When’s the Best Time to Decorate for Christmas? Share Your Family’s Tradition!
Is it ever too early to deck the halls? Join our team’s lively debate on when to decorate for Christmas!
These days, it definitely seems like we can’t embrace any holiday celebration without retail stores stocking shelves or online inventory with the next big holiday still months away.
So when should you decorate for Christmas?
I asked our team how soon (or not so soon) their Christmas decorations are going up this year. Join our festive team debate on when we think it’s the perfect time to deck the halls…and yes, we know it’s not even Halloween. 😏
Fall hasn’t even begun, yet many stores are already flooding their inventory with Christmas decor, festive trees, and even holiday snacks. 🎄 One source even said nearly half of shoppers plan to do their holiday shopping before Halloween.
According to many different sources, it seems that the most popular and socially acceptable time to decorate in households across America is the weekend right after Thanksgiving. But with shopping habits getting earlier with sales like Target Circle Week and Prime Day, some may ask why you shouldn’t get in the mood a little earlier? 💁🏼♀️
Many people also say that decorating earlier makes them feel happier. 🎄
Even Scary Mommy shared some studies that prove people are happier when they decorate earlier, and people who put up exterior decorations are even seen as friendlier people. Whoa! One thing is for sure…we could all benefit from feeling happier, so maybe decorating a little earlier isn’t such a bad thing.
Here’s how our team feels about when to decorate for Christmas:
These team members decorate right after Halloween and can’t wait to swap out pumpkins for twinkling lights:
“You guys are totally going to think I’m nuts, but I used to start the day after Halloween! My dad and I used to enter our city’s decorating contest and we would hand make & paint decorations every year! We had to be done decorating early for the judging to take place, hence starting crazy early.
My dad, unfortunately, passed away a few years ago so I did a display by myself that year in honor of him.❤️ I later moved out and now that I live in an apartment so I tend to decorate the day after Thanksgiving like a sane person. LOL.” – Erika
“I put up our indoor Christmas decor as I’m taking down the Halloween decor. So basically our house is fully holiday decorated from mid-September till the week after New Years! Who doesn’t want to look at a Christmas Tree for two whole months instead of one? Our outside Christmas decor goes up the day after Thanksgiving (it would go up earlier however I live in an HOA and we have rules about how long before a holiday you can decorate). Also, we live in Florida which has no “fall season” so I don’t do any type of fall/Thanksgiving decor at all, maybeeeee if we lived in another state that actually had regular seasons instead of 12 months of summer I’d switch it up but for now it’s Halloween Mid-Sept-1st week of Nov, Then immediately Christmas until after New Years!” – Liz
“I skipped fall/Halloween decorating last year and plan to this year. 🫣 I love the pumpkins and corn stalks and fall colors, but we won’t be around much this season to enjoy them, so I plan to slowly start decorating for Christmas at the beginning of November because I’ll be itching for some sort of decor change. Plus I like seeing what we have early enough in the season which can either curb or inspire holiday decor shopping 😆 Then right after Thanksgiving is when the tree goes up. I would do it earlier if I could, but we always get a real tree and it wouldn’t last that long for us to get it sooner than that.” – Emily
“I’m that person that starts putting up the Christmas tree & decor on November 1st. My grandma does the same, so I think that’s where I got the habit! It doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving without a twinkly Christmas tree, and it really helps you get into the thankful/festive spirit. We also paint new Christmas decorations together after Thankgiving dessert every year, which is a super fun family tradition and something we all look forward to.” – Madison
“I’m usually a late November gal (since we’re usually always gone over Thanksgiving)! BUT last year we didn’t put up our tree so this year it’s going up November 1. I really love fall but the Christmas season is so short that I want to enjoy it for as long as possible! Especially my Christmas mugs!” – Alli
These team members are post-Thanksgiving purists who believe turkey time needs its moment:
“We do our decorating the day after Thanksgiving until just after New Years.” – Chelsey
“I usually decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Anything earlier is too early for me as the decorations feel dusty after a while. But it’s never too early to buy them! HAHA!” – Amber S.
“I try to put up the tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and then start decorating everything else that week, but I don’t judge people who decorate even earlier! I love Christmas!” – Jessica
“We decorate the second we’re done celebrating Thanksgiving. For us, anything before that is too soon. I need Fall decor for my Thanksgiving celebration.” – Jenna R.
“Traditionally, we put up decorations and the tree the Day after Thanksgiving. However, since Covid times, it’s kind of been whenever we feel like it. The day after Halloween would be a dream to start decking the halls, but the kids prefer to leave the spooky animatronics up a little longer as they are as Halloween crazy as I am Christmas crazy.” – Jenna P.
