Putting Up Christmas Decorations Early Makes You Happier

How early is too early to start decorating for Christmas or to hang your stockings by the chimney with care?

We were once told that we are “not supposed” to decorate for Christmas at least until after Thanksgiving has passed.

That being said... a 2015 poll by Confused.com found that more than 86 percent of people said that the entire month of November was too early to put up decorations.

However, science actually agrees that there may be a benefit to decorating early, there’s research that says not to put a time limit on when you can or can’t decorate for Christmas.

For one, doing so can actually make you a happier person. Christmas decorations stir up feelings of pure joy and can literally modify some happy hormones in your body. “It create[s] that neurological shift that can produce happiness,” said psychologist Deborah Serani. “Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone.”

Remember, Santa, elf on a shelf, Christmas cookies and all the sounds of the season on the radio?

“The holiday season stirs up a sense of nostalgia. Nostalgia helps link people to their personal past and it helps people understand their identity,” says Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. “For many, putting up Christmas decorations early is a way for them to reconnect with their childhoods.”

However, not all people grew up with magical memories of Christmas.

“For people who have lost a loved one, the holidays may serve as a reminder of happy times they had with that person in the past. Decorating early may help them feel more connected with that individual,” Morin says.

And the benefits don't end with you...

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology showed that your neighbors may interpret you putting up Christmas decorations as a sign that you’re sociable and approachable.

Psychologist Steve McKeown sums it up perfectly:

“In a world full of stress and anxiety people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood,” says psychologist Steve McKeown.

(Tiphero)