Celebrate holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving as early as you want, as long as it is with family.
I don’t celebrate Christmas. However, I can agree and disagree with the question, “Is it better to decorate before or after Thanksgiving for Christmas?”
This is one of the most argued topics among families, and it’s lengthy enough that it could very well become a slideshow presentation. Narrowing this controversial topic to a limited word count is challenging but worth attempting.
I believe that it is appropriate to begin decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.
The radio recently has started to play Christmas music well before Thanksgiving on certain stations, and others either start the day before or on Thanksgiving.
Small things like kids crafts, wreaths and hand towels are all items that can display Christmas without being over-the-top, and can be placed around the house for guests to see.
Items that say “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” are acceptable things to be placed mid to late November before grabbing the bigger and louder decorations.
Taking family pictures for holiday cards is also an acceptable behavior prior to Thanksgiving since they should be mailed out by the first of December.
To the families who buy and decorate Christmas trees, bringing out inflatable lawn items and hanging up lights should all wait until after Thanksgiving.
Not only will these decorations spike your electric bill, they take away from the idea of being thankful and distract from being in the moment. It also takes away from the people who celebrate other holidays since everything occurs around the same time.
The stores who have Black Friday deals before Thanksgiving take away from the crazy rush that shoppers get, which is something that helps people get into the holiday spirit.
Whether you start November or December 1st, the holidays are meant to be with family and friends.
Whenever you start decorating, make sure you know what is deemed appropriate for pre-holiday decorating.
By Chloe Booher
crbooher@vwu.edu