“Usually the day after Thanksgiving…or the day of and then we take everything down on New Years Eve.” – Denise
“I loooooove Christmas! It’s easily my favorite holiday to decorate for and the decorations make me so happy. However, Thanksgiving has my heart and I look forward to the food every year. Even though Christmas is my #1 I still love letting each holiday play out. We usually decorate the day after Thanksgiving.” – Monica
“I do think there is something special about waiting until the day after Thanksgiving. Growing up it was exciting to see the bins and decorate with my mom. For work pictures I have been doing a tree without ornaments just lights in November and that’s fun too.” – Lina
“I absolutely love Christmas so normally by the time Thanksgiving is here I’m ready to decorate! I just love having company over and having everything set up and pretty. I used to be really religious about decorating on Black Friday, but with kids in the picture, I just decorate somewhere around Thanksgiving when it feels right.” – Sara
“I prefer to wait until December to put up our tree as I feel like 3 weeks with the tree up is plenty of time! I hate to admit it, but I’ve been known to take down our tree on the evening of 12/25! HAHA! I’m always ready to get the house back to its normal non-tree state as soon as Christmas is over.” – Bryn
“We definitely deck the halls after Thanksgiving but we don’t have a set time frame – pretty much whenever I feel like digging through my garage for the Christmas stuff. I don’t put out a lot of decorations though because I don’t want to be dusting that stuff all month-long. We do 2 Christmas trees though and I go pretty nuts with those!” – Cass
Here’s why these team members decorate a bit earlier every year:
“I’m team November 1st all the way! As soon as Halloween’s over, it’s game on with the Christmas decorations. 🎄 The holiday season flies by, and I want to soak up every bit of that merry, bright, joyful, and warm feeling. Honestly, there’s nothing better than cozying up with Christmas lights and decor for as long as possible!” – Collin
“We used to put ours up the afternoon of Black Friday, but then we moved it a little earlier so the kids could enjoy it when they were home from college during Thanksgiving. My husband now realizes that he lost the battle of holiday spirit because both my daughter and I love having it up early. I just checked my photos from last year, and the tree was up and decorated by November 10th! LOL!” – Liza
So, when do you decorate? 😍
November 1st! But there’s a protocol. Take fall decor down, deep clean, then decorate for Christmas. So the process stars 11/1, decor is up within a few days. I’m not as crazy as that sounds. 🤭
I follow the same protocol, Lori! The deep clean before the Christmas decorating is a MUST! 🙌😍🎄
Last year the whole season got away from me due to Thanksgiving falling in the last week of November. Lo and behold its the same week this year!!! So we are moving everything up a week and getting ready before Thanksgiving. I have more years behind me than ahead of me and there is no way I am allowing this to happen again. So let me be the first to say Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!
Aww, Great idea to get a head start this year so that the time doesn’t slip away! Merry Christmas, Carol! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season! 🥰
It takes me so long to decorate, as i put up nine trees, I start on 11/1 faithfully every year.
11/1 has always been our protocol, but this year our only child is away at college, but coming home for a long weekend 10/17, so it will be early this year. Can’t wait!!! 🎄🎄🎄
In Germany the Christmas tree was supposed to be set up on Christmas Eve as it was supposed to be a gift from the Christ Child. St. Nicholas came to visit the children and left them a boot full of toys, candy, and fruit on the 6th. He still visits my grand children here in the states (my father got two fathers day also because the American and the German ones were on two different days).
However since we were combining both German and American traditions the tree had to be up by the 10th. We still put both Christmas lights and German candles (I have my grandmothers) on the tree. The candles are only turned on for about 15 minutes on Christmas Eve while we sing German and American Christmas carols.
We open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning again combining both German and American traditions. While singing carols we all drank gluwein which is a hot mulled cider. the kids drank a hot apple cider drink just like at the Christmas markets every year.
My mother took all of us to the German Christmas market every year and we each got a hand blown ornament of our choice. When we moved out we took them with us. We even got to see them blowing our ornaments sometimes. I did the same with my daughter until she was 10 when we moved to the states. She also has a few Polish ones that we bought when we were visiting my girlfriend’s family in Prague.
Wow! Thanks for sharing these precious memories and how you’ve blended the American and German Christmas traditions! You’ve unlocked some memories of my childhood in Germany too! I fondly remember Holidays overseas including the Christmas Markets. 🥰🎄😍
We start decorating after Thanksgiving and the tree comes down right after the feast of the 3 Kings in January. I don’t want Thanksgiving decorations and Christmas decorations out at the same time.
Um, tomorrow, obviously! 😀
I have my ChristMass decor up well before the Hallowtide Triduum. Makes logical sense to me to put it up at least by Sukkot – the Jewish feast of “God with us” when many speculate was Jesus’ actual birthday on the Jewish calendar. I leave it up through the entire ChristMass season – February 2 – the Feast of the Purification/Presentation in the temple. 😀
Our schools are off on Election day and everyone is home without having to run to sports or weekend stuff. We put it up each Election Day! Make a whole day out of it, donuts, hot chocolate, decorate the whole house and are done by the afternoon.
Sounds like such a special way to kick off the season together! 🍩☕🎄 Thanks for sharing!
Nov 1! Trees up but not decorated. Pumpkins down for sure
Am I the only person who doesn’t like decorating for the holidays? I only do it for my kids and it’s usually the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. I know I sound like Scrooge, but it always feels like such a chore.
I love Thanksgiving decorations. I have little pumpkins, turkeys, pilgrims. Christmas goes up as soon as Thanksgiving is over. I agree with the dusting comment, no way do I want up so long I’m having to dust ornaments. I decorate 3 trees.
We always put up our tree the weekend after thanksgiving growing up so that’s still what I do. I also just love thanksgiving so much I don’t think it’s right to not allow it to have its moment without Christmas overtaking 😊
If I’m hosting Thanksgiving, than the day after. If I’m not hosting than November 1st!
As soon as the Queen of Christmas does her, “It’s Time!!!” announcement, I know it’s time to decorate. Mariah Carey has spoken.
11/1 for everything inside the house except the dining room. I leave all my fall decor in there, that way I don’t feel like I’m skipping Thanksgiving.
We decorate Thanksgiving night or the day after Thanksgiving. It’s nice to give holidays their season or time.