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How early is too early for Christmas?
claireychn074
Posts: 1,321 Member
in Debate Club
It’s been a hard, odd year, and a lot of people are suffering with country-wide lockdowns, illness or politics. So let’s have a debate which hopefully will not end up getting closed (unlike my last one 😱).
I LOVE Christmas and need the joy and sparkle this year, not to mention helping others is really needed right now. I have broken out my Christmas jumpers, am starting to make Christmas donations, and may have to bake mince pies this weekend whilst playing Michael Buble: is this too early for Christmas joy??
I LOVE Christmas and need the joy and sparkle this year, not to mention helping others is really needed right now. I have broken out my Christmas jumpers, am starting to make Christmas donations, and may have to bake mince pies this weekend whilst playing Michael Buble: is this too early for Christmas joy??
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Replies
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I have a personal guideline that Christmas doesn't "start" for me until after Thanksgiving. All my decoration, shopping, and seasonal observances don't start until that point.
I have no judgment of people who love Christmas and want to start earlier. It's never too early for joy! I personally started doing Halloween stuff in late August and will probably continue for another week or two, so I understand the impulse to fully immerse yourself in your favorite celebrations.
I'll break my usual policy and say "Merry Christmas!"8 -
I'm not a very Christmassy person, for me I'd say December is appropriate. But hey, whatever floats your boat!
That being said, the situation in our country is making it less and less likely we'll have a proper Christmas, we'll be lucky if we're allowed even small Christmas gatherings. So I'm not sure if we'll get much Christmas cheer here
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I'm not a very Christmassy person, for me I'd say December is appropriate. But hey, whatever floats your boat!
That being said, the situation in our country is making it less and less likely we'll have a proper Christmas, we'll be lucky if we're allowed even small Christmas gatherings. So I'm not sure if we'll get much Christmas cheer here
I feel like my entire life I've been watching Christmas movies and specials with the moral of "Christmas is a state of mind and what we make of it, even in hard or unusual circumstances." The media has been prepping me for this!
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For me Christmas doesn't start until after Thanksgiving.3
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If starting Christmas early makes you happy, then you should do it.
For me, in a normal year, it has to be after Thanksgiving...usually I put up the tree the first week of December.
This year, everything Christmas is going to depress me, because I know I won't be able to see all my family and celebrate like we usually do. I'm not doing well with the "everything is normal" crowd.4 -
@SuzySunshine99 I get that - maybe that’s why I’m starting early 🤷♂️ I love buying and wrapping presents and supporting charities, so I guess this is me trying to make myself feel better. I’m sorry it’s making you feel bad x
And I’m in the UK so don’t have Thanksgiving otherwise I guess I’d be going full throttle on that!5 -
Well I live in Canada and our Thanksgiving is in October!! And my Christmas decorations came out this week! After the year we've had, it's nice to see the lights and feel the peace and nostalgia that comes with them! I will start baking this weekend and Christmas prep at my parents' house! In my husband's native Dominican Republic, decorations come out the first of October. Soooo I figure it is entirely at your discretion! Happy decorating!6
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iloveeggnog wrote: »Well I live in Canada and our Thanksgiving is in October!! And my Christmas decorations came out this week! After the year we've had, it's nice to see the lights and feel the peace and nostalgia that comes with them! I will start baking this weekend and Christmas prep at my parents' house! In my husband's native Dominican Republic, decorations come out the first of October. Soooo I figure it is entirely at your discretion! Happy decorating!
Okay, but your user name is PERFECT for this discussion.4 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »If starting Christmas early makes you happy, then you should do it.
For me, in a normal year, it has to be after Thanksgiving...usually I put up the tree the first week of December.
This year, everything Christmas is going to depress me, because I know I won't be able to see all my family and celebrate like we usually do. I'm not doing well with the "everything is normal" crowd.
I'm really sorry for my comments above because I see now how they sounded. I absolutely understand your feelings - I am very sad about not being able to see my family in person this year. One of the ways I manage my anxiety is to adopt a "fake it til you make it" attitude about some things, I know it can be grating. I wasn't being thoughtful when I typed that above.6 -
janejellyroll wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »If starting Christmas early makes you happy, then you should do it.
For me, in a normal year, it has to be after Thanksgiving...usually I put up the tree the first week of December.
This year, everything Christmas is going to depress me, because I know I won't be able to see all my family and celebrate like we usually do. I'm not doing well with the "everything is normal" crowd.
I'm really sorry for my comments above because I see now how they sounded. I absolutely understand your feelings - I am very sad about not being able to see my family in person this year. One of the ways I manage my anxiety is to adopt a "fake it til you make it" attitude about some things, I know it can be grating. I wasn't being thoughtful when I typed that above.
