into the night.
As you get older, your Christmas list gets shorter—because the things you really want aren’t things you find in stores. They are things of the heart. A Christmas tree all lit up with ornaments that were bright with memories and people I love finding places to hang them on the branches is a memory I can treasure if I’m blessed with more Christmases to come.
So, this year no, it wasn’t too early to put up my Christmas tree.
Do you like to decorate for Christmas? And is it too early to put up a Christmas tree in your house the way I usually say it is at my house before Thanksgiving?
Comments 16
After living overseas for nearly 30 years, I love having a real tree, and since real trees start drying out fast, we often wait until a week before Christmas. Where we live now, we have redwood trees that have lots of shoots coming up around the base of the tree. When they get about 6 feet tall, we cut a bunch of the shoots and tie them together into a nice, full tree 🙂 I do all the other Christmas decoration (outside lights, manger scenes, Christmas linens on the table, etc) right after Thanksgiving.
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An excellent reason to wait to decorate, Margaret. I haven’t put up a real tree but a couple of times since we stopped just going out in the field and chopping down a cedar tree. They really dry out quickly. The artificial trees aren’t as pretty, but still look good.
I love your description of your tree. Would love to see a picture of it.
Sounds as if you decorate things beautifully.
I haven’t put up an actual tree in years. Mom and I stopped a long time ago, and I’ve thought about putting one up, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’m thinking I’ll start some decorating this week, but so far, it’s only a thought!! I’m in the middle of my busy season with my “job” of selling insurance, so there’s a lot of stopping and starting now, and if I’m going to decorate, I’d rather be able to do it all that I want at once, and not have to stop to do something else. I’m thinking I’ll be able to decorate Thanksgiving morning or either wait till the day after, which is when we always decorated before.
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Sounds as if you do some Christmas decorating even without putting up a tree, Trudy. I like setting up my Nativity sets. I’d have more if I had more room for them, but the ones I have always add to the Christmas feel.
Wishing you blessings with your work and decorating.
No I don’t think it is too early to put up your tree My daughter has already put ours up and it seems it brightens the day because where it gets dark so early now! Happy Thanksgiving Ann !
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the days are getting shorter, Sarah, as we head toward the shortest day of the year in less than a month. Plus, we’ve had a lot off gloomy cloudy days. The Christmas lights on the tree do brighten things up.
Usually don’t put up our tree til after Thanksgiving since we drive from IL to TX. This year our daughter made other plans so our son did as well, so no family Thanksgiving. Therefore, the other day we put up our tree with only lights. I’m Thanksgiving we decorate it, as like you we have many family memories on it. I’m fact we even have all the ornaments we gave our son over the years because when he got married our DIL did not want them as she wanted to decorate a department store type tree. Beautiful but no memories so we continue to enjoy those memories too. This year an early tree is the”right time” for us.
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I love my ornaments with the memories, Jeanne. My mother gave me some Hallmark ornaments over the years and those I really treasure because they bring back good times with Mom. Perhaps your son enjoys seeing “his” ornaments displayed with love our your tree.
That’s a long trip for you, but it’s always worth a drive to see family when we can.
Ann, Love your line about your Christmas list growing shorter as you grow older.
So absolutely correct–what we truly want is not found in any store.
Excellent point!!
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A happy family around the Christmas tree or the Thanksgiving table is the best gift a mother or father, grandmother or grandfather can have, Chris.
We got our tree on Friday and decorated it. My husband’s cousin has a stand, and she opened it a week early this year, so we didn’t go to our usual tree farm which opens on Black Friday. We got a cute tree, and my adult children were home to help decorate it and that is what I love…the family time and then having the tree and other decorations to enjoy. We usually don’t decorate until after Thanksgiving, but some years Thanksgiving would be here and gone already so really it isn’t too early to decorate if you want a while to enjoy all the pretty decorations and are giving thanks for all the joy, love, and blessings that this time of year brings. 🙂
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I usually don’t put my tree up until December, Hope. So, I really broke my usual schedule, but it’s nice that it’s done. Now I need to figure out what presents to put under it for my grandkids.
We used to have a live tree we cut out here on the farm. A cedar. You never put them up early because they dried out and shed needles like crazy. We did go to a tree farm once and get a live tree. It lived for many years but was done in by whatever is hurting the fir pines now. But it was a lovely tree for many years.
I’m so glad that I was able to be there for the decor party this year. And, I’m looking forward to seeing you and the tree again, soon😊
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Putting up the tree is always better with family. Glad you were here and I broke with my tradition to enjoy having you and the other kids here for a decor party.
I almost always put my tree up before Thanksgiving, after I survived cancer ( 9 years ago) my husband said, I don’t care if you put the tree up in July, I’m just glad you are here.
I don’t put the tree up that early but I do put it up mid November.
Today we had our kids over for an early Thanksgiving dinner and
I figured out one the best things about putting the Christmas tree up early!
Now that ( our) Thanksgiving is over I can enjoy the tree instead of putting it up while I’m tired.
I’m so glad you got to see your granddaughter that you haven’t seen for a while and the other family members also!
Happy Thanksgiving,Ann!
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I love your attitude, Lisa, and your husband’s too. So glad you are still here to put up that tree and to enjoy your family at Christmas. I know you are one of the things they give thanks for at Thanksgiving.
Keep on keeping on!