Please don't feel sorry, I know exactly what you meant. We're all dealing with this in different ways, and I get the mindset of keeping at least the appearance of a positive attitude. I wish it worked for me, and I certainly don't blame you if it works for you. I should probably stop going into these holiday threads.
I'm just more stressed than usual today, for....reasons.6 -
@janejellyroll I didn’t read that into your comments at all: I think a lot of people (me) are a little tense about stuff right now and I thought this discussion might be fun and get some Grinches to come out and grumble at the overly-festive. But I also didn't think that some people are gutted they can’t see family so I also hope I haven’t upset anyone!0
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claireychn074 wrote: »@janejellyroll I didn’t read that into your comments at all: I think a lot of people (me) are a little tense about stuff right now and I thought this discussion might be fun and get some Grinches to come out and grumble at the overly-festive. But I also didn't think that some people are gutted they can’t see family so I also hope I haven’t upset anyone!
2020's "gift," we all get to be on edge about something.
I think this is a good topic, you can't be the only person who wants to dive headfirst into what is often a comforting and cozy time of year.2 -
I don't get Christmasy until after Remembrance day (nov 11) at the earliest1
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I've thought about putting up my (inside) decorations early this year. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving (US), but I may make an exception. There is a very good chance I won't be able to spend Christmas with my family this year, but the lights and decorations make everything so warm and comforting and I need a bit of that right now, ya know?8
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I still have my Halloween decorations up... welcome to 2020 :laugh:3
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Chef_Barbell wrote: »I still have my Halloween decorations up... welcome to 2020 :laugh:
Mine are still up too, but that's just because I hate saying goodbye to Halloween!2 -
I'm a curmudgeon who always complains about Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving, because it just seems wrong to me, but it's not something I mean seriously, and really it's more about stores doing it than people. In fact, I like seeing all my neighbors' decorations. I have a fall-themed wreath that I put up and only replace it with the Christmas one (which I will buy) after Thanksgiving, but if others decorate sooner I will enjoy it. Also, a lot of the decorations are not that holiday specific -- my neighbor has had lights in her backyard since it started getting dark so early, and I love them (they aren't Christmas themed, but even red and green colored lights strike me as more for winter than Christmas alone -- I kept my house lights up into February last year).
These days it seems like more and more the rule is anytime after Halloween, and while I joke about this, I absolutely do think you should do whatever makes you happy, especially this year.
I usually get out some Advent things as soon as Advent starts (Nov 29 this year), and put up lights, but actually get my tree later -- this is partially since I do try to avoid having Christmas completely obliterate Advent, but mostly because I have a December birthday (the 7th) and my parents always waited until after my birthday to decorate when I was living at home, so it's now my habit to do the tree in mid December.
On Halloween, I have a scary black cat I took in immediately after, but have the wreath noted above. I had pumpkins out front (real ones) that I think would work for Thanksgiving too, but it turns out squirrels really like them!1 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »This year, everything Christmas is going to depress me, because I know I won't be able to see all my family and celebrate like we usually do. I'm not doing well with the "everything is normal" crowd.
My mom died a week before Christmas in 2017, and she was always a huge fan of Christmas and went all out decorating, especially after my sister and I moved away (we'd usually visit on Christmas most years). When going through her stuff later, my sister made us keep most of the Christmas stuff (I took a little bit back, my dad has it all in storage), because it is just so sentimental to her (I was on a bit more of a Mari Kondo kick -- thank the items for bringing your loved one such joy, and then let go of it -- but let my sister decide).
Anyway, that year we didn't celebrate Christmas at all, other than a dinner at which we talked about my mom, and then the following year I put up my tree and everything late and didn't really understand why I kept putting it off, and then on Christmas Eve I put on carols and rushed around decorating the tree and wrapping some presents before my sister came over and just had a huge rush of sadness and tears, since everything I was doing reminded me so very strongly of my mom. Now it feels more comforting that I do think of her so strongly then, and I'm looking forward to doing what I can for Christmas this year with lights and decorations.
I totally get why decorating might feel painful and depressing or go along with a feeling of loss, although I actually am looking forward to decorating and so on this year, and seeing what my neighbors do.10 -
claireychn074 wrote: »@janejellyroll I didn’t read that into your comments at all: I think a lot of people (me) are a little tense about stuff right now and I thought this discussion might be fun and get some Grinches to come out and grumble at the overly-festive. But I also didn't think that some people are gutted they can’t see family so I also hope I haven’t upset anyone!
That's how I read it, and I like the thought. And I guess I can't be judgy about pre Thanksgiving (I hope it was clear I'm not really), if you are in the UK!0 -
Weekend after Thanksgiving for me...always been that way. We go get our tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving unless we have been traveling...but either way, shortly after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas, but IMO, there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. I'd be Christmased out before it even got here if I started now...not to mention the weather is way too nice to be thinking about Christmas...it's 75* today so doesn't remotely feel like Christmas.1
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